March is Brain Injury Awareness Month

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month.  According to the Brain injury Association of America (BIAA), every 23 seconds, someone in the U.S. sustains a traumatic brain injury (TBI).  Individuals who sustain brain injuries must have timely access to expert trauma care, specialized rehabilitation, lifelong disease management and individualized services and supports in order to live healthy, independent and satisfying lives.

 

Concussions are TBIs.  According to the Brain injury Association of America: “A concussion is caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head, or from a blow to the body that causes the head to move rapidly back and forth. Most concussions occur without a loss of consciousness and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a lack of proper diagnosis and management of concussion may result in a serious long-term consequences, or risk of coma or death. Signs and symptoms may be noticeable immediately, or it may take days or weeks before they are present.

According to the CDC, an estimated 3.8 million sports- and recreation-related concussions occur in the United States each year. Of that number, U.S. emergency departments treat approximately 135,000 sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), including concussions, among children ages 5 to 18.”

Signs and Symptoms of Concussions can include:

• Nausea (feeling that you might vomit)

• Dizziness or balance problems

• Double or fuzzy vision

• Sensitivity to light or noise

• Headache

• Feeling sluggish or tired

• Feeling foggy or groggy

• Confusion

• Trouble concentrating

• Trouble remembering

TBIs are often misdiagnosed and misunderstood.  A community of people including surviving victims, spouses, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, significant others, friends, neurologists, neuropsychologists, counselors, service coordinators, occupational therapists, legislators, advocates, brain injury association members, certified homecare aides and many others from a host of disciplines and backgrounds must work together towards a common cause of helping to diagnose, prevent, and treat TBI.

At Nelson Law Offices, we have the knowledge, the passion, and the experience to assist TBI victims throughout the often difficult process of diagnosing the injury and presenting it in court.