If you suffer a traumatic brain injury, the initial symptoms can be frightening. You may be dealing with memory loss, fatigue and sensitivity to lights and sounds. You could feel like your personality has changed. You could have physical symptoms like feeling clumsy or off-balance, and some TBIs can lead to severe symptoms like difficulty speaking.
Exactly how much recovery you will see after the TBI differs from case to case. In some situations, people make a complete recovery and return to their former health, even if it takes time. But in other situations, healing is much more limited. A person may see some of their symptoms get better for a short time, but other symptoms will linger.
The brain cannot always heal 100%
In some cases, the issue is that a person’s brain cannot achieve 100% healing. This is because neurons or brain cells cannot be regenerated within the brain itself, at least in the vast majority of cases.
This makes the brain much different than other parts of the body. Skin cells, blood cells, liver cells and many others can be regenerated, even if they are lost. But the brain largely just does not have this capability. Neurons are lost forever.
This means that healing looks different. The brain seeks out new electrical connections, often referred to as neural pathways. When it finds them, healing takes place. But there are not always new neural pathways that can be used, so healing may be significantly limited. Some people have TBI symptoms for the rest of their lives.
Seeking long-term compensation
Because a TBI can lead to such long-term symptoms, it is very important to understand the impact on your life if you have been injured due to another person’s negligence. You may deserve significant compensation for medical bills, lost wages and more.
