As a construction worker, you know you risk falling almost on a daily basis. Why? Because you must work on roofs, tall ladders and/or scaffolding to do so many of your jobs. Should you fall from one of these, you could sustain a life-changing traumatic brain injury.
Per the Mayo Clinic, when you receive a head injury, its force can cause your head and neck to violently jerk forward and backward. Your brain within your skull likewise violently jerks, injuring its delicate tissues in the process. Mayo also lists falls as the number one cause of TBIs.
TBI symptoms
Keep in mind that no two TBIs are the same. You therefore may or may not experience one or more of the following immediately after your injury:
- Temporary unconsciousness
- Vision problems
- Hearing problems
- Mobility and balance problems
- Speech problems
- Cognitive problems
Symptoms such as these may likewise appear as long as three to four weeks after your injury. In addition, you may find yourself unable to control your emotions since a TBI can change your personality as well as your body.
Only a qualified head trauma specialist can assess your injury and determine whether or not you did, in fact, suffer a TBI. If you did, you need immediate treatment and intervention to minimize its effects.
Possible TBI aftermaths
Unfortunately, you face serious, possibly life-long, disability if you suffer a serious TBI. In a worst-case scenario, you could require surgery as well as a lengthy hospitalization and rehabilitation program, plus ongoing physical, occupational and speech therapy. You may also require psychiatric care to help you handle your depression, anger and other negative feelings.