Traumatic Brain Injury is a Chronic Disease, Say Researchers | Los Angeles Brain Injury Attorneys
Traumatic brain injury should be reclassified as a chronic disease, according to researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (reports the Eureka Alert news source). Currently, traumatic brain injury (TBI) is viewed and treated as a singular event by numerous health care providers and insurance companies. In a recent study, however, the researchers found that brain trauma is consistently associated with lifelong conditions that negatively affect the quality of life and life expectancy. The Galveston researchers examined 25 years of research on brain injury and its effects on cognitive functions, motor skills, and the central nervous system. One of the authors explains how the U.S. health care system tends to view TBI as a “one-time injury that heals the way a broken bone does,” despite the fact that TBI “fits the World Health Organization’s definition of a chronic disease.” In order to ensure that traumatic brain injury patients receive necessary medical care, the authors explain, TBI must become recognized as what it is– a chronic disease. The researchers add that defining traumatic brain injury as the “beginning of an ongoing process” that can cause additional diseases or disorders may help fund and direct future research on the disease process following TBI.
Whether you or your family member has just sustained a California traumatic brain injury or has been suffering from the long-term effects of TBI for some time, you may be able to file a legal claim for compensation so you can worry about getting better rather than how to pay for costly medical expenses. Keep in mind, however, that many cases cannot be filed after a specified amount of time after the initial injury occured, so it is important to pursue legal advice right away. If you would like free advice, answers to questions, or resources related to your specific case of traumatic brain injury, feel free to contact Los Angeles brain injury lawyers Steinberg & Spencer online or by phone at 800-350-8888.
August 31, 2010
Tags: brain injury, California traumatic brain injury, chronic disease, Los Angeles brain injury lawyers, TBI, traumatic brain injury Posted in: Brain Injury News & Medical Research
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