The brain is the control center of the body and also the center of our thoughts and emotions. When the brain suffers an injury, the results impact all aspects of the injury victim’s life. One of the most serious brain injuries is a diffuse axonal injury (DAI). As many as 50% of brain injuries that require hospitalization are diffuse axonal injuries, often caused by car accidents but also by falls, contact sports injuries, and acts of violence. Seeking financial recovery for this type of injury is crucial as it may require long-term care and rehabilitation. Get help from a brain injury lawyer in St. Louis to ensure you have the resources to care for this injury.
Understanding Crash Force and Brain Injuries
The crash force of a collision is more powerful than most people realize. Even when wearing a seatbelt, a 140-pound person becomes a 7,000-pound force in a car accident at 50 miles per hour. This force propels the person forward at the speed the car was traveling and then snaps them back against the seat. As the head snaps back and forth from the crash force of the collision, the accident victim’s brain may suffer a diffuse axonal injury from the force alone, without blunt force trauma.
What Happens to the Brain During a Diffuse Axonal Injury?
When the head snaps forcefully back and forth in a powerful jarring motion, the brain bumps and twists inside the skull, stretching and shearing the axons inside the brain. Axons are the brain’s white matter and serve as microscopic transmitters between the brain’s neurons. Damaged axons can no longer transmit the messages between neurons, impacting all bodily functions, including the ability to move, speak, and think. The extent of the injury victim’s impairment depends on the severity of the injury, or the number of axons that are damaged or torn, as well as how extensive the damage throughout the brain. Unlike other types of brain injuries that impact specific regions of the brain, a diffuse axonal injury occurs throughout the brain.
Symptoms of Diffuse Axonal Injury
Accident victims who suffer diffuse axonal injuries are often unconscious or comatose for a period of time after the accident. Once the accident victim recovers consciousness, the symptoms of a DAI include the following:
- Confusion
- Headache
- Speech problems
- Memory problems
- Problems with balance and coordination
- Nausea and vomiting
- Sleep problems
- Excessive sleepiness
- Weakness
- Seizures
- Mood swings and personality changes
- Dysautonomia, or problems with the automatic bodily functions, including heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, and sweating
Those with mild to moderate DAI may recover some return of function with rehabilitation such as speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. Those with severe diffuse axonal injuries may remain comatose or in a vegetative state or could die from the injury.
What Are the Options for Recovering Compensation for Diffuse Axonal Injury After an Accident?
If another driver caused the accident due to carelessness, recklessness, or wrongful actions such as drinking and driving, the injury victim has a right to file a claim against the responsible party’s insurance to recover compensation for the extensive expenses related to a DAI. Compensation for long-term medical costs, rehabilitative costs, assistive equipment, and reduced earning capacity are common claims for serious diffuse axonal injuries. If a loved one died from a brain injury, a close surviving family member may file a claim for compensation through a St. Louis wrongful death lawsuit against the liable party to recover funeral expenses and income loss for the number of earning years the injury victim would have had remaining to them.