Samy Missoum, a professor of mechanical engineering and aerospace, has published a new study that explains how to calculate the likelihood of suffering a TBI from a car accident.
WHAT IS TRAUMATIC BRAIN INFJURY (TBI).
TBI refers to brain injury caused by blunt or penetrating trauma. Primary injury refers to the damage that occurs at the time of impact. Primary injuries may be limited to a specific lobe or the entire brain. The skull may be fractured occasionally, but this is not always the case.
The brain can be damaged by the impact of an accident. The individual may become confused or lose consciousness immediately after the accident.
Although the person may initially appear healthy, their condition can quickly change. The brain suffers a delayed injury after the impact. This causes it to swell and push against the skull, decreasing oxygen-rich blood flow and causing the individual to appear fine. Secondary injury is more severe than primary injury.
COMMON TYPES TRAUMATIC BRAIN DAMAGES
- A concussion can be described as a mild head injury that may cause temporary loss of consciousness but does not result in permanent brain damage.
- A contusion refers to a bruise to the brain’s specific region caused by an impact to head. Also known as coup injuries or contrecoup injuries, Coup injuries result in the brain being injured below the area of impact. Contracoup injuries cause the brain to be injured on the opposite side.
- Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI), is shearing and stretching nerve cells at the cellular layer. This happens when the brain rapidly moves back and forth within the skull, damaging and tearing the nerve axons. Like cables, axons link nerve cells throughout the brain. Axonal injury can cause significant changes in wakefulness and disrupt the brain’s normal transmission.
- Traumatic Subarachnoid Hemorrhage is bleeding into the space surrounding the brain. This area is usually filled with cerebrospinal fluid, which acts as a cushion and protects the brain. Traumatic stroke occurs when small arteries are damaged during an injury. It spreads blood across the brain, causing widespread effects.
- Hematoma refers to a blood clot formed when a blood vessel bursts. The clot forms when blood that has escaped the normal bloodstream thickens and clots. Clotting is the body’s natural way of stopping bleeding. A hematoma can be small or large enough to compress the brain. The location of the clot will determine the severity of symptoms. An epidural hemomatoma is a clot between the skull, dura lining and brain. Subdural hemomatomas are clots that form between the dura and the brain. An intracerebral hemomatoma is a clot that forms within the brain tissue. The body will eventually absorb the clot. Sometimes, surgery may be necessary to remove large clots.
Summarized from an article by Arash Khorsandi Injury Lawyers.
