If you’re in a car accident, you could suffer from a traumatic brain injury (TBI). In some cases, this is a closed injury where the brain strikes the inside of the skull and is injured, such as a severe concussion. In other cases, it is an open injury, meaning that there is a wound that you can see.
Either way, one of the important things to note is that brain injuries do not always completely heal. In the wake of the injury, you might have problems with memory, mobility issues or personality changes – just to name a few examples. Some of these may go away with time and as you go through the rehab treatment with your medical team. But some of these symptoms may never go away because the brain doesn’t fully heal in all cases.
Why can’t your brain heal completely?
When the brain cannot heal completely, one of the reasons commonly cited is just that it can’t create new neural cells. There’s a very very small amount of cell regeneration that happens in the brain.
This is vastly different than the rest of your body. Most of your cells are constantly being regenerated and growing. Just think about the changes in your skin as it heals. You may end up with scar tissue, but new tissue can be created at the site of an injury.
Since the brain cannot recreate cells, it is dependent on finding new neural pathways in order to eliminate the symptoms. It can do this for some of them, but there’s no guarantee that new pathways will be found for all. This is why people sometimes have lifelong conditions.
If you’ve suffered a brain injury in an accident, you can see why it’s so important to know about all the legal options you have to seek financial compensation from the person who was responsible.