Traumatic Brain Injury in Plane Crash is Probable
There are many different factors that can cause traumatic brain injury in plane crashes. First would be a blow to the head in where the head forcefully comes in contact with another object. Traumatic brain injury in plane crash can also be caused by acceleration/deceleration of the head and neck. If there is no loss of consciousness or obvious trauma to the head, brain injury may be undiagnosed at the time of the of the air crash and may not be considered as the cause of serious cognitive, emotional and behavior changes.
Loss of Consciousness May not be Documented in Air Crash Brain Injury
If a person is involved in an accident that caused them to lose consciousness it means they suffered a brain injury. Yet, in a plane crash as the Asiana Crash at SFO, a loss of consciousness could have been missed, because of the panic that was going on in the plane. A loss of consciousness that might have been as brief as a few seconds when the plane hit the seawall, might have already ended by the time the plane came to a stop. Likewise, any number of trauma’s occuring during the time the plane was spinning and tumbling down the runway, could have caused some transient loss of consciousness. Yet, as the panic and confusion was undoubtedly rampant throughout the plane, there is a high likelihood that anyone would else other than the concussed person would have reported such loss of consciousness. While it is possible that the brain injured person might report it, in a substantial percentage of cases, the injured person has no clear knowledge of having been unconscious. That probability increases because of the mass confusion that existed in the seconds after Asiana 214 came to a rest.
Loss of Consciousness Not Required for an Air Crash Brain Injury
Even more probable that there were passengers with concussions that involved loss of consciousness is that there were those who suffered a concussion, without actually being unconscious. It is not necessary that an individual be unconscious to suffer a traumatic brain injury in plane crash. A period of being dazed and confused is a sufficient “acute event of concussion” for a diagnosis of brain injury to be made. However, as the entire accident process would have been entirely chaotic, the probability that brain injury related confusion would be noted or taken seriously is unlikely. Thus, as we consider potential medical problems and traumatic brain injury in plane crash, it is important to look at the overall change in the person that occurred both before and after the plane crash. If the survivor’s of a plane crash begin to have cognitive, emotional or behavior changes, it is of utmost importance that they get evaluated for brain injury. And in such evaluation, it is critical that the diagnosis of brain injury be considered, even though many of these symptoms could easily be attributed to the emotional ordeal of having survived a plane crash. While the overlapping diagnosis of PTSD is certainly worth factoring in, the organic diagnosis of traumatic brain injury in plane crash must be forefront in the differential diagnosis.
In a crash such as Asiana Flight 214, the evolution of symptoms over the days and weeks after the crash is critical. While it is a complex process to sort out the unique characteristics of traumatic brain injury versus post traumatic stress disorder, it is essential that both diagnosis be considered and treated where found. Lastly, it is significant that the possibility of both occurring in the same survivor be factored in. The existence of PTSD in a brain injury survivor will undoubtedly make the TBI, more troublesome. The existence of Post Concussion Syndrome (mild TBI) in a PTSD survivor will make the PTSD far more difficult to recover from.
For more information on Concussion and Loss of Consciousness click here (http://tbilaw.com/acute-evidence-of-concussion.html)
If you feel like you or anyone you know has experienced any of the above scenarios please contact Attorney Gordon Johnson of Brain Injury Law Group. S.C. We have twenty (some ?) years or dealing with primarily brain injury. Link to your site