The Law Offices of Chaikin and Sherman, P.C.
Toll Free - 
Phone - 202.659.8600
Fax - 202.659.8680
Brain Injury and Memory Loss
Washington D.C., Maryland, & Virginia Attorneys
A common consequence of many traumatic brain injuries (TBI) is amnesia, or memory loss. TBI victims who have been injured in a car accident may suffer from short-term or long-term memory loss, depending on the extent of the impact and which areas of the brain were affected.
Temporary and Permanent Memory Loss
Sometimes, problems with short-term or long-term memory loss are temporary, caused by a swelling of the brain directly after impact. As the brain swells, parts of it are pressed against the skull, rendering even undamaged areas of the brain unable to function properly. This swelling is what causes some victims to forget the events that occurred before, during, or after their accident.
As swelling decreases, it is possible for a patient’s memory to slowly return. However, other types of memory loss are fixed. Since the brain cannot heal itself like other parts of the body, nerves that are damaged during a traumatic brain injury may not be regenerated.
Swelling can take months to completely normalize, often making it difficult to determine the full extent of a person’s memory loss after a brain injury. In some cases, it may take more than a year before permanent damage becomes fully evident.
Short-Term and Long-Term Memory Loss
Short-term memory loss is more common for brain injury victims than long-term memory loss, since it is almost always the result of a frontal lobe brain injury – the type of TBI usually sustained during car and truck accidents.
Victims with short-term memory loss will often experience difficulty:
- Remembering how to get to familiar places
- Remembering what happened in the last 10 minutes
- Recalling the details of a recently-read book chapter or article
- Following a conversation or playing a game
- Storing new information
Long-term memory – such as memory of childhood events or historical information – is generally preserved in most people, but severe brain injuries have been known to “erase” significant sections of an individual’s past memories. Additionally, problems with short-term memory can eventually affect how your brain stores and creates new long-term memories.
Problems Forming New Memories
Many people with memory loss caused by TBI not only experience difficulty recalling things they used to know; they also have trouble forming new memories of events that happened after their accident. This can rob many individuals of the ability to work and even care for themselves independently. The cost of treatment and long-term care for this type of memory loss can be devastating.
If you or one of your loved ones has suffered memory loss from a traumatic brain injury in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington D.C., please contact the experienced Virginia brain injury lawyers at Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C. today to schedule your consultation.
