Guiding Your Recovery,
Securing Your Tomorrow Washington's Premier Brain Injury Lawyers

A TBI is when your brain is injured in some way (there are literally hundreds of ways it could be injured). Because of the variation and complexity of each injury, it's critical that you seek medical attention as soon as you've been hit in the head.

There are two major types of brain injuries: primary and secondary. These injuries can be further divided into many different categories. 

A primary brain injury is the initial damage to your brain. For example, if you hit your head against your steering wheel during a car wreck, this would be considered a primary injury.

A secondary brain injury is an injury that happens after the initial hit to your brain. For example, your initial injury could then lead to swelling (cerebral edema) that further damages your brain.

Infections or abscesses would also be considered secondary brain injuries.

The most common symptoms of a brain injury include:

• Headaches
• Dizziness or balance issues
• Light/noise sensitivity
• Lack of energy/always tired
• Vision issues
• Sleep issues (too much or too little)
• Concentration / brain fog
• Word finding
• Social changes (from extroverted to introverted, from happy to sad, from calm to easily frustrated)
• Emotional lability (crying over things you wouldn't before, angry over things that before wouldn't be an issue)

If you're experiencing even one of these symptoms after a head injury, it's crucial that you seek medical attention. The sooner you see a doctor, the sooner you can mitigate damage to your brain.

While CT scans are always used initially to make sure you don't have bleeding in your brain, many other types of brain injuries are difficult to see on traditional imaging. Thankfully, there are specialized imaging techniques that can more accurately see what damage has been done to your brain.

One imaging tool we commonly recommend to our clients is DTI (Diffusion Tensor Imaging). This scan can measure the white matter in the deeper portions of your brain that don't show up nearly as well on other types of scans.

Another way to map out your brain injury is by using ASL (arterial spin labeling). This is a specialized type of MRI that can measure your blood flow in your brain. It checks for lower blood flow due to scarring or inflammation.

These techniques allow your medical team to more accurately treat your injuries, but they also help our team in court. These specialized techniques show brain damage that the opposing party cannot dismiss, giving us a much stronger case and the ability to get you the settlement you need to get better.