Did you know March is Brain Injury Awareness Month? It’s a time to focus attention on brain injuries — how they occur, how they can be prevented, and the challenges persons suffering from a brain injury face. This year’s theme is “More Than My Brain Injury.”
Many people with disabilities have their lives defined for them. The More Than My Brain Injury campaign gives individuals a chance to overcome those definitions, allowing them to tell their own stories and change the narrative of their lives.
— Brain Association of America
Traumatic Brain Injuries
One of the most severe types of brain injuries are traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs. A traumatic brain injury is a head injury that impairs the normal function of the brain. TBIs can result from a skull fracture, collision with an external force leading to a closed head injury, or penetration by an object that enters the skull, making contact with brain tissue.
Symptoms of a TBI can include:
- Confusion, difficulties with concentrating
- Headaches that get more severe or won’t go away
- Dizziness
- Unconsciousness
- Nausea, vomiting
- Convulsions or seizures
- Enlargement of the pupil (dark center) of one or both eyes
- Difficulty speaking or slurred speech
- Amnesia
- Coma
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control, there were approximately 2.5 million TBI-related emergency department visits, approximately 288,000 hospitalizations, and nearly 57,000 deaths resulting from TBIs in 2014.
The effects of a TBI vary greatly, depending on the severity of the injury. In less severe cases, an individual may fully recover from their TBI in only a few weeks. However, victims of more severe TBIs may have to deal with the effects of their injuries for the rest of their lives. And sometimes TBIs seem to be bad, but then get better. Or just the opposite — everything seems to be okay, and then the condition takes a turn for the worse.
TBIs Caused by Motorcycle Accidents
Because of a motorcycle’s lack of enclosure and restraints, motorcycle riders face a greater risk of TBIs than drivers of cars and trucks.
The best way to prevent getting a TBI during a motorcycle accident is to always wear a protective helmet. In California, everyone over the age of 17 is required by law to wear a helmet. In addition to wearing a helmet and other protective clothing, other ways motorcycle riders can avoid potentially fatal TBIs include obeying all the traffic laws — especially the speed limits, avoiding riding in bad weather and never, ever riding while impaired because of alcohol or drugs.
A motorcycle accident-related TBI can change a rider’s life forever. Victims can be left with permanent mental and physical impairments. They may be unable to have a normal life ever again. A TBI could even leave the victim in a coma or vegetative state, requiring 24/7 medical care. In worst cases, a TBI can prove fatal.
Manhattan Beach Motorcycle Injury Attorneys Help Accident Victims
If you or a loved one have sustained a TBI or other serious injury resulting from a motorcycle accident that was caused by another driver’s negligence, you have a right to seek compensation for the damages resulting from your accident. The Manhattan Beach personal injury law firm of the Law Offices of Scott Dinsmore, APC has been protecting the rights of persons injured in motorcycle and other vehicular accidents in Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Hawthorne, Gardena, El Segundo, Torrance, Redondo Beach and other South Bay California communities for more than 30 years. We urge you to contact our offices without delay to speak with a highly experienced Manhattan Beach motorcycle accident lawyer about your case.
The Law Offices of Scott Dinsmore, APC handles all motorcycle accidents and other personal injury cases on a contingency basis, which means there are no upfront fees for our legal representation and we only collect our fee after we’ve won your case.
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