Traumatic brain injuries are considered to be among the most severe wounds you can suffer. They can result in personality changes, cognitive function issues, and lasting harm that could significantly lower your quality of life. One type of injury you can suffer is a brain stem injury.
Learn more about what these wounds are, how they occur, and what your legal options may be.
What Does the Brain Stem Do?
The brain stem is the part that connects the cerebrum to the spinal cord.
It’s found at the base of the brain, and it regulates a variety of involuntary functions, including:
- Breathing
- Heart rate
- Sleep and wakefulness
- Blood pressure
- Reflexes
Some of the reflexes that the brain stem controls include the gag, swallowing, and respiratory reflexes. It also regulates your pupil dilation to light.
Sensory, Motor, and Facial Functions of the Brain Stem
The brain stem is also responsible for sensory and motor functions. Some of its tasks are to control the muscles that move your eyes and to receive and process auditory information, while also helping with balance.
Brain stem function impacts your facial movements, too. It handles movements like chewing, as well as controlling facial muscles that help you express emotions. Additionally, the brain stem can regulate posture.
Common Causes of Brain Stem Injuries
These catastrophic injuries typically occur because of trauma, and there are numerous ways you could suffer damage to the brain stem.
Vehicular Accidents
Car, motorcycle, and truck accidents can all cause brain stem injuries. You can hit your head against a surface or suffer such severe whiplash that it impacts the base of your brain. Sudden deceleration, which can be a problem in speeding accidents, can lead the brain to continue moving when the vehicle stops, causing it to twist in the skull.
It’s also possible for debris like glass or metal to penetrate the back of your head, severing nerve fibers or otherwise harming the brain stem.
Falls
Falls are another common cause of brain stem injuries. Most people assume that only falling from heights can result in these injuries, but even ground-level slips and falls can be severe enough to damage the brain stem.
Vertebrae can pierce the bottom of your skull and cut into the brain stem. If your neck bends unnaturally, the brain stem could tear. Additionally, landing on a hard surface can send shockwaves that travel through the spine and directly to the brain stem, potentially damaging it.
Sports Injuries
Being hit in the back of the head or falling with significant force during a sports activity can cause brain stem injuries. This is more likely to happen if you’re not wearing a helmet.
Medical Conditions
Some medical conditions can also result in brain stem damage. Tumors that grow near the brain stem can cause significant pressure on the surrounding areas. Blood clots that cause strokes often lead to brain stem issues, too.
Additionally, medical malpractice could result in these wounds. If a surgeon makes a wrong cut, for example, you can sustain permanent damage to your brain stem.
Effects of Brain Stem Injuries
Damage to the brain stem can cause a wide array of issues. These may include problems with basic bodily functions to completely debilitating injuries.
Sensory and Motor Impairments
You can struggle with vision and might not be able to control your eye movements. Some people experience hearing loss or a significant impairment, which may or may not be accompanied by balance issues.
You can experience facial numbness, difficulty moving facial muscles, or facial tingling and weakness.
Severe Physical Consequences
Very severe injuries can result in paralysis. It can impact your whole body or half of it. Cardiovascular issues could also appear, causing an irregular heartbeat and blood pressure that fluctuates significantly. Alongside these problems, your breathing could be impacted enough to require a ventilator.
Speech and swallowing may suffer as a result of brain stem injuries. Often, people with these injuries experience slurred speech and the inability to swallow or cough.
Cognitive and Psychological Effects
A brain stem injury can also result in cognitive effects. You can struggle with higher-level cognitive function and have problems with sleeping, which can lead to insomnia or increased sleeping. Some cases even cause locked-in syndrome, in which you can’t speak or move anything except for your eyes and eyelids.
People who have brain stem injuries also tend to experience mood changes, with many developing depression or anxiety. Personality can also be impacted, with irritability being a potential issue.
Legal Action After a Brain Stem Injury
If you sustained a brain stem injury because of another party’s conduct, you may be able to begin a claim to recover your losses. To accomplish this, one of the first things you will need to do is establish liability.
If the injury occurred in a car accident, for example, you must demonstrate that the other party was negligent or wrongful in their conduct. When dealing with medical malpractice, the process can be slightly different, since you will need to show that the provider offered substandard care.
The various complexities involved in these kinds of cases and the severity of the injury mean that you should never attempt to begin these legal claims on your own. Having experienced representation can give you a much better chance of obtaining the economic and non-economic damages you need.
Contact Hall Law Personal Injury Attorneys Today to Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Minneapolis Brain Injury Attorneys
An attorney is invaluable in these types of claims. Since you are likely struggling with serious medical issues because of the injury, the last thing you need is to worry about legal paperwork. Hall Law Personal Injury Attorneys can assist you in understanding your rights, gathering pertinent evidence, calculating your damages, and negotiating with insurance companies to obtain a settlement.
By depending on trusted and experienced attorneys, you can put all of your energy toward healing or learning to adjust to your new life. We can handle your claim on your behalf and help you fight for the damages you deserve. Call us today for a free consultation with our Minneapolis brain injury lawyers.
For more information, please contact an experienced [RELATED PRACTICE AREA] lawyer at Hall Law Personal Injury Attorneys to schedule a free initial consultation today. We have three convenient locations in Minnesota, including Minneapolis, St. Cloud, and Edina.
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Hall Law Personal Injury Attorneys – Minneapolis
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Minneapolis, MN 55402
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St Cloud, MN 56301
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Edina, MN 55424
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