Long-Term Effects of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Lasting Physical Effects of a Brain Injury

Any injuries to part of the brain can have major effects on a person’s physical health, including motor skills, balance, five senses, and sleep habits.

Headaches and Chronic Pain

Many people who’ve experienced a TBI report headaches and migraines. These headaches are often recurring, and they may return for years after the initial concussion or head trauma.

Issues with Motor Function

A TBI can lead to difficulties with balance and motor skills. This could also contribute to vertigo, muscle weakness, poor coordination, and partial paralysis.

Sensory Changes

After a brain injury, individuals may experience heightened sensitivity to light and noise. These sensory changes can also affect touch, taste, and smell, and may contribute to other issues (e.g., headaches, mood swings).

Sleeping Disorders

A TBI can cause insomnia, difficulty remaining asleep, central sleep apnea (CSA), and daytime drowsiness (hypersomnia). Some of these sleep disturbances could be due to nightmares that may be related to the brain injury.

Seizures

Some people develop recurring seizures after a TBI. This condition is known as post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE). According to the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA), PTE affects 1 in 50 people with a brain injury.

Cognitive & Communication Changes After a Brain Injury

A brain injury can alter parts of the brain responsible for memory, cognitive abilities, and language.

Changes in Memory

A TBI can affect different aspects of a person’s memory. Injury survivors may have issues with short-term memory, problems recalling pivotal life events, difficulty remembering routines or common tasks, or require more time to learn new information. 

Changes in Attention Span

A brain injury could make it more difficult for a person to concentrate. This could mean the person gets distracted easily, is more attentive to environmental distractions, or experiences mental fatigue due to the additional effort required to focus.

Changes in Executive Function

Brain injuries can impact a person’s ability to multitask, make long-term plans, or adapt to changing situations. Completing various tasks could take longer as a result.

Difficulty Expressing Yourself Verbally

People with brain injuries may have trouble saying what they feel. This could involve aphasia (inability to find the right word) or difficulty forming sentences. The TBI can also affect a person’s ability to understand what people are saying.

Issues Interpreting Non-Verbal Cues

Some people with brain injuries may have trouble identifying sarcasm or irony, catching implied meaning through a person’s tone of voice, or reading someone’s body language and other non-verbal cues.

Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Impacts of a Brain Injury

Head trauma could affect parts of the brain responsible for emotional regulation, social awareness, and planning. This can impact long-term mental health.

Depression and Anxiety

Many TBI survivors suffer from depression and anxiety. According to the BIAA, almost half of TBI survivors experience symptoms of depression, which can lead to many changes in behavior.

Increased Irritability, Anger, and Mood Swings

Issues with light sensitivity, sleep disruptions, fatigue, changes in cognitive function, and changes in emotional regulation can result in frequent feelings of frustration, irritability, sadness, and anger.

Impulsivity and Personality Changes

After a TBI, a person may act without considering the consequences of their actions. This might include a loss of inhibitions, saying inappropriate things in private or a social situation, manic episodes, or rash financial decisions.

Self-Harm and Suicidal Ideation

Many people who’ve had a TBI are more likely to struggle with thoughts of suicide and self-harm. If you are currently experiencing these thoughts, you are not alone. Please reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

How a Brain Injury Affects Personal and Professional Relationships

Brain injuries don’t just have long-term effects on health and wellness. These kinds of injuries can also affect people’s friendships and intimate relationships as well as their professional goals.

Impacts on Partners, Family, and Friends

A change in someone’s mood or personality can greatly affect interpersonal relationships. It can take time for loved ones to adjust to these changes, and for individuals with a brain injury to accept how they have changed.

If a spouse, partner, parent, or other family member assumes a caregiver role for someone with a TBI, this can change the previous nature of that relationship. The demands of looking after a loved one can lead to burnout caused by physical, emotional, and financial strain.

What’s more, these changes could be permanent, requiring greater patience, empathy, and understanding from everyone involved.

Impacts on Professional Life and Career Goals

Professional interactions and job duties could be challenging depending on how a TBI has affected someone’s life. A person may require more time or greater effort to complete certain job duties because of their brain injury. It may also mean stepping away or modifying work duties in client-facing or public-facing roles.

The cognitive changes from a brain injury may even derail a person’s career ambitions. This may mean loss of future earnings and the need to undergo retraining to pursue a different line of work.

Isolation and Social Disconnection

Many people who’ve experienced a TBI may feel emotionally drained and physically exhausted when interacting with others. This may lead to social isolation or losing touch with friends, family, and colleagues. Part of this may be due to increased fatigue, and some of this may be the result of mental health challenges associated with brain injuries.

These feelings of isolation or being a burden on loved ones because of the effects of a TBI can result in low moods, depression, substance abuse, and dark thoughts.

