The concern when people suffer serious head trauma usually settles on the potential physical effects. The physical symptoms of traumatic brain injuries may have a profound impact on people’s lives after suffering such trauma. However, TBIs may also cause cognitive, behavioral and mental symptoms that significantly affect people’s lives.
According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, as many as 837,000 emergency department visits each year involve traumatic brain injuries. For those who suffer such injuries, as well as their families, it may benefit them to understand the possible cognitive, behavioral and mental symptoms they may experience as a result of their injuries.
Cognitive
According to MayoClinic.com, even mild traumatic brain injuries may cause wide-ranging cognitive symptoms. These may include effects such as the following:
- Confusion
- Disorientation
- Disorders of consciousness, including coma
- Memory impairments or concentration issues
Due to symptoms such as these, and others that impair people’s ability to think, remember and make decisions after head trauma, they may require extensive and ongoing medical treatment and care.
Behavioral
In addition to the cognitive issues that TBIs sometimes cause, they may also lead to behavioral changes. Depending on factors, including the severity of their injuries, people may experience effects such as mood changes, mood swings, agitation or combativeness.
Further, traumatic brain injuries also cause some people to have difficulty sleeping or to sleep more often than normal.
Mental
Some who suffer TBIs also experience mental effects. Due to this type of head trauma, people sometimes develop depression, anxiety or other such mental disorders.
When people suffer traumatic brain injuries in auto accidents or otherwise due to the negligence of another, they may consider their options for recovering financial compensation. Accident injury victims commonly seek to obtain damages for their associated losses, including the costs of medical care and lost wages from time off work.