Georgia Brain Injury Attorney Gives Insight into Children’s Experience with Traumatic Brain Injuries
Suffering a traumatic brain injury is very tragic, but when a child suffers a traumatic brain injury, it is even more tragic because children are innocent and they are our future.
According to the Brain Injury Association of America, the incidents of children suffering traumatic brain injuries are quite alarming.
From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, newborns to 4-year-olds and those aged 15 to 19 are at the highest risk of suffering a traumatic brain injury. In fact, from newborns to those 19 years old, 62,000 children suffered brain injuries needing hospitalization due to personal injury incidents including falls, sport-related injuries, auto accidents, and other third-party fault reasons. Generally speaking, 564,000 children are treated every year in hospital ER rooms for traumatic brain injuries and related head injuries.
For newborns to 14-year-old children, traumatic brain injuries result in the following statistics:
- 435,000 ER room visits
- 37,000 hospitalizations
- 2,685 fatal brain injuries
Children Suffer a Wide Variety of Symptoms from a Traumatic Brain Injury
There are many physical symptoms that may or may not manifest themselves immediately after a traumatic brain injury. This can include disrupted speech, balance, and hearing, along with a loss of motor coordination, seizures, and even paralysis.
Children may also suffer cognitive effects which can last a lifetime if the injury is severe enough. Symptoms include a limited attention span, compromised judgment, reduced communication ability, and other symptoms.
Adolescents can also suffer emotional damage from a traumatic brain injury. This includes an altered personality, mood swings, depression, outbursts, and other abnormal personality traits compared to your child’s functioning before the auto accident.
Many children are actually put at a disadvantage if they suffer a traumatic brain injury compared to an adult. Minors who suffer this type of injury may not exhibit the symptoms of traumatic brain injury explicitly. However, months or years later, they could be suffering during school or social settings because one or more of the general symptoms could be influencing and stunting learning and social growth. Medical attention and observation are very important over the short and long term to ensure that if a child exhibits symptoms, they are addressed as soon as possible.
If your child has suffered a traumatic brain injury because of a responsible third party, you may have a personal injury claim. Since determining the at-fault parties of the traumatic brain injuries and if there are recoverable damages is a lengthy process, it is essential to speak with a Suwanee brain injury attorney. Once you call Shane Smith Law to speak with a Gwinnett County brain injury lawyer at (980) 246-2656 you will be able to determine what your legal rights are.