It is possible to receive a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and not notice it right away. In older patients, there are visible signs that are often mistaken for symptoms of other age-related diseases. After a recent car accident in Illinois, know what TBI is and the importance of diagnosing and treating it right away.
The missed chances of treating TBI
A traumatic brain injury is an injury or sudden trauma that reduces the normal functioning of the brain. The results vary from mild to moderate to severe TBI. In older patients, this condition can be missed and mistaken for dementia or another age-related illness. However, if TBI is not treated immediately, it may result in a permanent disability or death.
TBI often occurs after truck accidents that involve serious head-on or side collisions. Although TBI affects people of all ages, the greatest risks are shown in elderly individuals. This is partly because diagnosing TBI in an older population, even after a vehicular accident, is difficult when many of them already suffer from memory loss. Older people often forget minor to significant details that happen in their lives, which is a normal sign of advanced aging. The TBI becomes even more difficult to diagnose if it has not led to a loss of consciousness or hospitalization.
What happens when a traumatic brain injury is missed?
An older patient’s health deteriorates rapidly if a traumatic brain injury is never diagnosed. If the problem is found out, the family has a right to sue the doctors, hospital or caregivers for negligence. In regards to an elderly person’s health, there are legal repercussions for failing to act in a timely manner or knowing certain information but failing to act at all. After a car or truck accident, every patient must know how TBI is properly diagnosed and treated.
