If your child has suffered a head trauma, there is a good chance that he or she will change afterwards. Just be aware why the child’s behavior is now different.
Many parents and others who interact with children on a regular basis are confused and frustrated by changes in their child after he or she has sustained a brain injury. They may find that things they used to do to handle the child’s behavior do not work anymore. The key to understanding what is different is to recognize that something has changed in their brains and they have no control over it.
Many of the changes parents will see relate to their child withdrawing, experiencing unpredictable mood swings, throwing temper tantrums, irritability, impulsive behavior that didn’t exist before, a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary crying or a lack of restraint that shows up in many ways that may include no regard for social conventions. A New Mexico injury lawyer will often use this information in court to win compensation for the family to care for the child.
Why is this kind of behavior harder to handle now that it was before the brain injury? The answer involves your child’s temporal and frontal lobes, the areas in the brain that control and direct responses to situations and behavior. If these lobes are damaged, your child might not be able to control his or her feelings, actions or temper. In fact, the child’s whole personality may be completely different than what it was before their accident.
When behavior changes like this, it confounds those who care for the child and it makes it difficult for people to understand what happened. Frankly, it is just like living with a stranger in the body of their once well known son, brother or cousin. The family is often asked to outline the changes they noticed by their New Mexico injury lawyer, to allow him to build a compelling personal injury case for court.
It is not just others who live with children who suffered brain trauma that have trouble with the new reality; it is the children themselves. They do not understand why they are different, which scares them and may compound the behavior changes. They have lost their sense of who they once were and are now trying to cope with the reality of whom they are now. You can imagine how frightening that would be to a youngster.
If your child has sustained traumatic brain injury, you will want to speak to a competent New Mexico injury lawyer and not only find out what your rights are, but find out how compensation is awarded in cases like this. Brain injuries are permanent and life altering. If your child needs full-time care because of the negligence of someone else, this will affect the compensation awarded.
Scott Atkinson was admitted to practice in New Mexico in 1989 and is a New Mexico personal injury lawyer and New Mexico wrongful death lawyer with the Atkinson Law Firm, LTD. Learn more at Attorneynewmexico.com or call 1.505.944.1050.
