Traumatic Brain Injury Possibly Linked to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
March 12th, 2012
A recent study from UCLA published in Biological Psychology has suggested that people who suffer from traumatic brain injuries (TBI) may be more susceptible to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or anxiety attacks. The study could have implications for lawsuits brought by accident victims who sustained TBI.
Researchers induced concussive brain injuries in a group of rats and then exposed them to an emotional trauma two days later. When compared to a control group of rats with no TBI, which was exposed to the same emotional trauma, the TBI rats exhibited substantially greater fear. One scientist commented that “it was as if the injury primed the brain for learning to be afraid.”
Researchers also found objective evidence for the findings by looking at the rats’ amygdala, the brain’s center for fear learning, and found significantly more receptors for promoting excitement, apparently indicating that brain trauma appears to render the brain more vulnerable to potent fear.
The study also suggests that individuals who have sustained TBI refrain from stressful situations. For medical-legal purposes, a defendant in a personal injury case could be liable for increased damages if a TBI victim suffers PTSD following the injury. If an injury victim undergoes surgery as a direct result of his or her accident injuries and experiences complications that were foreseeable, then the defendant could be liable for those consequential damages and injuries as well.
Implications For TBI Attorneys
It may be sound practice for attorneys to advise their clients with TBI to avoid stressful situations to mitigate their damages as well as to avoid aggravating their injury. Avoiding a stressful situation may be difficult, though, especially since it is not clear how much stress could trigger an anxiety disorder. It may not be reasonably practicable or possible for a TBI victim to avoid any conceivable stressful situations. For example, if the plaintiff is being driven to a medical or other appointment, he or she could be involved in an accident or a near collision that could result in PTSD for an especially susceptible individual.
Nonetheless, experienced personal injury attorneys or TBI lawyers should advise their clients to find non-stressful living arrangements and to ensure that family members or caretakers take pains to not expose the plaintiff to any situation that is anxiety producing.
Also, personal injury attorneys should become familiar with the UCLA study and, if applicable, consult with medical experts regarding their clients if they suspect he or she has developed an anxiety disorder following a traumatic brain injury.
A recent study from UCLA published in Biological Psychology has suggested that people who suffer from traumatic brain injuries (TBI) may be more susceptible to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or anxiety attacks. The study could have implications for lawsuits brought by accident victims who sustained TBI.
Researchers induced concussive brain injuries in a group of rats and then exposed them to an emotional trauma two days later. When compared to a control group of rats with no TBI, which was exposed to the same emotional trauma, the TBI rats exhibited substantially greater fear. One scientist commented that “it was as if the injury primed the brain for learning to be afraid.”
Researchers also found objective evidence for the findings by looking at the rats’ amygdala, the brain’s center for fear learning, and found significantly more receptors for promoting excitement, apparently indicating that brain trauma appears to render the brain more vulnerable to potent fear.
The study also suggests that individuals who have sustained TBI refrain from stressful situations. For medical-legal purposes, a defendant in a personal injury case could be liable for increased damages if a TBI victim suffers PTSD following the injury. If an injury victim undergoes surgery as a direct result of his or her accident injuries and experiences complications that were foreseeable, then the defendant could be liable for those consequential damages and injuries as well.
Implications For TBI Attorneys
It may be sound practice for attorneys to advise their clients with TBI to avoid stressful situations to mitigate their damages as well as to avoid aggravating their injury. Avoiding a stressful situation may be difficult, though, especially since it is not clear how much stress could trigger an anxiety disorder. It may not be reasonably practicable or possible for a TBI victim to avoid any conceivable stressful situations. For example, if the plaintiff is being driven to a medical or other appointment, he or she could be involved in an accident or a near collision that could result in PTSD for an especially susceptible individual.
Nonetheless, experienced personal injury attorneys or TBI lawyers should advise their clients to find non-stressful living arrangements and to ensure that family members or caretakers take pains to not expose the plaintiff to any situation that is anxiety producing.
Also, personal injury attorneys should become familiar with the UCLA study and, if applicable, consult with medical experts regarding their clients if they suspect he or she has developed an anxiety disorder following a traumatic brain injury.
