BC brain injury attorney legal team serving Langley, Abbotsford, Surrey, Maple Ridge, Chilliwack, Aldergrove and all of BC.
The human brain functions largely by sending electrical currents along billions of axons throughout the brain. Axons are like electrical wires throughout the brain, which by sending electrical impulses throughout the network, controls the entire human organism.
When any of those electrical pathways (i.e. axons) are damaged, brain injury occurs.
What is a Diffuse Axonal Brain Injury?
A diffuse axonal brain injury occurs when the electrical pathways (i.e. axons) are damaged. The larger the area of the brain affected, the greater the extent of the brain injury.
How does the diffuse axonal brain injury occur?
Generally, the pathways are damaged by shearing. The brain matter shifts inside the skull, which shifting shears the pathways essentially severing them. When many pathways are sheared, brain injury results.
Diffuse Axonal Brain Injury is often severe
Because shearing motion generally impacts a large area of the brain, the extent of the brain injury is large. Consequently, the severity of brain injury stemming from a diffuse axonal brain injury is significant … often resulting in a coma.
Types of trauma resulting in a diffuse axonal brain injury
Many types of trauma can cause a diffuse axonal brain injury, including whiplash. Essentially, if the forces involved are strong enough to cause the brain matter to shift rapidly inside the skull, axons can shear resulting in a diffuse axonal brain injury.
Detecting this type of brain injury
Brain injuries are not always easy to diagnose. Generally, CT Scans and MRIs are used; however, they are not always sensitive enough to detect a diffuse axonal brain injury. Because this type of head injury is microscopic (axons are tiny), most investigative options simply don’t detect the injury.
The exception is when the head injury results in significant lesions in the brain. If large enough, an MRI can detect and show them in the images.
Detecting brain injuries is getting better all the time. However, to this day, medical professionals rely on methods other than CT Scans and MRIs.
One common method to help determine whether a brain injury occured is neuro-psychological testing. This isn’t a scan. Instead, it’s a fairly rigorous testing method with a trained medical professional to relying on a battery of tests and interviews to provide sufficient raw data and subjective information to help determine whether brain injury occurred.
What should you do if you suspect a brain injury in yourself or someone you know?
Seek medical help immediately. Explain to the medical doctor in as much detail as you can how the injury occurred. In fact, after any traumatic event you should seek medical help immediately.
If the injury is caused by somebody else, there may be legal recourse. Whether the injury resulted from a motor vehicle accident, slip and fall, blunt trauma to the head and/or body, or some other cause, speak with a personal injury lawyer about what happened and the symptoms.
Contact a BC brain injury attorney in our firm today
When you call for an appointment with a BC brain injury attorney in our firm, we can arrange a free consultation with you. We offer convenient meeting options – in any of our several law office locations or at a location more convenient for you.
Return to our main Traumatic Brain Injury page.
BC brain injury attorney legal team serving Langley, Abbotsford, Surrey, Maple Ridge, Chilliwack, Aldergrove and all of BC.
Related posts: