Northern Virginia and Washington D.C. Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury Lawyers’ Blog

Concussions Can Cause Severe Brain Injury

Personal injury claims involving brain injury are some of the most contested cases in the legal field.  Insurance companies and their attorneys are often skeptical of traumatic brain injury claims and the devastating effects that brain injuries have on the injured and the injured's families.  Today, there is further compelling evidence that these injuries are not only very real, but of severe consequence.  A new study by the Center for Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE) has looked at the brains of dead athletes and found overwhelming evidence that repeated concussions can cause severe brain damage.

Several findings from the recent CSTE study are significant for not only athletes but anyone who has suffered a concusion:

• The researchers found that the brain damage was extensive and clearly visible.  The damage was found throughout the brain including in deep layers.  The damage was not limited to only the superficial tissues of the brain.
• Degenerative brain disease caused by brain trauma is known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).  CTE is the only known form of dementia that is fully preventable.
• The location of the brain damage is to areas that control a person's emotional response, rage, and breathing. This finding helps explain some of the personality changes seen in persons who have suffered a concussion.

These findings and the growing body of research conducted by the CSTE and others serve well those who have suffered a traumatic brain injury.  They confirm what is already known -- while brain injuries may appear invisible to those skeptical of their existence and their impact on human life, the true existence of such injuries is visible from the examination of the brain itself and upon a non-jaded view of those who have suffered the injury.