A brain injury raises a lot of questions, and the answers are rarely simple. For more than 30 years, the brain injury lawyers at Ogborn Mihm have helped Colorado families understand what a TBI is, how doctors diagnose and treat it, and what their legal options are. Below are the questions we hear most often. If yours isn’t here, contact our Denver brain injury attorneys for a free consultation after intake and initial case review.
Understanding Traumatic Brain Injury
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an injury that disrupts how the brain works. It can come from a bump, blow, or jolt to the head, neck, or body, or from a penetrating injury. You do not have to hit your head to suffer one. In a rear-end collision, for example, the rapid back-and-forth movement of the head can jolt the brain enough to cause a TBI even though the head never strikes anything.
Every brain injury is different. Some people deal with headaches and fatigue for a few weeks. Others live with lasting memory loss or permanent physical and cognitive disabilities. There is no single path for recovery or treatment, which is also why no two brain injury claims should be handled the same way.
TBI by the Numbers
Brain injuries are more common, and more serious, than most people realize:
- More than 69,000 people died from TBI-related injuries in the United States in 2021, about 190 every day (CDC, Facts About TBI).
- There were roughly 214,000 TBI-related hospitalizations in the U.S. in 2020, more than 586 per day (CDC, TBI Data). Those counts leave out TBIs treated only in emergency rooms or urgent care, and the ones that never get treated at all, so the true numbers run much higher.
- Falls cause nearly half of all TBI-related hospitalizations. Motor vehicle crashes and assaults are other leading causes (CDC).
- Adults 75 and older have the highest rates of TBI-related hospitalizations and deaths, and TBIs in this age group are often missed or misdiagnosed (CDC).
- In Colorado, TBIs account for roughly 23,500 emergency department visits, almost 5,000 hospitalizations, and nearly 1,000 deaths every year. The state ranks 9th nationally in TBI-related deaths and 13th in hospitalizations (MINDSOURCE, Brain Injury in Colorado).
- More than half a million Coloradans are living with a brain injury (Colorado Department of Human Services).
- Nearly 480,000 U.S. service members were diagnosed with a TBI between 2000 and early 2023 (DoD TBI Center of Excellence).
Who Is Most at Risk?
Anyone can suffer a TBI. That said, the CDC identifies groups at greater risk of dying from one or living with long-term effects, including older adults, service members and veterans, people experiencing homelessness, people in correctional facilities, survivors of intimate partner violence, and people living in rural areas (CDC, Health Disparities in TBI). Children and teens are vulnerable in their own way. An injury to a developing brain can interfere with learning, behavior, and long-term development.
Common Questions and Answers
1. What is a traumatic brain injury (TBI)?
A TBI happens when a sudden trauma damages the brain. That can be a blow, bump, or jolt to the head or body, or a penetrating injury. The head does not have to be struck. Rapid acceleration and deceleration, like in a rear-end crash or a hard fall, can be enough. What matters, both medically and legally, is how the injury has changed the way your brain works.
2. What are the types of TBI, and how is severity determined?
There are three main classifications: mild TBI (also called a concussion), moderate TBI, and severe TBI. Doctors classify severity using tools like the Glasgow Coma Scale, the length of any loss of consciousness or post-traumatic amnesia, and imaging findings. Keep in mind that “mild” describes the initial clinical presentation, not the impact on your life. A mild TBI can still carry serious, lasting consequences.
3. What are the most common causes of TBIs?
Falls, motor vehicle crashes, being struck by or against objects, assaults, and sports injuries are among the most common causes. Our attorneys have represented clients hurt in car, truck, motorcycle, and bicycle collisions, serious falls on unsafe property, workplace incidents, and sports-related concussions, including athletes who were sent back to play too soon.
4. What are the symptoms of a mild TBI or concussion?
Symptoms vary widely in type, intensity, and duration. They may be physical (headaches, dizziness, nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, fatigue), cognitive (brain fog, trouble concentrating or finding words, memory problems), or emotional (irritability, anxiety, depression, mood swings). Sleep, vision, and balance are often affected too. For a detailed breakdown, see our article What Are the Symptoms of a Mild TBI or Concussion?
5. Can brain injury symptoms show up days or weeks later?
Yes. Some dangerous brain injuries, including subdural hematomas, show few or no symptoms at first and worsen over time. Watch for persistent headaches, growing confusion, dizziness, and changes in behavior after any head trauma, and get a medical evaluation even if things seem minor at first. We cover the warning signs in Dangerous Brain Injuries That Don’t Show Immediate Symptoms.
6. How is a TBI diagnosed?
Diagnosis usually combines several things: a medical exam covering thinking, motor and sensory function, coordination, eye movement, and reflexes; the patient’s symptoms and clinical presentation; objective testing of balance, vision, and vestibular function; and neuropsychological or cognitive assessment. Imaging plays a role as well, but a mild TBI usually will not show up on a standard CT scan. Advanced techniques such as MRI, Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), NeuroQuant, and Susceptibility Weighted Imaging (SWI) can pick up abnormalities that conventional scans miss. For how this imaging is used to prove an injury objectively, see Neuroradiology Images in Brain Injury Cases.
7. What treatments are available for a TBI?
Treatment depends on severity. It can include rest and a gradual return to activity, medication, rehabilitation therapies (physical, occupational, speech, vestibular), counseling, surgery, and ongoing medical care. What matters most is being evaluated by providers who understand brain injuries. The right treatment team, early on, gives you the best chance at a full recovery. Mental health care is often part of the picture too, since depression and anxiety are common after a head injury. We discuss this in Dealing with Severe Depression and Anxiety After a Head Injury.
8. What is the difference between a concussion and a TBI?
A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury. The two terms describe the same diagnosis. “Concussion” can sound harmless, but it is a brain injury and should be treated as one. That matters most for athletes, because returning to play before the brain has healed risks second-impact syndrome, which can be catastrophic. Parents and coaches should read What to Do If a Loved One Suffers a Sports Concussion, which also covers Colorado’s Jake Snakenberg Youth Sports Concussion Act.
9. What are the possible long-term effects of a TBI?
It depends on severity, but long-term effects can include persistent symptoms, cognitive impairment (thinking, learning, concentration, memory), motor and sensory problems (weakness, balance, vision and vestibular issues), emotional and behavioral changes, neurological complications such as seizures, physical disability, and an increased risk of neurodegenerative disease. These effects reach into relationships, work, school, and finances. That is why we always look at who you were before the injury and how your life has changed. Our brain injury page covers the long-term effects of a brain injury in more depth.
10. Where can I find brain injury resources and support in Colorado?
Colorado has strong survivor and family support networks, including the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado (BIAC) and the MINDSOURCE Brain Injury Network, along with national organizations like the Brain Injury Association of America and the CDC’s HEADS UP program. We keep a list of the organizations we most often recommend, with a short description of each, in our Brain Injury Community Resources guide.
11. When should I talk to a brain injury lawyer?
Early, ideally as soon as you or your loved one has been seen by a doctor. Colorado’s statute of limitations can be as short as one year depending on how the injury happened. Evidence fades quickly, and insurers start building their side of the case right away. A consultation costs nothing. Contact Ogborn Mihm at (303) 592-5900 for a free consultation after intake and initial case review.
