Oftimes, we represent children who have been in an accident and suffer traumatic brain injuries (Tbi injuries).
These injuries are often overshadowed initially by other more visible injuries such as fractures, serious abrasions or internal organ injuries.
Over a period of time, the obvious injuries heal but the parents may notice their child having difficulty with thinking, understanding or remembering things.
In school, attention and behavior problems can suddenly come to the fore.
One of the great difficulties in recovering from these injuries is recognizing that even though everything looks fine and the child appears healthy, the child may be having very real organic brain difficulties.
The type of head injury suffered and the best treatment outcomes are usually diagnosed and treated by a neuropsychologist
Initially, traumatic brain injuries may be missed and most often they are. The typical initial treaters who tend ot be Emergency Room Drs or possible neurologists and not really trained to do the extensive testing that neuropsychologists do.
Those Doctors may have an MRI done or have done a CT Scan but those tests rarely detect most brain injuries.
Once these brain injuries are diagnosed, its important for parents to work with school personnel to devise school programs to help them under the IDEA or Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Children with brain injuries have many needs that they may not have had before the accident. An IDEA program for the child can help them get the most of their schooling and sensitive teachers to the very real problems they are having.
Children who suffer a brain injury should be represented by experienced brain injury lawyers who are familiar with those injuries and how to move through them.