Causes of Brain Injury

There are two types of brain injury:

Traumatic Brain Injury

Is a result of a direct blow to the head. The force is large enough to break through the skull and damage the soft brain, or to cause the brain to move within the skull. 

Types of Injuries that cause the skull to break and hurt the brain include:

Car Crashes
Falling
Sports
Firearms
Physical Violence

Types of injuries that cause the brain to be moved back and forth within the skull include those that cause a rapid acceleration or deceleration of the head, including motor vehicle accidents and Shaken Baby Syndrome. In these cases, the movement within the skull causes nerve fibers in the brain to separate and damage to brain tissue.

Acquired Brain Injury

An acquired brain injury is one that has occurred after birth, and is not hereditary, congenital, or degenerative. Acquired brain injuries occur on a cellular level, which means that instead of a particular area in the brain being affected, cells throughout the entire brain are affected.

Common causes of Acquired Brain Injury include:

AIDS
Airway Obstruction
Aneurysm
Arteriovenous Malformation
Artery Impingement
Blood Loss
Choking
Electrical Shock
Heart Attack
Hepatic Encephalopathy
Hypo Or Hyperglycemia
Infectious Diseases
Injuries In Which The Chest Has Been Crushed
Insect-Carried Diseases
Intracranial Surgery
Intracranial Tumors
Lightning Strike
Meningitis
Metabolic Disorders
Near Drowning
Seizure Disorders
Shock
Some Venereal Diseases
Stroke,Toxic Exposures To Chemical And Gases
Trauma To The Head Or Neck
Uremic Encephalopathy
Vascular Disruption

How do you know if there was Medical Malpractice?

The misdiagnosis of a brain injury and/or failure by health care professionals to provide proper and timely car in the case of brain injury is malpractice.  Due to the wide array of causes of brain injury, it is important to consult experts in the specific area of the suspected cause of brain injury.