TBI-Related Diagnoses: Understanding the Medical Terminology After a Brain Injury
When a loved one has a traumatic brain injury, doctors use complex terminology that can be hard to understand. This guide explains common TBI-related diagnoses — from EDH and SDH to CTE and PCS — in plain language.
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Key Takeaways
- Epidural Hematoma (EDH) is a collection of blood, typically due to arterial bleeding following a brain injury, that forms between the skull and dura mater, the outermost protective layer of the brain.
- Post-Concussive Syndrome (PCS) refers to a condition that can develop following a mild brain injury or concussion, with symptoms that can include headaches, dizziness, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive, balance, emotional, and behavioral problems.
- Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition associated with repetitive head trauma, such as in contact sports or from professions with a substantial risk of multiple concussions.
- In addition to the physical injuries and conditions caused by TBI there are also serious emotional and psychological consequences for the person injured and their family, loved ones, friends, and caretakers.
- Family members often take on the role of primary caregivers for people with TBI patients, leading to feelings of stress, exhaustion, and emotional strain
The diagnosis of a TBI covers a wide range of injuries and conditions, each with distinct characteristics and implications. Here is a list of the medical jargon that the medical team may frequently use when discussing TBI diagnoses.
Epidural Hematoma (EDH)
Epidural Hematoma (EDH) is a collection of blood, typically due to arterial bleeding following a brain injury, that forms between the skull and dura mater, the outermost protective layer of the brain. EDH can exert pressure on the brain, leading to neurological deficits such as headaches, confusion, and drowsiness.
Subdural Hematoma (SDH)
Subdural Hematoma (SDH) is a collection of blood between the dura mater and the arachnoid membrane, the mid-level of the brain’s protective layers, often resulting from bleeding secondary to head trauma. SDH can cause symptoms such as headaches, altered consciousness, weakness, confusion, and seizures, depending on the size and location of the hematoma.
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH)
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH) is bleeding into the subarachnoid space surrounding the brain, specifically the area between the arachnoid mater, which are membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord, and the pia mater, which are the delicate innermost membranes protecting the brain and spinal cord. SAH can lead to sudden and severe headaches, loss of consciousness, neck stiffness, and neurological deficits due to the presence of blood in the cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the brain.
Intraparenchymal Hemorrhage
Intraparenchymal Hemorrhage refers to bleeding within the brain tissue itself, often caused by vessel rupture or shearing forces. Intraparenchymal hemorrhage can result in damage at specific locations in the brain (focal neurological deficits), such as impaired motor function, sensory disturbances, and cognitive impairments, depending on the location and extent of the bleeding.
Cerebral Contusion
Cerebral Contusion is a bruise on the brain’s surface, typically caused by direct trauma, which leads to tissue damage and hemorrhage. A cerebral contusion can result in cognitive deficits, memory impairment, motor dysfunction, altered consciousness levels, and signs of neurological damage, depending on the severity and location of the contusion.
Intraventricular Hemorrhage
Intraventricular Hemorrhage is bleeding within the brain’s ventricular system, which contains cerebrospinal fluid and plays a role in fluid circulation. Intraventricular hemorrhage can lead to an excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain (hydrocephalus), increased intracranial pressure, neurological deterioration, and complications that develop arise when the CSF cannot circulate properly (communication disturbances due to disruption of normal cerebrospinal fluid flow).
Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI)
Diffuse Axonal Injury is a type of TBI characterized by widespread damage to the brain’s axons. Axons are the nerve fibers responsible for transmitting electrical signals to various parts of the body so humans can perform a full range of functions, from scratching your nose to smelling flowers. A diffuse axonal injury can result from rapid acceleration or deceleration, and occur in car crashes or falls.
Axonal Injury with Cerebral Edema
Axonal Injury with Cerebral Edema involves damage to the brain’s nerve fibers. This can occur in a specific (focal) area or in a widespread (diffuse) pattern, often accompanied by brain swelling (cerebral edema). These injuries can result in cognitive deficits, memory impairment, motor coordination difficulties, altered consciousness levels, and long-term neurological consequences depending on the extent of the damage and swelling.
