The brain stem is among the most critical parts of the human brain. It is located at the base of the brain, linking the brain to the spinal cord. The nerves in this play a critical role in your life, as they control your breathing, heart rate, facial movement, swallowing, and blood pressure. Therefore, any injury to this section of the brain is catastrophic, as it could lead to loss of motor or cognitive function, severe pain, and in the worst cases, death. Brain stem injuries are life-altering to both you and your loved ones.
If you sustain brain stem injuries due to hazardous work conditions, a car accident, or a defective product, you are entitled to sue the liable party to obtain compensation. Filing a claim without legal representation can be challenging due to financial, medical, and emotional constraints. So, you should partner with a competent personal injury attorney to improve your chances of a favorable settlement. Your attorney will explain the injuries, common causes, symptoms, and available damages and file a claim on your behalf to seek compensation.
Brain Stem Injury at a Glance
The brain stem is a group of nerves nestled at the base of the brain that connect the brain to the spine. The area has three structures. These are:
The Midbrain
The midbrain regulates your vision, body movement, body balance, hearing, eye movement, and the processing of sensory details.
The Pons
The pons acts as a relay station, linking various parts of the brain. It regulates your breathing, the communication between various brain parts, and sensations, such as hearing and tasting.
The Medulla Oblongata
The brain stem also has a structure called the medulla oblongata, the section responsible for your survival. The structure directly regulates your autonomic functions, including heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing. Additionally, it governs your reflexes, such as sneezing, coughing, and swallowing.
Whether you will recover from injuries hinges on their severity. Some patients make a full recovery, while others remain in full-time care with little to no chance of healing.
The primary source of these injuries is traumatic brain injury (TBI). Typically, the brain stem sustains injuries later after the initial accident. The initial accident does not always result in a brain stem injury. Additionally, you can develop a brain stem injury after a TBI when the brain swells and applies force on the brain stem, causing an injury.
After an injury to the brain stem, if the brain is deprived of blood and oxygen, medical experts pronounce you “brain dead.” If a brain stem injury results in the death of a loved one, you, as the deceased’s dependent or estate, can sue the liable party for wrongful death. Whether you are filing a personal injury or wrongful death claim, you require the guidance of a competent brain injury attorney to increase your chances of obtaining a fair reimbursement.
Brain Stem Injury Causes
Brain stem injuries stem from various physical impacts. One common cause of the injuries is negligence by an individual, your employer, or a defective product manufacturer. You will only receive damages if you prove the four aspects of negligence by a preponderance of the evidence. The elements you must prove are:
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The negligent party owed you a duty of care
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The accused breached the duty
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The breach led to your injuries
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The harm or injuries suffered lead to losses and damages
Examples of negligent conduct that contribute to brain stem injuries include:
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A motorcyclist or car driver operating under the influence, causing a head-on collision with you
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A Jacksonville Casino with a hazardous setting due to failure to clean spills or sufficiently warn individuals of a “wet or slippery floor,” leading to a slip and fall accident.
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An employer failing to offer the right safety equipment or gear for scaling a building, leading to a fall.
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Surgeons disregarding set protocols during a surgery, leading to a brain stem injury
A seasoned brain stem injury attorney should assess your situation to determine if you have a personal injury claim.
Brain stem injuries are rarely isolated. They stem from severe physical trauma or acquired injuries to the brain or head. Non-traumatic injuries that damage the brain stem include:
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Stroke
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Tumors
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Lack of oxygen due to suffocation, near-drowning, or cardiac arrest
Physical trauma to the head or brain can result in TBIs, which later cause brain stem injuries. The common causes of TBI injuries that could damage the brain stem include:
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Motor Vehicle Crashes or Accidents
Car, motorcycle, and truck collisions are the primary causes of TBIs that lead to brain stem damage. The damage develops due to the impact, especially in high-speed collisions that cause vehicle occupants to jerk back and forth or slam their heads against surfaces, causing severe damage to the brain stem.
Vehicle collisions can happen anywhere, anytime, and affect people of all ages. Therefore, you should consider safety measures, such as wearing seatbelts any time you are driving and a helmet whenever you are riding or cycling. These measures reduce the impact on your head in the event of an accident by reducing twisting and back-and-forth jerks.
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Workplace Falls
Employees, especially in the construction industry and firefighting, are at an elevated risk of workplace accidents. If you work in these areas, you are at risk of sustaining a TBI by falling from a ladder, scaffold, rooftop, or window. Most of these accidents happen because of the employer's negligence, who, on many occasions, neglects to provide employees with proper safety equipment or training.
TBI injuries in the workplace can occur even in the white-collar job setting due to slip and fall accidents. The falls can occur due to old age or unsafe conditions, such as a wet floor.
If you sustain a TBI that eventually causes damage to the brain stem, you can file a workers’ compensation claim against the employer, if they are insured, regardless of who is liable for the injuries. Additionally, when a coworker intentionally inflicts the injuries, you can file a battery report with law enforcement. Severe damage to the brain stem can leave you in full-time care or unable to resume work, in addition to hefty medical bills. Therefore, when filing a claim, you must partner with a seasoned brain injury attorney to ensure all damages, including future medical bills and lost earning capacity, are included in the damages to cover all your losses.
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Sports or Recreational Activity Accidents
Recreational activities, such as boating and diving, can contribute to TBIs. For instance, you can sustain a TBI from a boating collision when a negligent operator collides with another boat or applies an emergency stop to prevent a collision, propelling you into the water or surface.
