Maryland Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog
Sometimes it seems like things can’t get any worse following a severe traffic accident. But whether it’s a car, motorcycle or trucking-related crash, there are instances where things can and do get worse some time down the road; occasionally months or years after the initial car or bike collision is but a hazy, yet painful memory.
As a Baltimore motorcycle injury lawyer, I and my colleagues understand how injuries sustained following a tragic traffic wreck can continue to trouble an individual both medically and financially all thought his or her lifetime. Such can be the case with injuries that affect the brain and spinal column.
Especially in cases involving traumatic brain injury (TBI), a person can suffer ill effects for years following a motorcycle or car crash. There are few maladies worse than those caused by a closed head injury. The complete or partial lose of motor function, speech problems and permanent memory loss, just to name a few, can each be a life altering affect of a single traffic accident.
Traumatic brain injury has also been known to alter an individual’s personality and even basic behavior and moral compass, according to some experts. Not long ago an article appeared discussing how one 38-year-old victim of TBI became entangled in his local criminal justice system following his injuries.
In this case, the man already had mental health issues as a young adult, with occasional marijuana use and weekend drinking. The article goes on to explain that he experimented with cocaine and amphetamines, yet never used them habitually. However, when he was 26 years old he was involved in a low-speed motorcycle accident. The crash reportedly left him briefly unconscious for about an hour.
Once he regained consciousness, there didn’t seem to be any obvious problems save for a broken arm. But over the next few years, the man began to exhibit more risky behavior, which involved an increased use of drugs and speeding on his motorcycle. At 29, while working for a construction company, the man reportedly fell three stories and sustained a much more severe TBI.
That accident left him in a coma for more than two weeks and required numerous many months of rehab and therapy before he could walk on his own again. In later years following that second TBI, the patient seemed to family and friends to become rather impulsive, frequently initiating fights with family, strangers and even the police.
The point here is that traumatic brain injuries can cause problems for the victim many years down the line, which is why anyone who has sustained a TBI in a car or truck crash must take this kind of injury very seriously. Families of these victims should be aware of the potential problems later in life and the importance of consulting a qualified and experienced injury lawyer. Never assume there is nothing that can be done; explore every avenue.
When the Defendant Has TBI, TheCrimeReport.org, December 13, 2010