(Transcript)

Jim Adler: Hello, Texas. Welcome to Hammer TV. I’m Jim Adler, the Texas Hammer, and this is …

Bill Adler: Bill Adler, the Texas Hammer.

Jim Adler:  Today, we’re going to talk about traumatic brain injuries. Let’s see some of the questions that people ask about the most common causes of traumatic brain injuries, Bill.

Bill Adler: Well, the most common thing we hear about traumatic brain injuries are, what is the cause of them? Surprisingly enough, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of traumatic brain injury. Also, there are falls, which can cause a traumatic brain injury, and sports accidents. Often, what you hear in the news today is sports accidents causing what’s referred to as TBI, traumatic brain injuries. However, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries. Jim, why are TBIs, traumatic brain injuries, a difficult area of personal injury law to work with?

Jim Adler: Well, because a personal injury, a traumatic brain injury, is difficult because people hit their head, but they don’t think there’s anything wrong. They’re very hard to diagnose and overlooked by most medical professionals. Unless you’ve got soft tissue coming out your ears, they may get overlooked. For example, rather than pain, a victim might experience speech impediment difficulties, change of behavior, anger, sensory issues. We’ve seen instances where someone is in a severe car crash and hits her head, and what happens, Bill?

Bill Adler:  Well, they go to the hospital. Most of the time they’re cleared for a brain injury. They go home, but later on they develop signs and symptoms of a traumatic brain injury. So it’s possible, and oftentimes very possible, for you to not recognize you have a traumatic brain injury right away. What you want to do is talk about the traumatic brain injury, if you can, with someone who’s educated on that.

Jim Adler: Here’s the thing with a brain injury, the brain runs your whole body. Everything starts and ends with the brain. Think about it. The brain makes my hand lift up. When I lift this hammer, my brain is telling me to do that. When I put this hammer down, my brain just told me to put it down. If I scratch my head, my brain is telling me to do that. So if you have headaches, migraines, you’re losing your memory, you can’t think straight, you’re mad at your wife and kids, you kick the dog, that’s a symptom. What else, Bill?

Bill Adler: Also, sensitivity to light, alterations of your speech, depression, personality changes, post-traumatic stress disorder, mood swings, neck pain, inability to focus or having problems with keeping your attention span. What else?

Jim Adler: Let’s say you want to go sit in the dark because you feel bad all the time. Your family is going to notice that. If they see that you’re dizzy and you’re losing your balance or you have ringing in the ears, double-vision, a personality disorder, you’re not the same person. One of the most serious things is a brain bleed, it’s what they call a subdural hematoma. You need to get immediate medical attention, because they may have to drill a hole in your head and release the pressure, or at the very least run a CT scan or an MRI to make sure there’s no blood on your brain and that your brain is not dying from the pressure of the blood. What else, Bill?

Bill Adler: Well, you’ve talked about the most significant traumatic brain injury, a subdural hematoma. Specific individuals who can diagnose that type of injury or a mild concussion, a mild brain injury, are neurologists, neuropsychologists, and they use diagnostic testing oftentime. Once they determine you have a traumatic brain injury, oftentimes, you’ve seen it all the time, what they do to address these injuries.

Jim Adler: Well, the sad thing is there’s mild, moderate and severe briny injuries. Sadly, in a severe brain injury, you’re going to have to be taught to speak again. You’re going to have to see a language expert, a speech pathologist, you’re going to have to have a rehabilitation nurse that may have to help you learn to walk again, a vocational counselor.

Jim Adler: What if someone’s symptoms aren’t diagnosed right away and a TBI is found out years after the accident, Bill? Could they still have a claim?

Bill Adler: Well, the statute of limitations in Texas is two years. So for a liability claim, the statute of limitations is the time you have to assert, meaning bring your claim. So if you don’t address your injury soon, you may be left on the table with no compensation and really have a horrible life there on after. So if you’ve been involved in an accident involving a traumatic brain injury, it’s very important that you contact a TBI lawyer, like Bill or Jim. If you have questions, you can contact us today.

Jim Adler: If you have any questions about your brain injury case, call us 1-800-567-7575. You can also contact us on the web at www.JimAdler.com. Thanks everybody for watching Hammer TV. Leave us your comments and questions, tell us what topics you’d like us to discuss about brain injuries on our next show. We’d really love it if you’d like this and share this video with your friends or loved ones. For now, this is Jim and Bill Adler, the Texas Hammers …

Brain Injury Lawyer