Proving Brain Injury

Do you know why a blow to your head can cause brain injury?  Do you know why having your head violently shaken causes injury to your brain?  At Young and Young, as Indiana Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys for more than fifty six years, we know many of the reasons for this injury.  First let’s talk about why Indiana’s Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys are talking about brain injury. The brain and the spinal cord are part and parcel of the central nervous system.  Violent injury, such as those suffered in a construction accident, large truck collision, a traffic accident with a drunk driver can exert strong forces on the spinal column and the brain and cause injury. So, in order to truly understand the impact of an injury, the experienced injury lawyer must understand both structures and how they work together.

Although there are many ways the brain can be injured, a little known cause of injury to the brain is Diffuse Axonal Shearing.  The brain contains billions of nerves called axons. The axons are often depicted as looking much like tree roots.  They interact by carrying electrical impulses throughout the brain.  The pathways of these axons have a great deal to do with how we process information and make us who we are.  The axons can be damaged in a traffic accident in much the same way they can be injured in a shaken baby syndrome case.  Violent forces on the body, such as rapidly moving forward (Acceleration) and rapidly stopping (Deceleration) such in a semi tractor-trailer accident, have a direct effect on the brain.  Generally the brain will not move as fast as the head and will be violently twisted, (torqued) causing the axons to tear.  As a result of this injury, the brain tries to help itself by releasing chemicals.  In some instances, these chemicals can cause additional injury.

The difficult part of detecting this injury, is that currently medical science does not possess a test which cannot directly detect axonal shearing while the injured person is alive. Despite not being able to directly detect the injury, a series of tests known as neuropsychological tests are used to predict axonal injury based on the problems you might have because of the injury, including, inability to handle many tasks at a time (executive function) emotional lability (loss of emotional control) and other problems.

At Young and Young, over our fifty six years of experience as Indiana’s Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys, we have helped thousands of Hoosiers with axonal injury prove the extent of the harm caused by the accident and recover fair compensation. John P. Young is a former Chair of the Board of Directors of the Brain Injury Association of Indiana.  He has the skill and knowledge to help you. Please call for a free consultation today.