Practice Areas - Personal Injury
Attorneys
Brain injury occurs much more often than you might
think and from a variety of causes.
Because the brain is responsible for all functions
in our bodies, brain injury symptoms are widely varied depending
on the areas of the brain injured. Some of the more common symptoms
are excessive sleepiness, difficulty concentrating or focusing attention,
errors in judgment, uncharacteristic emotional episodes, memory
loss, depression, mood swings, and slowed responses. Often the senses
are affected. Blurred vision, loss of or altered sense of smell
or taste, tinnitus and tingling sensations are a few symptoms that
can occur. Because many of the symptoms may occur nowhere near the
brain, sometimes brain injuries go undiagnosed and untreated.
The effects of brain injury are wide and varied, and
extend to all interpersonal relationships the brain damaged individual
has with family, friends, co-workers and others.
Some of the most common causes of brain injury are:
Physical trauma to the brain
* Motor vehicle accident
* Bicycle accident
* Sports injury
* Slip and fall
* Physical abuse
* Defective products
* Work-related accidents
* Natural disaster
Chemical damage to the brain
* Lead, mercury, manganese or other heavy metal poisoning
* Chronic exposure to solvents and fuels
* Pesticides
* Carbon Monoxide
Electrical trauma (electrocution)
* Defective products
* Defective workmanship
* Lightning strike
* Accidents in the home
Work-related accidents
* Oxygen deprivation
* Stroke
* Disease
Physical trauma is the most common
causes of brain injury.
Direct trauma to the brain is often the most severe,
and results in a penetration or a fracture to the skull, which directly
damages brain tissue and sends destructive shock waves through the
brain. Direct trauma can also result when the skull is not fractured,
as in a severe impact to the head, which results in contusion or
bruising to the brain, or in bleeding or hemorrhaging in the brain.
With blunt head trauma there are two areas of the brain affected:
the area adjacent to the impact, and the area opposite the impact.
The impact pulls the brain away from the opposite side of the skull
and causes further injury. The initial impact is called coup, and
the subsequent opposite injury is called contracoup.
Indirect trauma is another cause of brain injury.
Severe whiplash causes the brain to be shaken or rotated enough
to result in permanent brain damage when the nerve fibers, called
axons, are stretched beyond their endurance capacity. This is referred
to as diffuse axonal injury. There is another type of indirect trauma
brain damage called isotopic stress, caused by a high-speed pulse
or pressure wave moving through the brain. An explosion can result
in this type of injury, common in military war veterans.
Chemical damage from toxicity is
a common cause of brain injury. Almost a thousand substances have
been identified as neurotoxic substances.
Lead is the most common substance that causes brain
damage, and children are the most affected. Lead interferes with
the development of the nervous system, causing learning and behavior
disabilities, sometimes permanently. Lead poisoning can cause seizures,
coma, and even death. Lead paint is one of the most common causes
of lead poisoning.
Mercury is another harmful heavy metal. Brain injury
symptoms include sensory impairment and lack of coordination. Mercury
damages the brain by altering brain chemistry. The consumption of
fish is a common cause of mercury poisoning. Fluorescent bulbs can
cause mercury contamination when the bulb is broken, releasing mercury
fumes into the air. Neuropsychiatric symptoms include memory impairment,
insomnia, and emotional issues.
Pesticide poisoning is usually an occupational hazard,
since pesticide use in industry is widespread. Emergency first responders
are at high risk since they often aren’t aware of the presence
of hazardous pesticides. Absorption is often through exposed skin.
Many pesticides inhibit cholinesterase, which is an important enzyme
of the nervous system. Seizures and oxygen deprivation are two symptoms
of brain injury caused by pesticide poisoning.
Carbon monoxide causes damage to the central nervous
system, including the brain, by binding with hemoglobin in the blood
to form carboxyhemoglobin. Oxygen can’t bind with carboxyhemoglobin,
causing hypoxia, which is a deprivation of oxygen supply to the
brain. Symptoms are headaches, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea,
and euphoria. Seizures and coma can follow.
Electrical trauma can cause damage
to the central nervous system, which includes the brain and the
spinal chord. Lesions in the brain can lead to death by cardiac
arrest or oxygen deprivation, also known as anoxia.
Contact a Brain
Injury Lawyer for a free consultation.
Se Habla Español
Sheldon J. Schlesinger, P.A. represents clients throughout
the state of Florida including the cities of Boca Raton, Boynton
Beach, Carol City, Cooper City, Coral Gables, Coral Springs, Davie,
Deerfield Beach, Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hialeah, Hollywood,
Jupiter, Lake Worth, Miramar, Miami, Oakland Park, Palm Beach, Palm
Beach Gardens, Palm Springs, Pompano Beach, and Rivera Beach
Broward County • Miami-Dade County • Palm Beach
County
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