Whether you incurred a brain injury in an auto accident or a family member died from a work-related brain injury, you should know about the different types of brain injuries. Information like this can help in the preparation of both personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits in Wisconsin.

Traumatic brain injuries

Brain injuries are categorized as either traumatic or acquired. Traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, are caused by some external force, such as the impact caused by a slip and fall, an auto accident or even an incident involving assault. There are four types of TBI: concussions, contusions, diffuse axonal injuries and penetration injuries.

Diffuse axonal injuries are tears in the brain caused by a violent shaking or rotational movement. A contusion is bleeding in the brain and can progress into the formation of fatal blood clots.

Acquired brain injuries

Acquired brain injuries arise from within, such as from disease, stroke or oxygen deprivation. This is not to say that acquired brain injuries cannot be caused by an outside party; they certainly can be in criminal cases. Acquired brain injuries are divided into anoxia and hypoxic brain injuries.

Anoxia refers to the injury arising from the total deprivation of oxygen to the brain while hypoxia arises from partial oxygen deprivation. Cell death may occur in both cases.

Filing a claim after a brain injury

A brain injury can sometimes be catastrophic in the sense of permanently disabling the victim so that he or she can never be self-supporting. Personal injury law makes it possible for victims of negligence to file a claim and be compensated for their past and future losses. This is where a lawyer may come in and provide a case evaluation.