The brain stem is the structure that connects the cerebrum of your brain to your spinal cord and cerebellum. Unfortunately, if this gets injured, you may be facing serious if not life-altering damages. But if this injury arose due to no fault of your own, you may petition for the negligent party to pay for these damages in a personal injury claim. Without further ado, follow along to find out the types of damages you may seek after a brain stem injury and how one of the proficient Panama City personal injury attorneys at Manuel & Thompson, PA can work to ensure you ultimately recover them.

How can I know for certain I incurred a brain stem injury?

It is strongly encouraged that whenever you hit your head against an external object, no matter how aggressively, you must seek medical attention. This is because injuries to the head, such as brain stem injuries, may be unidentifiable to the naked eye. Rather, they require official medical examinations such as CT and MRI scans. This is all to say that you must go to the emergency room immediately following your involvement in a personal injury accident.

Understandably, your accident may have happened so fast that you do not remember hitting your head. Even still, it can have very much happened. This is why you must self-examine yourself for any signs of a brain stem injury. Such symptoms may shed light on changes in your cognitive and motor functions, among other things. Specifically, they may entail dizziness or balance issues; irregular sleeping habits; erratic breathing patterns; loss of vision or smell; and more.

What types of damages can I recover after incurring a brain stem injury?

It is sad to say that a devastating brain stem injury may ultimately lead to a long-term coma or permanent paralysis, among other life-altering damages. To reiterate, you may seek recovery from the negligent party who participated in the careless or reckless act that prompted your injury. That said, the specific damages you may present in your personal injury claim include the following:

  • Economic damages:
    • The medical bills you incurred or plan to incur due to this injury.
    • The lost wages you incurred or lost earning capacity you plan to incur due to this injury.
    • The mobility aids you have had to purchase due to this injury (i.e., wheelchair, walker, etc).
  • Non-economic damages:
    • Your bodily pains and emotional sufferings due to this debilitating injury.
    • Your depression from your lost body function due to this debilitating injury.
    • Your shame from your lost independence due to this debilitating injury.

To allow justice to be served, it is in your best interest to retain the legal assistance of one of the talented Panama City personal injury attorneys. Contact Manuel & Thompson, PA today.