Personal Injury Law

North Carolina Traumatic Brain Injury Survivors at Greater Risk of Suffering from Depression

According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, nearly 50% of traumatic brain injury survivors will likely experience depression. This rate is nearly eight times higher than that of the general population. TBI survivors who went into depression following their head trauma reportedly experienced greater pain, mobility problems, and challenges executing their usual responsibilities.

Researchers from the University of Washington studied 559 participants. Each TBI patient was interviewed over the next six months and then again at 8, 10, and 12 months. The study?s findings confirmed that a TBI can cause major depressive disorder.

Our Charlotte, North Carolina traumatic brain injury law firm represents clients who sustained their TBIs that were caused by other parties negligence. Some 1.5 million Americans will sustain a TBI this year.

Some TBI symptoms appear immediately, and others can take days or weeks to develop. While most head trauma side effects will clear up within a year, some 80,000 people a year will be left with permanent, devastating effects. Depending on the kind of TBI and its severity, unconsciousness, dizziness, headaches, lightheadness, confusion, vision problems, fatigue, bad taste in the mouth, sleep pattern changes, ringing in the ears, mood changes, behavioral changes, memory problems, attention problems, vomiting, convulsions, nausea, seizures, slurred speech, extremity-related problems, agitation, confusion, coma, infections, cranial nerve injuries, organ system failure, vascular injuries, damage to cognition, sensory processing, communication, personality changes, and brain death may result from a traumatic brain injury.

Common causes of North Carolina traumatic brain injuries include fall accidents, car crashes, assaults, and getting hit by or striking a hard object.

Traumatic brain injuries linked to depression, Los Angeles Times, May 19, 2010

Traumatic Brain Injury, CDC

Traumatic Brain Injury: Hope Through Research, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Journal of the American Medical Association

Full post as published by North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog on May 20, 2010 (boomark / email).