Brain injuries can range in severity, with some causing serious lifelong complications. In this article, we’ll define the term “brain injury” and explain how it relates to birth injury law.
Key Takeaways
- A brain injury is hurt or damage to the brain
- There are two types of brain injury: traumatic brain injury and acquired brain injury
- Traumatic brain injuries are caused by physical trauma to the head through things like gunshot wounds, car accidents, and falls
- An acquired brain injury is any brain injury occurring since birth including things like tumors, strokes, and infections
- Examples of brain injuries include concussions, strokes, meningitis, and more
- Symptoms of brain injuries include headaches, confusion, seizures, and more
- Brain injuries are one of the most common types of birth injuries and can be caused by things like infection, hypoxia, or trauma to the head during childbirth
- When a healthcare professional’s negligence causes a brain injury, it is considered medical malpractice
What Is a Brain Injury?
A brain injury is hurt or damage to the brain, the organ that controls important processes such as memory, motor skills, vision, thought, and so on. There are two main types of brain injury: traumatic brain injury and acquired brain injury.
A traumatic brain injury is a brain injury caused by physical trauma to the head. This can be caused by a wide variety of things such as:
- Gunshot wounds
- Falls
- Domestic violence
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Sports injuries
- Recreational injuries
- Work injuries
An acquired brain injury is any type of brain injury that has occurred since birth including tumors, strokes, brain hemorrhage, infection, and more.
Types of Brain Injury
Examples of brain injuries include:
- Traumatic brain injury - These can range from mild to severe and have symptoms such as loss of consciousness, headache, seizure, nausea, and more
- Concussion - A mild traumatic brain injury
- Stroke - A brain injury caused by a disruption of blood supply to part of the brain
- Brain aneurysm - A weak spot in the wall of an artery or blood vessel inside the brain that can swell or burst, causing bleeding
- Brain hemorrhage - Bleeding in or around the brain
- Brain tumor - An abnormal mass of tissue inside the skull
- Carbon monoxide poisoning - Exposure to too much carbon monoxide can cause headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, confusion, loss of consciousness, arrhythmias, seizures, and death
- Encephalitis - Inflammation of the brain, usually caused by infection
- Hydrocephalus - A build-up of fluid inside the skull, increasing pressure and damaging the brain
- Hypoxia - Too little oxygen to the brain
- Anoxia - No oxygen to the brain
- Meningitis - A bacterial, viral, or fungal infection that causes inflammation to the meninges, the protective membranes lining the brain
Symptoms of Brain Injury
Brain injuries can cause a wide variety of symptoms including:
- Restlessness
- Agitation
- Convulsions
- Seizures
- Slurred speech
- Headaches
- Nausea and vomiting
- Behavior or mood changes
- Confusion
- Memory problems
- Dizziness
- Fainting
- Fatigue
- Sleeping too much or too little
- Dilated pupils
- Blurred vision
- Sensitivity to light and smell
Brain Injuries and Birth Injury Law
Brain injuries are one of the most common types of birth injuries occurring to babies during childbirth. Causes of brain injury during childbirth include:
- Infection
- Lack of oxygen to the brain
- Kernicterus
- Physical head injuries while exiting the birth canal, including from forceps or vacuum extractor delivery
Brain injuries to newborns can cause a variety of complications such as:
- Behavioral effects such as agitation and anger
- Reduction in a child’s ability to learn, think, perceive, and remember
- Coma and reduced awareness states
- Communication problems
- Emotional effects such as extreme mood swings, depression, or anxiety
- Hormonal imbalances
- Diabetes
- Weight gain
- Reduced body hair
- Problems with mobility, muscle weakness, balance, and coordination
Medical teams are expected to uphold a high standard of care to prevent and properly treat brain injuries. When a doctor causes or does not correctly treat brain injury by behaving negligently during childbirth, it is considered medical malpractice.
If your baby had a brain injury during childbirth because of a healthcare professional’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation. It is recommended that you speak to an experienced birth injury lawyer who will be able to help you navigate your case.
