Recovering from a Traumatic Brain Injury in San Diego

About 1.7 million U.S. residents suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 75% of these injuries are mild, offering a chance of complete or near-complete recovery. The more serious a TBI is, or the more TBIs suffered over time, the more likely it is that permanent disabilities will result.

To help maximize the chances of recovery, the CDC recommends the following care tips:

• Avoid suffering another blow to the head, which could cause another TBI. Stay out of sports, workplaces, and other situations where head trauma is likely. Get someone to “spot” you if you have trouble walking after an injury, as a fall could also cause re-injury.
• Rest. Plenty of rest is necessary for the brain to heal itself. Take time off work or school if needed to give your TBI a chance to heal.
• Your ability to react to dangers is often decreased after a TBI. Ask your doctor when it’s safe for you to return to driving, work, or other activities that require you to be alert.
• Avoid alcohol and any drugs other than those your doctor has prescribed.
• See your doctor immediately if you begin vomiting, losing consciousness, suffer severe headaches, or cannot stay awake.

Even mild traumatic brain injuries can leave lingering disabilities, and moderate or serious ones can cause permanent injury or death. Our knowledgeable San Diego traumatic brain injury attorneys can help you get the compensation you need after an accident. Call us today for a free and confidential consultation.…

San Diego Brain Injury Attorneys

The brain is a very important organ in our body. It is also very fragile and subject to injury when we strike our head in an accident or we suffer a skull fracture, so people need to do everything in their power to ensure that no damage comes to their brain. The personal injury attorneys take on brain injury claims every year. We have been representing brain injury clients for several years and we can help you and your friends and family if they ever suffer a brain injury following an injury accident.

For more information about how our office can help you with your brain injury case, please contact us for a free consultation.…

Traumatic Brain Injury Diagnosed in Sixth Former NFL Player

A 6th former National Football League player has been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries similar to what boxers suffer from multiple blows to the head.

Doctors at Boston University School of Medicine studied the brain of Tom McHale and determined that he suffered from a traumatic brain injury before his death last May. McHale was 45 and played in the NFL from 1987-1995 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

According to McHale’s family, injuries from football and dealing with his pain led to a psychological downturn:

McHale played on N.F.L. offensive lines for nine seasons, most of them with the Buccaneers, before retiring and running several Tampa-area restaurants. According to his widow, Lisa, he developed such chronic pain in his shoulders and other joints that in 2005 he began taking improperly large doses of the painkiller OxyContin, which exacerbated his lethargy and depression and led him to take cocaine occasionally to offset those effects.

McHale spiraled downward, went through drug rehabilitation three times, and died on May 25, 2008, of a lethal — and deemed by the police, accidental — combination of oxycodone and cocaine. His death shocked many former teammates and players, several of whom remembered him as an intelligent and responsible man.

Doctors concluded that McHale’s condition was the result of repetitive head trauma. In some cases, McHale’s condition can lead to the onset of dementia.

In serious car accidents, people can be subjected to significant forces to their head and brain–not unlike what a boxer or football player experiences. In some cases, this leads to concussions. In others, it leads to traumatic brain injuries. It’s important to keep McHale’s story in mind when we start to see possible signs of traumatic brain injury. In some cases, the injury can progress as severely as McHale’s condition.…