After a brain injury, even a minor one, there can be some loss of function. This may be evident only for a short time, or there may be permanent impairment. Sometimes the disabilities are severe and very evident. Other times there are subtle changes in brain function that can affect the patient’s day-to-day life.

Serious, focal brain injuries, such as what occurs with a gunshot wound, can cause specific neurologic defects, if the person survives. It depends on where the injury is. Severe injury to the occipital lobes can cause blindness. Injuries to other areas can involve speech. Also, many people with severe TBI have had other associated injuries, like spinal cord injuries, or injuries to the limbs that can affect their functioning.

Focusing on TBI alone, without what is called a focal neurological deficit (like blindness), there are a constellation of problems which often appear after TBI. Many of these are called neurobehavioural, because they affect behaviour and have a neurological cause, including impairments of mood and or behavior. Impairment of cognition includes problems with the intellectual functions of the brain, such as attention, memory, and problem solving. It is thought that much of this may occur because the areas of the brain most likely to be injured are the temporal and frontal lobes, which play a role in many of these functions.

It is thought that these disturbances are also a result of diffuse axonal injury in addition to the specific area injured. The lower the initial Glasgow Coma Scale Score, and the longer the patient is unconscious, the more likely significant neurobehavioural problems will occur. The same thing is true of amnesia. The long amnesia lasts, the more likely neurobehavioural problems will occur. Seizures can also affect mood, behaviour, and cognition, especially complex partial seizures which often include motor and behavioural elements.

It is thought that TBI can affect the neurotransmitters in the brain, which also can cause neurobehavioural problems. So can chronic pain, which many TBI patients have.

Patients may or may not be aware of difficulties in cognition, impaired judgment, labile emotions, poor memory, or changes in personality.

In addition to thorough neurologic evaluation by the treating doctor or specialist, patients after TBI often need neuropsychological testing. These tests can uncover deficits of which the patient is not aware, and can give a better picture of the patient’s ability to function.

At this stage, in addition to CAT scans, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) can give more information. PET (positron emission tomography) or SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) can be used to see brain activity as the patient is asked to do certain tasks.

All of the information will be put together to get a picture of the patient’s disability.

Difficulties after a concussion have been called postconcussion syndrome. These can occur even after a minor brain injury, can persist for some time, and can even appear days to weeks after a concussion. However, it is clear that some patients have symptoms and deficits after concussions. As previously indicated, some of the symptoms of postconcussion syndrome include headache, fatigue, dizziness, light-headedness, drowsiness, nausea and vomiting, blurred vision, problems with memory, problems with concentration and attention, depression, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, complaints about other physical symptoms, intolerance to noise, light and alcohol. As many as 50% of patients with concussion have some degree of post-concussion syndrome. Most of these problems will resolve, but a minority, perhaps 15%, will have ongoing difficulties.

Brain Injury Compensation Claim Solicitors

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