Types of Brain Injuries

Many traumatic brain injuries result from a blow to the head or the loss of oxygen. Damage to the brain may result in physical, speech, cognitive, or other behavioral impairments, and it may change an East Tennessee accident victim's life forever. The impact on the injured person’s family is often significant as well. Knoxville brain injury attorney Mark Hartsoe can assist you in bringing a claim against any party that harmed you if you are suffering from head trauma.

Types of brain injuries include concussions, contusions, diffuse axonal injuries, traumatic brain injuries, closed brain injuries, penetrating brain injuries, recurrent traumatic brain injuries, acquired brain disorders, and cerebral hypoxia. Each of these conditions tends to have different causes.

For example, cerebral hypoxia occurs when the brain is starved of oxygen, and it may be a result of near-drowning or electrical shock, among other events. When someone suffers a near-drowning due to dangerous conditions at a swimming pool in Tennessee, for example, it may be appropriate to bring a premises liability claim.

To establish liability against a homeowner, you will need to show that the homeowner failed to use reasonable care in connection with maintaining the swimming pool in a reasonably safe condition or providing appropriate warnings, and this failure was the cause of your cerebral hypoxia. A property owner must also comply with any local ordinances related to the pool. If a safety ordinance is violated, and this violation caused your hypoxia, the homeowner may be considered "negligent per se" or negligent as a matter of law.

Sometimes a near-drowning is caused by defective parts inside the swimming pool. For example, a defective swimming pool drain may pull a swimmer down or keep them trapped underwater, starved of oxygen. In that case, you may be able to bring a lawsuit under Tennessee's Products Liability Act. In Tennessee, both the risk-utility test and the consumer expectations test may be used to prove that a product is defective. Under the risk-utility test, a product is in an unreasonably dangerous condition if, because of its dangerous condition, it would not be put on the market by a reasonably prudent manufacturer, assuming that it knew of its dangerous condition. The consumer expectation test defines an unreasonably dangerous condition as one that makes a product dangerous beyond what would be contemplated by an ordinary consumer who buys it.

Diffuse axonal brain injuries are some of the most common traumatic brain injuries. They occur over a larger area of the brain when the brain lags behind the movement of the skull, and nerve tissue is torn. Severe axonal injuries are a leading cause of death among people who suffer brain injuries. They may be caused by a car accident, for example. If a loved one was killed due to a car crash that caused diffuse axonal brain injuries, you may be able to bring a claim for wrongful death. In most cases, you will need to establish negligence by showing that the victim suffered fatal injuries because the defendant failed to use reasonable care, and this failure was the cause of their death.

If you suffered any type of brain injury in an accident caused by someone else, you should consult experienced Knoxville brain injury lawyer Mark Hartsoe. Call the Hartsoe Law Firm at 865-804-1011 or contact us via our online form for a free consultation with a personal injury or wrongful death attorney. Mark Hartsoe represents victims and their families in many areas of East Tennessee, including Knox, Blount, Monroe, Loudon, Jefferson, Grainger, Cocke, Campbell, Hamblen, Greene, Anderson, Cumberland, and Fentress Counties.