Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

The human brain is the highest functioning organ on the planet. It keeps our other organs functioning, regulates our emotions, processes stimuli, and allows us to do everything that human beings are capable of, from the comparatively simple (breathing, hearing) to the complex (writing, processing language). Beyond its place at the center of our physical processes, the brain also defines who we are, our goals, dreams and hopes for the future. This is why when a brain injury occurs, it can be the cruelest of injuries, both for the victim and the victim’s loved ones. Many of Barbara's clients simply say: "I am not the same person I was before the accident."

When the human brain is injured, the consequences of the damage can be as varied as the functions of the brain itself. A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a life changing event, and the results usually irrevocably alter the quality of the victim’s life.

Although TBIs can occur in many ways, the most common cause is the head striking an object. This can occur in any number of ways, from car accidents to assaults to slips and falls. TBIs can also occur due to infection or sudden disruption of oxygen to the brain. A TBI can result in physical, cognitive and emotional difficulties for the victim.

Injuries based on the Brain’s Geography

Although no brain injury is typical, the one element that can usually be seen with consistency is that a brain injury is rarely limited to one area. When the human head comes into contact with a hard object or surface, the brain has a tendency to ricochet inside the skull, so that the damage is spread out to not only the point of impact, but also the point directly opposite.

Just as each separate section of the human brain provides a group of functions, damage to each separate section can adversely affect how those functions work.

Injuries to the Frontal Lobe

Due to its close proximity to bony protrusions located on the inside surface of the skull, the frontal lobe of the brain is especially susceptible to damage. A frontal lobe injury can adversely affect voluntary motor functions. The pre-motor cortex stores movement patterns, and an injury to this area can result in inhibition of movement or a total inability to move a limb.

Injuries to the Temporal Lobe

Temporal lobe damage often affects both auditory and visual perception, as well as language comprehension and behavioral function.

Injuries to the Limbic System

Injuries to the Limbic System have a tendency to cause severe emotional changes to the victim, and can also affect olfactory functions, and are often the cause of coma.

Injuries to the Parietal Lobe

The parietal lobe is crucial to sensory input and body orientation. An injury to this area can cause an inability to recognize certain sounds or smells, and can even cause the victim to be unable to use certain body parts effectively.

Injuries to the Occipital Lobe

Visual reception would be impossible without the occipital lobe. Damage to this area can cause difficulties in recognizing spatial relations or depth perception, or it could cause any number of visual impairments, ranging from blindness to seeing flashes of light. Many survivors suffer from double vision.

The Silent or Invisible Injury

A traumatic brain injury is especially tragic because its survivors often display no outward signs of damage. It’s very easy to see the consequences of an accident that resulted in paralysis or amputation, but the harm done by a TBI is not immediately obvious.

TBI survivors often have their lives irrevocably changed, and simply slipping back into the life that they knew before the accident is not an option. How can a truck driver expect to return to his job if he has difficulty judging spatial relations? How can a preschool teacher return to work when she finds it increasingly difficult to maintain emotional control? A TBI can effectively ruin not only the life of the survivor, but also the life of the survivor’s family if the survivor was the breadwinner in the family.

Insurance companies do their best to try to minimize the actual damage done to any sort of accident victims, and traumatic brain injury survivors are no exception. They do their best to make it appear that a TBI victim is somehow “faking it,” or overreacting to a condition that isn’t that serious. Because of this, its crucial that victims of traumatic brain injuries have an attorney that both understands how insurance companies work, and also has a thorough and complete understanding of brain injuries and how they adversely affect the lives of the victims.

Barbara Williams: an attorney focused on the rights of TBI victims

Barbara S. Williams has spent her entire career representing Virginians who have been injured through no fault of their own. She has placed a priority on fighting for the rights of victims of traumatic brain injuries, and she has done so both in and out of the courtroom. Besides representing the legal interests of victims, she also serves on the Board of Directors of Brain Injury Services, a non-profit group that provides free case management services to survivors of brain injuries. She has seen first-hand the difficulties that a survivor of a brain injury must face, and brings that knowledge, experience, and compassion to all of her brain injury clients.

Barbara Williams, P.C.: Shielding the Injured from the Injustice of Insurance Companies In:

Sterling, Herndon, Ashburn, Cascades, Countryside, Front Royal, Winchester, Berryville, Frederick County, Luray, Page County, Clarke County, Shenandoah County, Warren County

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Library for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI):

  • Mahlon Frankhauser's story [PDF]   
    Description: My name is Mahlon Frankhauser and the name of my talk is “Never give up ~ persevere!” I was a securities attorney for 40 years and during that time worked for the SEC and The New York Stock Exchange. For the last 28 years I had been a partner of a large International nationwide law firm from which I am now retired due to my injury and inability to practice law.
  • Kit Callahan's story [PDF]   
    Description: On November 8, 2006, our law firm hosted a luncheon for the Speakers Bureau of Brain Injury Services. At the luncheon, four speakers shared their stories about surviving a brain injury.

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Barbara S. Williams, P.C.
101 Loudoun Street SW
Leesburg, VA 20175
Phone: 703.777.6535
Fax: 703.777.6963
Toll Free: 888.997.6535

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Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

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