Coup and Contrecoup Injuries
Coup (pronounced ku) and Contrecoup Injuries occur when the brain is injured by forces within the skull. Imagine a seated and belted passenger in a vehicle stopped at an intersection struck from behind by a speeding vehicle. Even though the passenger is wearing a seatbelt, their head will travel in one direction with tremendous force and then travel back in the opposite direction. This motion is one of Newton’s laws of physics. When this happens, the brain within the skull is also traveling at high speed within the skull. There are bones and edges in the interior of the skull, and when the brain collides against these, brain tissue is damaged. These injuries lead to brain bruising and damage at the site of impact (coup) as well as on the opposite side of the brain (contrecoup).
Post-Concussive Syndrome (PCS)
Post-Concussive Syndrome (PCS) refers to a condition that can develop following a mild brain injury or concussion. Individuals experiencing PCS may face a range of physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral symptoms that can impact their daily functioning. People with PCS have symptoms that persist beyond the immediate response (the acute phase) of the concussion or mild TBI. Physicians do not yet fully understand the exact mechanisms, or combination of factors, underlying PCS. Symptoms can range in severity and duration, and can negatively affect daily functioning. PCS symptoms can include headaches, dizziness, nausea, light sensitivity, noise sensitivity, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive, balance, emotional, and behavioral problems.
For more information about PCS, see our dedicated guide: Post-Concussive Syndrome.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition associated with repetitive head trauma, such as in contact sports (like tackle football, boxing, and rugby) or from professions with a substantial risk of multiple concussions (military and construction). CTE may present over time and worsen with continued exposure to brain trauma. Individuals with CTE may experience cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and motor impairments that can profoundly affect their daily functioning and overall quality of life. The presentation of CTE can vary widely among individuals, with symptoms emerging years or even decades after the initial head traumas. Functional symptoms may include physical changes, cognitive decline, behavioral changes, as well as motor symptoms and psychiatric manifestations.
Source: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Glossary of Neurological Terms
0:04 And are these things that that you prescribe and recommend to the patient and to the neurologist? Yes. Yep.
0:13 You mentioned a couple times MRI and cat scans, right? — sometimes called CT scans. Right.
0:23 Those are tests. Advanced radiology tests, like X-rays, but they’re different.
0:29 I don’t want to get into all the technicalities of it, but they can take different pictures. Pictures of slices. Right. — of the brain using levels.
0:36 Right. As way. Very sophisticated modern equipment. Right? Yep.
0:43 In your experience, and based on your testing, do MRIs and CT scans only show the damage to the brain?
0:51 No, no. You know, The rule of thumb is that an MRI, well it has to You know, something has to be this big, like the size of your pinky fingernail in order for an MRI to pick it up.
1:04 And sometimes, because, like you said, they’re taking slices. If it’s if the lesion falls in between a slice, it can be missed.
1:12 It’s less likely they’ve been missed with repeated MRI.
1:15 But the problem with, with brain injuries is that the the injury is on a microscopic, It’s on a cellular level.
1:24 So if you think about brain cells being they’re like neurons. Okay. That’s a brain a brain cell. And this is the axon or the body.
1:33 And then there’s these dendrites that come out and they don’t totally connect with the next neuron.
1:44 There’s a space in between there. And that’s where neurotransmitters come in.
1:48 Neurotransmitters are chemical bridges that allow the the electrical stimulation to go one down one neuron and jump that bridge and, and stimulate the next neuron.
2:00 So when you’re doing something like remember in your phone number, right?
2:05 Probably 50,000 of these neurons are firing in a second, you know, to in order to, you know, for you to retrieve
2:14 that phone number, what happens in a head injury is that there’s these these neurons get pulled apart.
2:22 They get twisted and they get pulled apart.
2:25 So now the space, the gap, the synapse between the neurons is too big for those chemical bridges to work.
2:33 And, that’s why you have slower information processing.
