Santa Barbara Brain Injury Lawyer (805) 372-0200

Santa Barbara, California is home to outstanding schools, beautiful mountains, and gorgeous weather that attracts people from all over the world; however, these positive features could become less important for those who have suffered a traumatic brain injury. Brain injuries are serious matters that can occur due to a variety of accidents and place a significant amount of stress on the patient and their loved ones in a variety of ways.

Like other traumatic injuries, brain injuries can vary in severity from one injury to the next. Sometimes, people may only experience a mild headache that escalates in a crescendo to a more serious pain. Other times, people may lose consciousness immediately, suffer a penetrating injury, or suffer blunt force trauma to the head in a dramatic accident. Regardless of the cause, people should know that any contact to the head has the potential to be serious and merits medical attention. Symptoms include:

• Headache
• Double vision
• Loss of sight
• Loss of hearing
• Loss of memory
• Loss of consciousness
• Severe bleeding
• Lack of orientation to person, place, time, or purpose

Sometimes, brain injuries can have delayed symptom onset and by the time the symptoms start, it could be too late.

When someone suffers a brain injury, much of the attention is placed on their medical recovery and prognosis. While this concern is due, it is easy to forget about a number of other problems that arise with a traumatic brain injury that impact not just the patient but their loved ones as well.

Financial Stress: A brain injury can place even the most comfortable family in dire circumstances financially. Even if a family has health insurance, their deductible alone could be enough to place a significant strain on their finances. If the patient requires a stay in the intensive care unit or brain surgery, this can quickly exceed the lifetime limit on their health insurance policy. This leaves the family on the hook for the rest of the bills, which could be substantial.

Emotional Stress: Brain injuries are unique because they impact a person’s cognitive abilities. Much of the identity of a person is contained in their personality, mental abilities, and consciousness. If a severe brain injury occurs, this could be taken away even if the patient survives. Until the patient wakes up, the true prognosis is unknown, creating a certain amount of emotional stress from the uncertain future.

Logistical Stress: Whenever a patient stays in the hospital for an extended period of time, it can be difficult for a family to figure out the logistics of who is going to stay and support the patient while life continues outside of the hospital. This can strain relationships with family and friends as people find their own ways to cope and continue.

Brain injuries are serious situations and nobody should have to deal with a brain injury alone. Patients and their families should know that it is acceptable to ask for help from friends, the medical community, religious providers, and many others. Anyone who is having trouble navigating the waters of a serious brain injury shouldn’t be afraid to reach out.

I’m Ed Smith, a Santa Barbara Brain Injury Lawyer. Regardless of the mechanism behind the accident, brain injuries are always a serious matter. If you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury, please call my office at (805) 372-0200 for friendly, free advice.

I am proud to be a member of the California chapter of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. This group is made up of some of the top-rated trial lawyers in the country. Every member has won million or multiple million-dollar settlements in past cases.

Please take a few minutes to view my prior verdicts and settlements here.

Some of my past clients have given helpful reviews on Avvo (a ranking site for attorneys), Yelp, and Google Plus.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator via Wikimedia Commons

:dr bw [cs 704]