Cognitive Brain Injury
If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury, it is possible that cognitive abilities may have been damaged as well. A cognitive injury can limit one’s ability to work or function independently, and cause serious disruptions to the injured person’s everyday life. A cognitive brain injury may arise from a closed-head or traumatic brain injury caused by motor vehicle accidents, slips and falls, medical malpractice or other type of negligence. The experienced brain injury attorneys at Bailey & Partners can help victims of serious cognitive injuries recover compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of ability, lost wages and future care needs. Cognitive injury is not always obvious to the layperson and can often be difficult to prove in court. Our brain injury attorneys thoroughly review medical documentation and consult with experts when necessary. We talk to family members, co-workers, and others who can testify to how the victim has changed since the accident. Call today for a free case evaluation.
What is a Cognitive Injury?
When a person suffers a closed-head or traumatic brain injury, the effects can be physical, emotional, and/or cognitive. Most people are familiar with physical and emotional (behavioral) injuries, however cognitive injury may not be so well understood. The definition of “cognition” is the process of thought. In psychology, cognition refers to the development of concepts, or the information processing aspects of a person’s psychological functions. Examples of basic cognitive functions include the following:
- awareness of surroundings
- problem solving
- paying attention
- organizing and planning
- judgment
- reasoning
- memory skills
Symptoms of Cognitive Injuries
There are a variety of symptoms which may indicate cognitive injury. Some of the most common may include the following:
- problems concentrating
- trouble organizing thoughts
- becoming easily confused or forgetful
- difficulty learning new information
- trouble interpreting the actions of others
- speaking or behaving inappropriately in social situations
- difficulty solving problems, planning, or making decisions
- difficulty finding words
- poor sentence formation
- impaired speech
- memory loss
- sleep disorder
- personality changes
- becoming easily distracted
Establishing Cognitive Brain Injury
Cognitive injuries are often very hard to establish and can be difficult to prove in court. Because cognitive injuries can occur on a microscopic level, they are often not detected by CT scans, MRIs, EEGs, or X-rays. Sometimes the extent and severity of cognitive neurologic dysfunction can be measured with the aid of neuropsychological testing. These tests are used to localize dysfunction to specific areas of the brain. For example, the frontal lobes of the brain play an important part in mood, personality, judgment, attention, foresight, and inhibition of inappropriate behavior. New studies show advances with the use of functional MRI (fMRI) imaging technology. These fMRI images can detect increased brain activity in patients with traumatic brain injury, indicating greater cerebral effort that is indicative of cognitive injury. Other methods of proving cognitive damage include interviews of family and friends who can testify to personality changes following the injury and other cognitive deficits and impairments.
California Cognitive Injury Attorney
Cognitive injury is one of the most debilitating symptoms that can occur after a traumatic brain injury. It can hinder almost every aspect of a victim’s life. At Bailey & Partners, we are committed to protecting the rights of cognitive injury victims and we will work zealously to ensure that you are compensated for your injuries. We can help you recover the compensation brain injury victims and their families may need to pay for medical treatments such as speech therapy, physical therapy and vocational therapy. We can also help you seek services from a life care planner to handle the details of recovery so that you can move forward with your life. Call Bailey & Partners today for a free case evaluation.