2:38 That’s why you have people who can’t find the right word to express themselves, because it’s sort of reaching a dead end.
2:45 The other thing about, you know, the injuries to the brain that the MRI doesn’t pick up
2:52 is or the Cat scan, it said it it may not pick up like micro hemorrhages, like when little tiny blood vessels get broken, the capillaries.
3:02 And you know, I just wanted to point out that, you know, we talked about the skull sort of encasing the brain, but the skull is not a smooth surface on the inside.
3:12 What happens is that there are these little bony protrude protrusions on the inside so that when the brain gets
3:23 shaken back and forth, like this, that’s rubbing up against those protrusions and that’s causing, you know, little capillaries to break and that’s also affecting, you know.
3:33 Now, if it’s a major blood vessel, then you’re going to find a collection of blood, you know, and that’s going to be visible on the MRI.
3:42 But if it’s minor, as it often is, that’s not going to be.
3:46 So that’s why, you know, I tell people all the time to think about it in terms of structure and function. They’re not the same things.
3:53 Conversely, I’ve had people with huge like slow growing brain tumors that would basically wipe out their left frontal lobe, the size of of a lemon.
4:05 And on my testing, I couldn’t find any functional impairment because the guy was really bright and this this brain tumor was a slow growing type.
4:15 It might have been growing for 15 years, and it allowed him because it was slow growing, to begin to use his left frontal lobe to do things that the right frontal lobe,
4:24 I mean, to use his right frontal lobe to do things that the left frontal lobe would normally do. So yeah, structure and function are two, two different things. Right.
4:33 So, if I understood what you just said, there can be damage to the brain which would not be shown on these CTs in these MRIs?
4:41 Right. So your test, these standardized tests — Right. — that are used to determine all these functions can reveal things that are not shown on the MRI and the CTs?
4:53 Right. You touched a little bit upon, the neuropsychologist’s role in recovery and treatment.
5:04 Could you go into some detail about that? What’s your job and how do you do it? Yeah. So, you know, I once again, pattern analysis.
5:12 We’re looking for the strengths and weaknesses across all those different functions.
5:16 And the easiest way to describe that field is to say that,
5:23 you know, one of the things that we try to do, the easiest thing, actually, especially with today’s technology, is compensation.
5:30 So think about it as a crutch.
5:33 Like if someone has a knee replacement, they they, they can get around, but they need to cast on their leg in a crutch.
5:40 An example of that is, you know, I was working with a professor who a very sort of, professor was some notoriety in popularity in the Philadelphia area.
5:51 And who had a head injury. And he was, you know, he was, in his 60s.
5:57 He was he was able at this point to stand up and give a lecture.
6:02 You know To 200 students with no problem until his head injury.
6:07 So the compensation device that we use, because he wanted it continued to teach is that now he had to use slides, whereas before
6:15 he could just extemporaneously get up and he might use a few slides, but now where the problem wasn’t his memory, because what he was talking about was long term memory, not short term.
6:26 The problem was his frontal lobe in terms of inhibiting him from going off on tangents, he would go off like,
6:35 you know, at a total tangent and ten minutes later think, “Oh my God, like, where am I?” Having trouble finding his place? So,
6:42 we had him develop a slide, you know, slide presentation and use that slide presentation and talk from the slides.
6:50 It’s not changing anything about the way his brain is doing it. The changes are external.
6:55 The changes are in the environment, right? It’s like a crutch or a wheelchair.
7:02 In terms of what happens inside the brain, I would say generally there are two categories of things we try to do.
7:09 One is to try to exercise that same brain region that’s impaired, to get those neurons to get closer together, right?
7:19 The more you work that area, the more blood flow goes to — the more you exercise that area, the more blood flow gets to that area, and it’s helping those neurons heal.
7:29 So in the example of, a concrete example would be, you know, one of the common things that head injury people have is word retrieval.
7:38 They can’t — the words on the tip of their tongue, they can’t quite find it and that would be this area at the angular gyrus
7:45 of the left parietal lobe communica — this is where words are stored.
