03 Feb Untreated mild brain injuries are job destroyers
When a worker suffers a blow to the head, he or she may face much greater difficulty than expected. Even seemingly minor head injuries may generate severe symptoms for victims, often dismantling their work and community relationships.
Mild traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, are not the most severe brain injuries a victim might suffer, but they are still very dangerous, and can easily disrupt a victim’s employment. Unlike other, more obvious injuries like a broken arm, mild TBIs may create symptoms that make it seem as though the victim chooses to be difficult or lazy.
If you recently suffered a blow to the head, you should seek out professional medical attention immediately. By choosing to put off this important step, you may make the injury worse, or suffer unfair consequences before you receive a diagnosis. The sooner that you begin treating a mild TBI, the sooner you can get on the road to recovery and help your employer and family understand the struggles you may face as you work back toward full health.
Symptoms of a mild TBI that may affect the workplace
It is important for a victim’s employer and coworkers to understand the severity of the injury and the symptoms it may produce. If they do not, they may find it very difficult to keep working with the victim, for understandable reasons.
Sometimes, mild TBIs produce physical symptoms like nausea and seizures, or ongoing headaches. These are difficult to deal with for any victim, but in some ways they are easier to understand for those around the victim, because they are symptoms that indicate a clear injury.
However, some of the more difficult symptoms to deal with are potential changes in the way the victim’s brain handles information and prioritizes tasks. Many victims of mild TBIs experience great difficulty thinking clearly, as if their mind is “foggy” for months after the injury. In some cases, the victims may find that tasks they performed regularly before the injury now seem impossible to finish.
Victims may also have difficulty understanding the overall contextual meaning of conversations with those around them or things they read. While the victim may still understand the individual words spoken or read, mild TBIs often “scramble” some of the connections in a victim’s brain, making it difficult to understand context. Clearly, repeatedly miscommunication with coworkers or employers may threaten a victim’s job.
On top of these difficulties, the victim often has a very short temper, both with themselves and with others. This personality change can lead to many uncomfortable and unpleasant interactions in the workplace and elsewhere. If those around the victim do not understand the injury, they may think that the victim is just being immature or mean. These symptoms and others may persist for up to a year, which is more than enough time to completely ruin working relationships and even other relationships, like family and friends.
Get the help you need to recover fully
If someone else is responsible for your injury, you may have grounds for a personal injury lawsuit to cover your medical expenses and other losses. An experienced attorney understands how to assess your injury and build a strong claim. With professional counsel, you can focus on your recovery while an attorney protects your rights and fights for fair compensation for your injuries.