Traumatic Brain Injury Overview

The brain gives human beings our identity and our ability to think, and it manages all of our body functions; it is truly the most essential organ in our body. It is enormously complex, transferring millions of messages and signals. A traumatic brain injury (TBI) damages the brain’s ability to orchestrate the flow of information and signals, usually resulting in some degree of disability. Traumatic brain injuries usually result from a concussion, a blow to the head forceful enough to cause trauma, and subsequent injury to some part of the brain.

Traumatic brain injury may result from a fracture or a penetration of the skull. Damage to the brain may occur at the instant the head impacts a hard surface, and it may also occur later, as swelling or bleeding within the brain puts pressure on brain structures.

TBI can also result from a closed-head injury in which the skull is not penetrated. A closed head injury often occurs when there is a rapid acceleration or deceleration of the head, as in cases of whiplash or "shaken baby syndrome." In closed head injuries there are usually no obvious signs of bleeding or external injury.

Following a traumatic brain injury, significant improvement will continue for 16-22 months following the accident. At one and a half to two years post trauma, a person has largely stabilized; whatever recovery the person has achieved at that time is very likely all that will be achieved. For the rest of one’s life, a person who has suffered a TBI and those responsible for their care will have to work with the limitations of that recovery. It is critical that the victim’s injuries and deficits be carefully evaluated, so that a plan for rehabilitation and care can be developed, including a realistic appraisal of lifetime expenses.