7:51 Left side — So this is kind of the library. This is the stacks of the library where verbal information is stored.
7:58 It has to go up this pathway called the arcuate fasciculus to the frontal lobe where it’s actually spoken, right?
8:06 So if a person has trouble with word retrieval, a speech therapist might give them pictures of different objects
8:14 and have them try, you know, more and more esoteric objects, less common objects, and have them retrieve the name.
8:20 It just as a way of exercising like you would, you know, like if your arm came out, came out of a cast, you know, you would be exercising your arm.
8:30 The other way that’s a little bit more complicated is finding a different brain region.
8:37 If this brain region is really impaired, let’s say the area between the the angular gyrus and the frontal lobe, the arcuate fasciculus, that’s like a highway that connects these two areas.
8:49 Maybe that’s impaired. Right. So we have to find a different brain region.
8:54 So that’s the area where I feel like we can be most creative because as I said before, people who are really, really good at things learn how to use innately.
9:06 They use other areas of their brain that most of us wouldn’t even touch to get that thing done, but it has the potential to do it.
9:14 So, you know, to give you an example with a short term memory example, which is, you know, probably the most common — commonly reported symptom of, you know, TBI.
9:26 If I ask you to remember four words, let’s say house, tree, cat, pie, how would you, how would you go about — how would your brain process that?
9:38 How would you try to remember that? In school I would use initials. Okay. Now that’s a good that’s very good.
9:47 Yeah. HTCP. HTCP right. Now you have to remember those. That’s true. Right.
9:55 And sometimes people would make up, you know make up a well that’s like, HTCP, like catch up, or thinking of some word that contains those, you know, so it’s easier.
10:08 Some people would do verbal rehearsal. House, tree, cat, pie — House, tree, cat, pie. That’s using the left temporal lobe.
10:15 Right. That’s that’s verbal memory.
10:19 But if I asked you if the left temporal lobe is impaired because of, an injury, if I asked you to just picture in your mind’s eye
10:28 a picture of a house with a tree in the front yard and a cat sitting on one of the branches in the tree, and maybe a blueberry pie on the front porch, cooling off, right? Take a snapshot of that.
10:40 Then you’re — you’re using a totally different region of your brain. You’re using the right temporal lobe responsible for a nonverbal memory.
10:49 Because my is recreating that picture. Right. You just have to pull up that picture. In my mind? Right.
10:57 And I tell people all the time say, you know, a guy will say to me, you know, my wife sent me to the supermarket to get four things.
11:05 I can’t believe I forgot one of the things.
11:08 And she tries to tell me to to take a you know, make a note and I don’t want to do it because it’s so easy.
11:14 I know I can do four things, and yeah, he comes home with three of the four things.
11:20 I say, just take a picture of those four things on the belt, you know, at the checkout counter. Just take a mental snapshot of what those four things are going to look like.
11:30 And then you got it.
11:31 You know, you got it because it’s using, you know, a totally different region of the brain that, based on my testing, I know is less impaired than, you know, then the left temporal lobe.
11:44 Let me ask a different set of questions about your role in treatment and recovery. Sure.
11:51 When I say post-concussion syndrome to you — Right. — What does that mean?
11:58 Well, it’s a cluster of symptoms that people with head injuries
12:04 will have, that are protracted, right?
12:08 Most people with head injuries, mild head injuries, are going to recover within days or weeks, right?
12:15 But if those symptoms of, they could be cognitive symptoms like memory, they could be vestibular symptoms.
12:23 Balance. All right. When presented with a patient who has post-concussion syndrome. Right.
12:30 And does have symptoms of a brain injury of there being some damaged areas. Right.
12:37 How do you go about developing a treatment plan for a patient like that?
12:41 Well, the first part is, you know, to to look at that pattern of strengths and weaknesses over testing.
12:51 When I do testing, I’m not like, you know, a bloodhound looking for deficit areas
13:00 because what I’m really assessing is the rest of the brain’s ability to compensate for that.
13:07 So if I see people, even if they’re 3 or 4 months out, I’m.
