With Canadian winter sports in full swing, the potential for brain injuries abound. Contact sports like football and hockey are particularly notorious for being responsible for head injuries that leave players vulnerable to sustaining a brain injury that can keep them out of the game either temporarily or forever.

The brain, that three-pound soft tissue mass that can store more information than a library and can retrieve, store, sort and organize information faster than a computer is responsible for not only the way we think, but the way we act, form ideas, control impulses and regulate basic bodily functions. Unfortunately, when we suffer a head injury, these chores can prove to be difficult to accomplish.

Classification of Head Injuries

Classified in several ways, head injuries are distinguished by two main categories.

1. Brain injuries that are the result of a violent concussion, like a sports injury or fall, car accident, motorcycle accident, or criminal assault; and
2. Brain injuries that are the result of a non-violent means like a stroke.

Other distinctions that exist in the diagnosis and treatment of a brain injury include whether or not a brain injury is the result of an open head injury, an injury in which the skull is penetrated, or a closed injury, an injury that occurs from a jarring of the brain against the skull where no wound is visible. As with all types of injury, head injuries can range from mild to moderate to severe. Unlike other injuries, however, even a comparatively mild head injury can cause consequences that require long-term medical treatment.

Symptoms of Head Injuries

Every head injury is different, with the impairments suffered by the injured party varying greatly. However a typical brain injury can result in numerous impairments that might include:

• Physical impairments, like paralysis, loss of muscle control, loss of speech and vision, seizures, and hearing deficits.
• Behavioural impairments, like moodiness, depression, anxiety, excessive, violent, and/or inappropriate conduct, loss of motivation and lack of sexual inhibition.
• Cognitive impairments, like short or long-term memory loss, lack of perception, loss of communications skills, loss of concentration, and poor judgment.

Immediate effects of a head injury can create problems related to loss of income, medical expenses, loss of friends and stress on the family of the victim of the injury as a result. And, with a severe head injury, the consequences can be devastating, requiring long-term medical treatment, rehabilitative services, and life-changing adjustments for victims.

If you have suffered a head injury from either a sports related activity or an accident that was due to the carelessness or negligence of another, you may be entitled to compensation for your injury in the form of financial assistance with medical expenses, lost wages, home attendant care, and pain and suffering. To determine if you have a legal claim against another for the damages you or a loved one have suffered due to a head injury, contact a personal injury lawyer experienced in brain injury litigation for an evaluation of your case.