Phoenix Brain Injury Seizure Lawyers

Help for Phoenix Victims of Post-Traumatic Seizures

Head injuries are some of the most prevalent and dangerous injuries that a person can suffer today. More than one million individuals throughout the United States suffer serious head trauma every year. These accidents are often the result of contact sports, motor vehicle collisions, falls, and other situations where a person's head was struck or thrashed about violently, enough to cause serious injuries to the brain tissue.

Traumatic injury to the brain can result in coma and death, but there are many other ways that brain trauma can negatively impact the lives of victims and their families. The seizures that often take place as the result of serious head trauma can greatly impact a person's ability to recover from the injury, escape permanent brain damage, and move on with his or her life.

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What Is a Brain Trauma Seizure?

Officially known as post-traumatic seizures (PTS), "brain trauma seizures" are epileptic episodes that take place after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and as the direct result of that injury. Most times, these seizures show up days or weeks after the initial injury. Approximately 5% of all epileptic seizures reported in the United States each year are the result of head trauma. Reports indicate that around 15% of adults and 30% of children who suffer severe head trauma also suffer epileptic seizures. These types of seizures can last for 20 years or more.

The greater the original damage to the brain, the greater the likelihood that the victim will suffer a seizure at some point. Seizures experienced after head trauma are most common for victims who suffer an intracerebral hematoma, or a blood clot in the brain. Metal fragments in the skull or brain are also heavy contributors to the development of seizures after trauma has occurred.

As with all other types of injuries and illnesses, there are some risk factors that can increase your risk of suffering a seizure once you have sustained a head injury. These risk factors include extreme fatigue, loss of sleep or lack of sleep, abuse of drugs and alcohol, a high fever that persists more than a few hours, high levels of calcium in the blood, and low levels of magnesium or sodium in the blood.

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What Are Symptoms of Brain Injury?

Brain injury has significant and recognizable characteristics if you know what to look for. Some of the most common signs and symptoms of trauma to the brain include:

• Feeling very sleepy, dizzy, or exhausted;
• Exhibiting strange behavior;
• Feeling nausea or vomiting on a regular basis;
• Being sound- or light-sensitive without illness or prior issues;
• Having pupil dilation in one or both eyes when it should not be occurring;
• Having migraine headaches, or headaches that get worse over time;
• Sleeping more than is typical, or being unable to be roused from sleep;
• Changing habits, attention span, speech patterns, and other normal functions; and/or
• Losing interest in things you love; like children, toys, and pets.

Other symptoms include extreme sadness or depression, loss of appetite, loss of consciousness, extreme confusion, and severe disorientation, all of which can point to a serious brain damage. Symptoms of brain injury do vary depending on the way the accident occurred and how severe the trauma was. However, if someone you love is experiencing these symptoms after hitting his or her head or being hit on the head, visit the doctor right away for a proper diagnosis and treatment options.

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How Can You Tell if Someone Has Had a Post-Traumatic Seizure?

Just like regular epileptic seizures, post-traumatic seizures have telltale signs that can help you determine when to contact the doctor and get to a hospital. The most common symptoms of a seizure include when the victim is:

• Staring into space in a non-responsive manner;
• Fumbling around while smacking lips or chewing air;
• Shaking or stiffening the head, body, arms, legs, eyes, or other body parts;
• Becoming suddenly dizzy or tired;
• Being plagued by visual images, tastes, sounds, smells, and feelings that are strange and that no one else around is experiencing; and
• Losing the ability to speak or to understand other people and what is being said.

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What Seizures Mean for Victims and Their Families

When you suffer a TBI, you want the symptoms to go away when you've received a clean bill of health from your doctor and are told that you can leave the hospital and move on with your life. Unfortunately, when it comes to brain injury, the healing process is not so simple.

Minor seizures leave victims feeling dizzy, weak, or confused, though the symptoms typically subside within a few hours at the longest. Individuals who suffer more pronounced seizures may require days for recovery, if not longer. Most people who suffer these seizures are unable to hold a job and require constant care and supervision to ensure that they do not get seriously hurt during an episode.

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Getting Legal Help from a Phoenix Post-Traumatic Seizure Attorney

A brain injury can change your life. In some cases, the debilitating pain, permanent brain damage, and other side effects can keep you from being involved in your life, your job, and your family in the ways you once were. Seizures can make recovery even more difficult or impossible for the victims and their families.

The Phoenix injury lawyers at The Husband & Wife Law Team have seen many cases where traumatic brain injury has led to seizures that negatively impact the lives of the victims and their families. We know that when you are injured by another person through negligence or recklessness, your injuries are compounded by insult. The Husband & Wife Law Team works with victims who suffer from seizures to help them find the best medical care available and a fair settlement from the people who caused their injuries. Call (602) 457-6222 for more information.

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Additional Information

• Epilepsy Information Page - NIH
• Seizures after Traumatic Brain Injury
• Seizure Disorders - Merck Manual