13:11 I’m testing their brain’s compensatory ability, right?
13:15 And that’s what I want to push to the max in developing a treatment plan or the brain’s ability to adapt and to compensate.
13:23 That’s both the creative part of what I do and also the hopeful part of what I do, because I’m amazed at what people can do with, you know, with injured brains.
13:33 How do you work with the other doctors speech pathologist, physical therapists, the whole rehab team — Right. — To support recovery?
13:44 Well, yeah, I mean, it’s a complicated process and we work together as a team. Neuropsychologist is a fairly new field.
13:52 We did it start?
13:56 Well, it depends on how you say start, but in the 30s and 40s, we began 1930 and 40 we began to have some people who are publishing and developing tests and things like that.
14:08 Yeah. So it’s a fairly new field.
14:11 But when I was at Jefferson — So the answer to your question depends on your setting.
14:16 So for the first ten years, I was in psychiatry at Jefferson.
14:22 And so I would consult with speech and O.T. people at Jefferson down in the rehab department physiatrist, on a more regular basis — — in terms of, a treatment plan.
14:36 But even then — Can I stop you for a second? Yeah, sure. That speech pathologist. Yes. OT is occupational therapy.
14:41 and a physiatrist is not a psychiatrist, that’s a doctor that specializes in rehab, right? Right. Okay. I’m sorry. No. Thank you for that.
14:50 So you work with that team? The rehab department at Jefferson was fairly short term. They were holding people for a few weeks depending on.
14:59 — so the the treatment plan was was immediate but fairly limited.
15:05 If I were working at a place like Moss-McGee long term rehab, then I would be more involved in the day.
15:12 You know, on a daily basis with team meetings with these people, seeing how these exercises were working
15:20 by measuring periodically, using my test to measure improvement, to see, you know,
15:28 how quick word retrieval was coming along or giving memory tests to, you know, to evaluate memory improvement.
15:37 That kind of thing.
15:38 And to this day, there are neuropsychologists in hospitals that work with — yes — the rehab team in that very role. Yes.
15:46 That’s right. Okay. And how long were you in private practice? 40, let’s see 1990.
15:57 Yeah. Like 40 years. Almost. Right. That’s right. I was, you know, then I was in sort of an outpatient clinic setting.
16:06 So I had less opportunity to to hobnob with the speech therapist and the OTS, but in my reports,
16:15 I would always make recommendations for treatment, you know, as needed.
16:20 And, you know, sometimes I would, I would, treat people if they were very high functioning
16:27 and, didn’t necessarily want to go to a rehab setting where in the rehab setting, you’re going to find more people who are more severely impaired, like moderately and severely impaired.
16:40 Some people were, you know, high functioning, mildly impaired people were a little skittish about even —
16:49 they would find it depressing to go and to be treated in those settings. So they would prefer to be treated outpatient, which I was happy to do.
16:59 In your practice, does the treatment and recovery for mild brain injuries differ from that from moderate and severe brain injuries?
17:10 Yeah.
17:10 As I just said, the treatment for a mild brain injury, many depending on once again, the pattern analysis and strengths and weaknesses, the age, the intelligence level, the motivation level.
17:24 You know, treatment could be done in my office, right?
17:30 You said you were always amazed by the recoveries and the adaptability of human beings. Yeah.
17:36 Is it fair to say that it is, it’s different for moderate to severe brain injuries? Yes.
17:44 The nature of recovery than it is for mild brain injuries? Right. And can you explain why that is? Well, more of the brain is been impaired.
17:52 It’s more brain that’s impaired, the less likely you’re going to have a full recovery. So most mildly impaired people will recover.
18:02 That’s not so true with moderate impairment and very untrue with severe brain injuries.
18:07 So some of the hardest evaluations I had to do were severe brain injuries, maybe 2 or 3 years out.
18:14 And the question, the referral question was can this person live at home with,
18:25 you know, 12 hours of support a day or do they need full time custodial care?
18:34 Those were tough.
18:35 You know, those were tough patients — And tough decisions to make. Yeah.
