Traumatic brain injury

External inmpact forces

A traumatic brain injury occurs when an outside force impacts the head hard enough to cause the brain to move within the skull or if the force causes the skull to break and directly impacts the brain.

If you or a loved one has been affected by traumatic brain injury please call 0800 61 66 81.

A rapid acceleration and deceleration of the head can force the brain to move back and forth across the inside of the skull. The stress from the rapid movements pulls apart nerve fibres and causes damage to brain tissue. Traumatic brain injury takes several forms:

Diffuse Axonal Injury

This is caused by shaking or strong rotation of the head. This injury occurs because the unmoving brain lags behind the movement of the skull, causing brain structures to tear.

Concussion

A concussion is caused when the brain receives trauma from an impact or a sudden momentum or movement change. The blood vessels in the brain may stretch and cranial nerves may be damaged.

Contusion

A contusion is a bruise (bleeding) on the brain and can be the result of a direct impact to the head.

Coup-Contrecoup Injury

Coup-Contrecoup Injury describes injuries that are both at the site of the impact and on the complete opposite side of the brain. This occurs when the force impacting the head is not only great enough to cause a contusion at the site of impact, but also is able to move the brain and cause it to impact the opposite side of the skull.

To contact our specialist legal team regarding traumatic brain injury, please call 0800 61 66 81.