TBI and Psychiatric Disorders – New Jersey Personal Injury

Traumatic brain injury and psychiatric disorders are common in people who have been injured in car accidents, construction site accidents, workplace accidents, and other types of accidents. Despite the frequency of this type of brain injury, a closed head trauma can be challenging to diagnose, at least initially.

Many people who have been involved in crashes that have involved a blow to the head often seem perfectly normal after the crash, especially if the injury has not penetrated the skull. However, inside the skull, the brain is telling a different story.

TBI Inside the Brain

What’s happening inside the brain may be swelling of the brain, bruising of brain tissue, and internal bleeding inside the brain, brain lacerations, or nerve damage. While about two-thirds of the nearly 1.7 million individuals in the U.S. who suffer from a TBI each year do recover, some 125,000 victims experience permanent brain damage.

Personality Changes and TBI – Psychiatric Problems

People who have suffered TBI may not notice their own changes, but their loved ones will. They may begin to act out of character, sometimes alarmingly, heartbreakingly so. Symptoms can include:

• Poorer social functioning
• Depression, sometimes severe depression
• Bipolar disorder
• Dramatic shift in sexual functioning
• Decrease in ability to concentrate or to be satisfied
• Memory problems
• Extreme emotions
• Obsessive compulsive disorder
• Anger management issues

Examples include a person who is normally responsible and very controlled in his behavior may become obnoxious, impulsive, and irresponsible. A married woman who has always been loyal to her mate may become sexually promiscuous. Another person may become very emotional where before he was generally calm and centered. A heretofore well-balanced person may experience depression.

TBI Statistics

In the U.S. 50,000 people die each year from TBI, with 235,000 being hospitalized, and 1.1 accident victims being treated and released from emergency rooms each year.

If you or a loved one has suffered a closed or open head injury as a result of a car crash or other accident that was not your fault, you might have a legal basis to recover compensation that can pay for your treatment, and damages related to pain and suffering.

See a Lawyer Who Helps the Injured: 800-404-5299 or 856-234-2233

Discuss your concerns and learn your rights by scheduling a free, private consultation with an experienced attorney at the southern New Jersey law firm of Taylor and Boguski, in Mount Laurel, NJ. Our practice is focused on helping the injured. In particular, we have extensive experience working with clients who have suffered traumatic brain injury. Please call 800-404-5299 or 856-234-2233 or contact us online.