18:42 And those really are important questions.
18:45 Because at that point, the family is trying to think what’s best for the patient, what’s best for the family itself.
18:53 Sure. What the costs are going to be. Yeah.
18:55 — And there’s all these confluence of — Sure — Issues coming at the family at that point. Yeah.
19:02 While we’re there, before we move on to another area, is part of the job of being a neuropsychologist to talk to the family? Yes, definitely.
19:11 Yeah. They always have feedback sessions and, you know, the more family involved, the better because, it’s it’s a major trauma for the family.
19:23 I mean, the person that they get back after a head injury isn’t the same.
19:28 And sometimes they call it the hidden. What is it? The hidden injury.
19:36 Because, you know, if you break your arm and it’s in a cast, you’re going to get some sympathy for that because it’s clearly visible to the outside world.
19:46 A head injury is silent. It’s not seen observable sometimes, not even by family members.
19:52 And so it’s very hard for them to understand why a spouse might have a meltdown. Right?
19:59 Or, be depressed or, forget things at the supermarket, you know, it’s there.
20:06 Can be very frustrating.
20:08 So a lot of the counseling that I do over the years has been with spouses, children, you know, ignorance. — In mild or moderate cases.
20:18 That’s right.
20:19 When when people people hear the term mild, they assume it’s not serious. Right.
20:26 And that’s one of the things that I don’t like about the classification system that you mentioned, like mild moderate and severe because.
20:33 Yeah, mild, first of all, mild, brain injury. That classification can be broken down to complicated or uncomplicated.
20:42 So a mild, uncomplicated head injury would be one in which there are no physiological markers, like a skull fracture or a bleeding on the brain, a hematoma, that kind of thing.
20:56 A mild, complicated head injury. You can still have a skull fracture and bleeding on the brain.
21:03 And it could still be technically a mild head injury. Right?
21:08 I saw one person, an older person who fell and didn’t even really lose consciousness. They had like an alteration.
21:15 They were a little bit fuzzy for a few minutes. But their glasgow glaucoma scale was near perfect. You know, they were considered a mild head injury.
21:24 Six months later, they show up in the emergency room because they had a bleed, a slow bleed from that fall that wasn’t picked up by the CAT scan at the time because it it just started.
21:36 But over six months, it got to be the size of, like a lemon.
21:43 And it really began to I mean, their life was threatened, you know, they wound up in the emergency room, — and that’s with a neurosurgeon. — And that’s a mild, you know that’s right.
21:53 And that’s a mild classified as a mild head injury.
22:02 Can someone with a mild brain injury have a job disability? It’s possible. Sure.
22:10 And, can they have an inability to communicate and personality changes?
22:18 Yes, both. — And, do you work with psychologists and psychiatrists in treating patients that have these issues?
22:29 These post-concussive syndrome? Yes. Symptoms. Yes. Yep.
22:35 By the way, on occasion have you prepared reports that have been used. I’m sorry. It’s all right.
22:43 With respect to, claims for disability?
22:48 Yes. — For Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid type claims, injury claims, or someone’s injured, either on the job or elsewhere.
23:00 Right. Yes. And you’ve been accepted as an expert in court? Yes. And by the federal government? Yes. Yep. Absolutely.
The Emotional and Psychological Impact of TBI on Patients and Families
In addition to the physical injuries and conditions caused by TBI there are also serious emotional and psychological consequences for the person injured and their family, loved ones, friends, and caretakers. Coping with a TBI can be challenging and emotionally draining and requires understanding, patience, and support.
The emotional and psychological impact on patients may include:
Depression and Anxiety: People with TBI may experience feelings of sadness, hopelessness, fear, or worry following a TBI. Changes in brain function can also contribute to the development of anxiety disorders.
Personality Changes: A TBI can alter a person’s personality, leading to mood swings, irritability, impulsivity, and difficulty regulating emotions.
Loss of Self-Esteem: Cognitive impairments such as memory loss, difficulty concentrating, and changes in problem-solving abilities can negatively impact a patient’s self-esteem and confidence.