Why Mild Brain Injuries Can Still Have Lasting Consequences

Even if you’ve suffered a relatively mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), it can still have lasting effects on your physical health, mental health, and long-term goals. An initial concussion also makes people susceptible to future brain injuries, especially if that subsequent TBI occurs before someone has healed from an initial brain injury.

Here are a few conditions that could develop after an initial brain injury or multiple mild brain injuries:

• Persistent Post-Concussive Symptoms (PPCS): Also known as post-concussion syndrome, PPCS occurs when concussion symptoms are persistent and last longer than usual.
• Second-Impact Syndrome (SIS): Second-impact syndrome is a rare form of brain swelling that occurs when someone suffers a subsequent concussion. SIS is potentially fatal.
• Neurodegenerative Diseases: A TBI can increase your chances of developing neurodegenerative diseases later in life, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Life Expectancy After Experiencing a Brain Injury

According to research from Craig Hospital, a traumatic brain injury can reduce overall life expectancy by up to eight years.

This accounts for the dangers associated with seizures and PTE, mental health conditions associated with brain injuries, various conditions that affect the central nervous system, and suicide.

Living with a Brain Injury: The Long-Term Outcomes

While living with a brain injury can be challenging, it’s possible to lead a fulfilling and purpose-filled life with the proper care and support.

Doctors and therapists can help people with TBIs in numerous ways, including:

• Identifying triggers of headaches, mood disturbances, and other behaviors
• Modifying living spaces and other environments for comfort and quality of life
• Changing daily habits or work habits to help adapt to the effects of a TBI
• Improving sleep hygiene and sleep health for better rest
• Counseling and professional help to address mental health concerns
• Occupational therapy and other care to assist with communication and social situations

Professional assistance is also available for people who act as caregivers for loved ones with brain injuries. This can help with the burnout and the many emotional challenges of being a caregiver.

We encourage you to read this BIAA resource on TBI survivors and caregivers, which can help you understand the lifelong journey people have following a brain injury. While we’ve highlighted that particular section of the position paper, the entire paper is worth reading.

When to Seek Specialized Care and Support for a Brain Injury

It’s best to seek medical care as soon as possible after you’ve suffered any kind of head trauma. Even if you feel okay after an accident, getting checked out can be helpful. A doctor can ensure you rest and avoid a second concussion or other form of re-injury.

If you have suffered a brain injury, your doctor can monitor your TBI/concussion symptoms and let you know when you can return to normal activities. In addition, your doctor can provide information on things you should know about brain injuries so you can protect yourself in the future.

When to Speak with a Brain Injury Lawyer

If you suffered head trauma in a motor vehicle accident, a bad fall, or after being attacked by someone, it’s best to speak with a brain injury lawyer as soon as you can. The attorney can determine if you have a legal claim and your best options for compensation. A lawyer can also help you understand the long-term financial impact of a brain injury, giving you a sense of how much your case is really worth.

It’s also a good idea to contact a law firm about sports-related concussions and brain injuries. Many youth sports athletes, college athletes, and professional athletes have suffered from concussions, especially those who are in contact and combat sports. Schools, teams, and sports organizations could be held accountable for poor safety practices or lax concussion protocols.

The Deadline to File a Brain Injury Lawsuit

The deadline to file a brain injury lawsuit depends on the state you’re in and the circumstances of your TBI.

For example, Colorado’s statute of limitations for injury lawsuits varies based on the nature of the incident:

• Three Years for Brain Injuries Due to Auto Accidents: If you suffered a TBI in a car, motorcycle, or truck collision, you have three years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit.
• Two Years for Brain Injuries Due to Other Types of Accidents: If you suffered a TBI due to a bad fall or other type of accident, you have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit.
• One Year for Brain Injuries Caused by Intentional Acts: If you sustained a TBI due to a physical altercation, assault, or act of violence, you have one year from the date of the incident to file a lawsuit.

Regardless of where you are located, it’s best to speak with an attorney as soon as possible after suffering severe head trauma.

How the Attorneys at Ogborn Mihm Can Help After a Brain Injury

The team at Ogborn Mihm has worked with numerous brain injury survivors over the years. This has helped us understand and appreciate the lasting effects TBIs on these individuals and their loved ones.

• Experience with  Complex Brain Injury Cases: Our lawyers take a unique and creative approach to every case, including how we prove the severity of brain injuries and how we offer families long-term support.
• A Focus on Your Life Before and After the Brain Injury: To maximize compensation, we carefully explore your life before and after the TBI. This demonstrates how dramatically the brain injury has changed your life.
• Access to TBI Resources and Medical Experts: Our law firm works with leading physicians and medical facilities across the country. This strengthens cases and provides our clients with exceptional care and support.
• We’re Ready to Take Your Case to Trial: We’re a trial-tested legal team that will not settle early. Ogborn Mihm can and will take your TBI case all the way to court if it’s in your best interests.

If you or a family member needs to discuss legal options following a brain injury, contact our law firm today. At Ogborn Mihm, consultations are free, confidential, and no-obligation.