A bump on the head may have taken Dorothy to the land of Oz, but a bump on the head is more likely to take anyone else to the hospital. From concussions to traumatic brain injury, a head injury may be life-changing.
In an article on the Ontario Brain Injury Association website (www.obia.ca) called Head Injuries Happen to Families, Executive Director Ruth Wilcock writes: “Perhaps it was a phone call that changed your life so dramatically. Although you didn’t know it then, many strangers would soon enter your life; most of them would be speaking “medicalese” and offering confusing and conflicting messages. One of the first things these strangers might have told you was that a person very close to you had sustained a head injury, was in a coma, and might never awaken.”
Head injuries are unlike other injuries or illnesses, states Wilcock in her blog. “You discover that little is known about recovery and that the few available treatment programs are incredibly expensive and located hundreds of miles away. Physicians providing treatment may simultaneously relay prognoses which range from total recovery to little hope. Or may relay information you neither understand nor accept. You don’t even know what questions to ask so you don’t get answers. You know that the person who existed before the injury has changed but you’re not sure how or for how long.” The acute period may see round-the-clock caregivers.
There are close to half a million people living with a brain injury in Ontario with 18,000 new cases added every year. In a blog on the OBIA website, Executive Director Wilcock cites some findings from the 2012 OBIA Impact Report which surveyed nearly 600 ABI survivors and 150 caregivers across Canada, providing a clear picture of the symptoms and long-term consequences of ABI: “Acquired brain injury (ABI) is 15 times more common than spinal cord injury, 30 times more common than breast cancer and 400 times more common than HIV/AIDS. The numbers are truly staggering; however, awareness about brain injury and its life-long effects on survivors remain a mystery to most of the general public. In the past couple of years, the heightened media attention on sports concussions has at least brought some awareness to the matter. However, there is still much work to be done when it comes to enhancing awareness and understanding of ABI. One of the ways in which the Ontario Brain Injury Association (OBIA) is responding to this need is through the newly released OBIA Impact Report.” Source: www.obia.ca.
If you or a loved one is a victim of a brain injury, it is important to seek the aid of legal counsel with experience in brain injury cases. At Horowitz Injury Law we have nearly 35 years of experience in advancing brain injury cases. Call us today for a free consultation. Our team of experts specialize in getting you the care and compensation you deserve. 416-925-4100.