Frustration: Individuals with TBI can be aware of the limitations resulting from their injuries. When this occurs, these individuals can become impatient with rehabilitation and how others perceive and treat them.
Social Isolation: People with TBI must adjust to life post-injury. This, along with potential communication difficulties, can lead to social withdrawal and feelings of isolation.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): People with TBI may experience PTSD symptoms, such as flashbacks, hypervigilance, and avoidance behaviors.
The emotional and psychological impact on families and loved ones can be extensive and may include:
Caregiver Stress and Burnout: Family members often take on the role of primary caregivers for people with TBI patients, leading to feelings of stress, exhaustion, and emotional strain.
Financial Burden: The cost of medical treatment, rehabilitation, and ongoing care can cause financial stress for families, adding to their emotional burden.
Changes in Family Dynamics: Coping with the changes to the personality, abilities, and needs of people with TBI can disrupt family dynamics, leading to conflict and tension.
Grief and Loss: Families may grieve the loss of the person they knew before the injury and find it difficult to adjust to the new reality and uncertain future.
Long before the medical team decides to discharge a relative with a moderate to severe TBI the family should consider seeking support and coping strategies, including therapy, support groups, and open communication. These tools can help individuals with TBI and their families navigate the emotional challenges experienced while caring for a loved one with a TBI.
See also: Emotional and Personality Changes After Traumatic Brain Injury | Caring for a Loved One with TBI
Frequently Asked Questions About TBI-Related Diagnoses
An Epidural Hematoma (EDH) is a collection of blood between the skull and the outermost protective layer of the brain (the dura mater), typically due to arterial bleeding. A Subdural Hematoma (SDH) is a collection of blood between the dura mater and the mid-level protective membrane (the arachnoid), often from bleeding secondary to head trauma.
Diffuse Axonal Injury is a type of TBI characterized by widespread damage to the brain’s axons — the nerve fibers responsible for transmitting electrical signals throughout the body. DAI can result from rapid acceleration or deceleration, such as in car crashes or falls.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition associated with repetitive head trauma, not a single injury. It is seen in contact sport athletes, military veterans, construction workers, and others with a history of multiple concussions. Symptoms — which include cognitive decline, behavioral changes, and motor impairments — may not appear until years or decades after the initial traumas.
Post-Concussive Syndrome (PCS) is a condition that can develop following a mild brain injury or concussion. Symptoms include headaches, dizziness, fatigue, sleep disturbances, light and noise sensitivity, and cognitive and emotional difficulties. These symptoms persist beyond the immediate acute phase of the concussion.
Yes. People with TBI may experience feelings of sadness, hopelessness, fear, or worry following a TBI. Changes in brain function can also contribute to the development of anxiety disorders. These are recognized medical consequences of the injury, not simply emotional reactions.
The emotional and psychological impact on families can be extensive. Family members often take on the role of primary caregivers, leading to caregiver stress and burnout. The cost of treatment and ongoing care creates financial burden. Changes in the patient’s personality and abilities can disrupt family dynamics. Families may also grieve the loss of the person they knew before the injury.
Why Legal Advocacy Matters
Securing these services is often an uphill battle. Schools may downplay the severity of an acquired brain injury, especially if the child does not appear to have obvious injuries or symptoms. If you believe your child is not receiving appropriate educational support after a traumatic brain injury, an experienced legal team can help ensure the school district meets its legal obligations.
Keep in mind that while schools are required to provide an appropriate education, they are typically not responsible for medical treatment, surgeries, or long-term out-of-pocket costs.
If your child’s TBI was caused by the negligence of another — such as a car accident, a defective product, or medical malpractice — a personal injury lawsuit may be approriate to help secure the funds needed for future medical and therapy costs, economic losses, and other nonecomonic damages.
Need help investigating your legal rights related to a TBI?
Speak to an experienced brain injury attorney team like Cohen, Placitella & Roth.
For five decades, CPR has successfully represented individuals and families in TBI cases nationwide working with qualified co-counsel.
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