A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can often have symptoms that do not go away with time. The person may physically heal from the injuries – such as a head injury sustained in a car accident – but this doesn’t mean that they will feel 100% like they did before the accident.
For example, some people have lasting memory issues, such as trouble making new memories, difficulty remembering the past or feeling completely unable to remember the accident itself. Others will have physical issues, such as a reduction in fine motor skills or balance. Still others could struggle with personality changes, changes to their cognitive abilities and much more.
Why don’t these injuries always heal?
Brain injuries are tricky because the brain is very limited in the amount of new brain cells or neurons that it can create. If certain cells are lost due to injury, there is no way for the body to replace them. This is why the brain may not see complete healing the same way that skin would after a laceration or a bone would after a fracture.
To make up for this issue, the brain can sometimes find new neural pathways so that information can be communicated within the brain itself. This is why some healing will occur, as the brain discovers these pathways and heals.
But there can be a limit to this healing, so some symptoms may last for the rest of a person’s life. This can drastically change the course their life takes, so they need to know how to seek financial compensation if they were injured due to someone else’s negligence.
