Workplace injuries can happen anywhere, no matter what career path you pursue. This is especially true of head injuries, which may lead to serious complications for victims, even if they do not immediately realize they suffered an injury at all.
Whereas many professional workplaces do not feature potentially dangerous machinery or require hardhats, any significant blow to the head can cause a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), which may impact many areas of a victim’s work and home life. These injuries are common as a part of slip-and-fall accidents, which can occur in just about any workplace.
If you or someone you love recently received a blow to the head, even if you didn’t initially believe you sustained a meaningful injury, it is wise to obtain professional medical attention as soon as possible. A qualified medical care provider can help you understand the nature of your injury and prescribe treatment to get you back to your standard state as soon as possible.
If you do not seek out professional medical attention after a mild TBI, you may experience a number of frustrating symptoms, some of which can completely destroy your career and your close relationships.
Effects of a mild TBI
Mild TBIs may express many symptoms, because no two injuries are exactly alike. Some symptoms indicate that a victim is clearly suffering from an injury, such as ongoing nausea, headaches or even seizures.
However, some of the most destructive symptoms are those that may not seem like symptoms at all, but personal shortcomings. Mild TBIs often cause victims great difficulty completing simple tasks, even if they previously completed the tasks easily. In many cases, victims are simultaneously much more irritable, both with themselves and others. A poorly informed superior in the workplace may not realize that these are symptoms of a brain injury, and may unfairly punish the victim for his or her behavior.
Another serious concern, especially for those whose jobs include communicating with others regularly, involves reading and conversational comprehension. Victims often lose much of their ability to understand the context of a conversation or passages of text that they read, even if they retain understanding of individual words. This may lead to repeated misunderstandings and frustrating miscommunications, which can heavily impact the work of others as well as the victim.
Fair treatment from your workers’ compensation claim
Mild TBIs are very real injuries with real consequences, but not all insurers see it that way. If you face difficulty getting your employer’s insurer to acknowledge a mild TBI as a real injury, or if they offer you an unfair settlement, the guidance of an experienced workers’ compensation attorney can help you fight for fair terms while keeping your rights protected.