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Acquired brain injury

Sustaining an acquired brain injury

Injuries which occur after birth, are referred to as acquired brain injuries. Brain injuries can occur before or during birth, and details of these can be found in our medical negligence section. It is important to understand the various causes of acquired brain injury in order to distinguish between conditions acquired before or during birth, and those sustained after birth.

Many accidents or violent situations can result in an acquired brain injury. These may include but not be limited to:

slips, trips or falls, etc.
being a driver, passenger, motorcyclist or pedestrian involved in a road accident
being attacked at work, or in a civil situation
sports injuries
conflict injuries such as bomb blasts sustained by armed forces personnel

Injuries received in any of these types of accidents are called Traumatic Brain Injuries and generally occur when the head receives a severe blow or jolt.

Please telephone us now on 0800 783 9019 if you or a member of your family has suffered a head or brain injury and you would like Clear Answers to help you receive the compensation to which you are entitled. Alternatively, complete one of our online compensation claim forms and a representative will contact you as soon as possible to discuss the circumstances of your accident and injury, and whether you have a valid accident claim.

Please visit our section on information and advice for more details on making a personal injury compensation claim, or our gathering information and evidence section for details on what to do if you are involved in an accident.

Severity of acquired brain injury

The severity of your injury will play a major part in how much accident compensation you will receive if your claim is successful. In order to provide a rough guide as to how serious your injury may be, the time that you spent in a coma, or suffering post-traumatic amnesia, can offer some indication.

The condition of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) is one in which you may be conscious but confused and disoriented. You may be aware of your surroundings but unable to remember conversations, everyday things, or you will even say or do things that are unusual.

Minor or moderate brain injury

A minor or moderate brain injury may be indicated by a coma of just a few minutes or between 15 minutes to six hours respectively. This might also be accompanied by periods in PTA of up to an hour and between 1 and 24 hours respectively.

Severe brain injury

A severe brain injury will usually follow a period of 6 to 48 hours in a coma, or one to seven days in PTA.

Very severe brain injury

If you were in a coma for more than 48 hours or in PTA for more than 7 days, this may be an indication that you have suffered a very severe brain injury.

Guide to the final outcome

Whilst providing the best measure of the eventual outcome, these timings offer merely a guide to the final outcome and your long-term needs. Further tests would have been carried out once you recovered consciousness.

Statistical facts about acquired brain injuries

According to the support organisation, Headway,

an estimated one million people attend A&E departments in UK hospitals each year, although many more head injuries will go unreported and untreated by medical professionals
of these, approximately 135 thousand are admitted for treatment of their brain injury
the percentage of very severe brain injuries is quite low, with 5% of all traumatic brain injuries classified as severe, 10% classified as moderate, and the majority (85%) as minor

Personal injury news stories

Clear Answers’ specialist personal injury solicitors deal with a large number of all types of personal injury and accident compensation claims each year, many resulting in serious injuries such as head and brain injuries. Details of some of these successful compensation claims can be found in our Personal Injury News Section, which is updated regularly.

Head and brain injury compensation claims

If you or a member of your family has suffered a traumatic head or brain injury in any type of accident, it is vital that you seek specialist advice as quickly as possible. Clear Answers' specialist personal injury solicitors can give guidance and assistance on whether it is possible to make a claim for accident compensation.

If you do have a valid personal injury compensation claim for a head injury or brain injury, and you decide to instruct Clear Answers to deal with the matter for you, we will recover our legal fees from the person responsible for your injury. The entire procedure is cost-free for you. You will retain 100% of the compensation you receive.

Strict time limits apply for making a personal injury compensation claim, so please seek expert legal advice as soon as you think you may have a valid claim for compensation.

Our team of expert personal injury solicitors is waiting to help you, and will be happy to explain the accident claims process in plain English, and to answer any questions you may have regarding your claim.

If you would like Clear Answers to help you receive the compensation to which you are entitled, please telephone us now on 0800 783 9019 or complete an online compensation claim form and one of our representatives will contact you as soon as possible to discuss the circumstances of your accident and injury.

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