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Types of Traumatic Brain Injury: Brain Stem Injury
Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Maryland
The brain stem is the part of your brain that connects the brain to the spine. It is a relatively small part of the brain, but it performs many important functions. If you suffered brain stem injury as part of your brain injury, you most likely have lingering effects of the injury. Lingering effects of brain stem injuries include sleep disorders, difficulty swallowing, breathing problems, speech disorders, and balance problems.
If you suffered brain stem injury or other serious forms of traumatic brain injury, the personal injury lawyers at Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata, & Siegel, P.C. can help you seek compensation for your injury. Please call or email us today to learn how we have helped thousands of others and may be able to help you.
What Is the Brain Stem?
The brain stem is the lowest part of the brain, sitting below the back of the brain and directly atop the spine. It controls many basic motor functions, like breathing, heartbeat, and stomach muscles. The brain stem connects the brain to the organs of our body. The brain stem also controls the sleep cycle and maintains alertness and consciousness.
How Is the Brain Stem Injured?
Brain stem injury is almost never an isolated injury. Instead, brain stem injury typically occurs along with other types of traumatic brain injury, most often widespread trauma to the back of the brain. Brain stem injury may be present in as much as 33% of all lethal closed head injuries.
Brain stem injury often occurs as a result of angular acceleration of the head. Whenever the head snaps suddenly forward, to the side, or in a circular motion, it pivots on the spine and brain stem, making brain stem injuries commonly associated with high-energy deceleration traumas, as occur in a car accident.
In addition, brain stem injury can occur as a result of a direct trauma to the back of the head or a serious compression injury to the top of the head.
Effects of Brain Stem Injury
As noted above, brain stem injury is a common cause of death due to head trauma. And ten of the twelve cranial nerves originate in the brain stem, so brain stem injury can be closely related to cranial nerve injury. In addition, brain stem injury may be associated with the following ongoing effects:
- Coma
- Difficulty moving
- Vision problems
- Swallowing difficulties
- Breathing problems
- Sleep disorders
- Paralysis
Some people with brain stem injury can recover and lead a life that is close to normal. Others are seriously disabled by their brain stem injury and will never recover to resume their life as before.
If you or a loved one suffered a brain stem injury as a result of another person's negligence, the personal injury lawyers at Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata, & Siegel, P.C. can help. Please call or email us today for a free initial consultation.