TBIs are not limited to water recreational activities. They occur even on dry land during accidents during contact sports, such as football, which can cause TBIs that lead to catastrophic brain stem damage. Accidents from other dry land recreational activities or sports, such as skateboarding, bicycle riding, horseback riding, or falls due to sports equipment, can cause TBIs, especially in children. Fortunately, the risk of suffering TBIs that lead to damage to the brain stem can be reduced by wearing protective headgear.
Brain Stem Injury Symptoms
Even a severe brain stem injury at first can appear minor due to delayed symptoms, only to cause catastrophic effects later. Therefore, after a head or brain injury, it is recommended that you visit a doctor or relevant medical expert for examination to determine if there is damage to the brain stem.
Unfortunately, some TBIs only lead to brain stem injuries when you fail to seek treatment after an accident. Damage occurs when brain injuries cause it to swell or bleed.
The warning signs that you have a brain stem injury include:
Disruption of Autonomic Function
The autonomic nervous system regulates unconscious processes, such as breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion. The medulla oblongata, a structure of the brain stem, controls some of these key functions, including breathing, cardiovascular stability, and swallowing. When you sustain damage to the brain stem, the most critical symptoms you will experience will affect these crucial processes.
You might experience respiratory failure because of damage to the medulla. When having these symptoms, you require immediate intubation. If the damage is irreversible, you will depend on mechanical ventilation for the rest of your life.
Another severe symptom is cardiovascular instability. You start to experience extreme drops in your heart rate and blood pressure, which can be catastrophic.
Injuries to the brain stem can also manifest as breathing difficulties due to cranial nerve impairment. These nerves control swallowing, meaning that if they are no longer functioning, you must feed through a tube.
Damage to the Motor and Sensory Pathways
Brain stem injuries can cause motor and sensory damage. The symptoms of the catastrophe include trunk and limb paralysis. Additionally, the damage could leave you conscious and with cognitive function while the body is paralyzed. You can only move your eyes or blink, but cannot speak because the damage causes the brain to disconnect with your motor output. Also, the injuries can cause poor coordination and balance, as well as chaotic voluntary movements.
Unconsciousness or Coma
The Reticular Activating System (RAS) is housed in the brain stem, a network that controls your general consciousness levels, sleep-wake transition, and wakefulness. Injuries to the network can result in coma, persistent unconsciousness, or severe insomnia.
Cranial Nerve Impairment
An injured brain stem can impair the functionality of the cranial nerve, causing severe problems, including:
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Vision loss
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Facial paralysis
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Loss of facial sensation
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Loss of hearing
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Ear ringing
If you experience any of these symptoms after a traumatic injury to the head or brain, you should seek immediate medical attention for early diagnosis and to gather evidence for your brain injury claim.
Recoverable Damages After Brain Stem Damage
After a brain stem injury, a care plan is necessary, and achieving it requires finances. Therefore, if someone, including a faulty product maker, negligent property manager, negligent motorist, or medical practitioners engaging in malpractice, is responsible for your injuries or the death of a loved one, you should sue them for compensation. The lawsuit should help you acquire the financial resources necessary to cover all your losses.
Your brain injury attorney, after evaluating your case, will recommend pursuing special and general damages. Special or economic damages are those that you can quantify or attach a dollar value to and have documentation to prove them. They include:
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Medical expenses
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Lost wages
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Loss of earning capacity
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Travel costs
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Missed benefits and promotions
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Lost future earnings
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Funeral expenses, in the event of wrongful death
Medical expenses include all costs related to the injury's treatment and recovery, including medication, surgery, therapy, home modifications, home health care aide, hospital stay, vehicle modifications, and ambulance fees.
General or economic damages are those that are difficult to quantify and lack documentation, such as invoices. They include physical pain, emotional suffering, loss of consortium, loss of life enjoyment, and parental guidance.
Receiving maximum compensation will not restore your health to what it was before the injuries. However, it will make you more comfortable in the new situation you find yourself in, especially if you have permanent paralysis and are dependent on a caregiver.
The Process of Seeking Compensation for Brain Stem Damage
The first step towards obtaining maximum reimbursement after a brain injury is seeking treatment. Going for a medical checkup safeguards your health and helps you gather evidence for your future claim.
After treatment, request the medical reports and all invoices relating to the treatment, including ambulance fees. Take pictures or record videos of your injuries at the accident scene, or ask another person to do it for you.
Familiarize yourself with Florida’s statute of limitations. You have twenty-four months after the accident to lodge a claim against the liable party. If the duration lapses, you relinquish your rights to do so.
Florida adopts the no-fault doctrine for auto accidents. Therefore, your losses will be covered by your personal insurance policy up to $10,000. However, because the amount is insufficient to cover all brain stem injury losses, you might be forced to sue the driver or liable party for the balance.
Navigating the entire process, meeting filing deadlines, and obtaining maximum compensation requires the help of a brain injury attorney.
Find a Reputable Brain Stem Injury Attorney Near Me
A brain stem injury is a catastrophic event that is life-altering. Recovery is challenging and expensive. Suing the liable party provides the resources needed to address your situation. However, navigating a brain injury claim is nuanced. You need the guidance of an attorney to understand the losses stemming from the damage and how to seek compensation.
At Jacksonville Personal Injury Attorney, we can pursue the claim on your behalf while you focus on recovery. Call us at 904-800-7557 to start the injury claim process.
