War. Have you ever wondered, “Huh, what is it good for?” Well, there’s an answer to that question: absolutely nothing (and you can say that again). The more that we learn about war, the more we understand Edwin Starr's abhorrence of it. Recently, research has indicated that mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) affects somewhere in the range of 10% – 20% of all soldiers. As bad as this is, there is some solace in the fact that, whereas previously soldiers with mTBIs could not be treated (since we didn’t know their injuries), now doctors and government agencies have more thorough knowledge and thus a better means to help. If you haven’t received the aid you need, though, consulting a brain damage injury lawyer is a strong option.
A Brief History of Wartime Brain Injury
As brain damage injury lawyer will know, mTBIs and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) alike were once grouped under the title of “shell shock”. While the two issues overlap in some ways, the primary and crucial difference is that PTSD is a purely psychological disorder with no physical cause, while mTBIs are always the result of physical harm. Until recently, there was a further problem in distinguishing between mTBI and PTSD. Returning from war, there were many soldiers who exhibited mTBI symptoms yet reported never having experienced a head injury. Doctors, confused but still attempting to help, would diagnose PTSD. We now know that, due to the power of the shockwave, pure blast impact alone can cause mTBI. The commonality of blast impact in war, especially with the prevalence of IEDs in modern warfare, thus causes such a high rate of mTBI in soldiers.
mTBI Symptoms
The symptoms of mTBI can be grouped into three categories: somatic, cognitive, and psychological. While these symptoms can all heal over time, in some severe cases healing ability can be overwhelmed, leading to permanent functional changes. In these cases, consulting a brain damage injury lawyer is a wise decision.
- Somatic
- Medical professionals refer to all directly physical symptoms of mTBI as somatic. Somatic symptoms can include: headache, dizziness, hearing problems, visual disturbances, sensitivity to noise or light, sleep disturbance, and emotional or mental fatigue. In more focused injuries, brain injury victims can also experience limb or facial paralysis and speech problems.
- Cognitive
- These are the problems in thought and reasoning that occur after an mTBI, like: decision making, memory, attention and concentration, abstract reasoning, and information processing.
- Psychological
- Psychological symptoms are those relating to emotions and behaviour. Symptoms include: depression, anxiety, mood swings, irritability, impulsiveness, loss of interest, agitation, and relationship difficulties.
Soldiers who experience these symptoms, even if they did not have any direct physical impact during their time in battle, may be suffering from an mTBI. If this is the case, they need to see a doctor if they have not already. Then, they should consult a brain damage injury lawyer from an accredited Toronto personal injury law firm. Toronto personal injury lawyers have experience dealing with mTBIs, and know how to secure compensation that you need, regardless of how you incurred the injury.
Sources:
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/pdf/about-us/research-directorate/mtbi-report-sep08.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23884075