| Those men and women who choose to serve their | | | | easy for strangers to miss. There does exist some |
| country in the military unfortunately run a higher risk | | | | evidence that such symptoms may occasionally be |
| of incurring a traumatic brain injury (TBI) than those | | | | misdiagnosed as pure psychological, or even a result |
| civilians who might be exposed to less risk. One | | | | of a soldier's malingering, partly due to the lack of |
| reason for this is that military personnel are under a | | | | resources and traumatic brain injury expertise that |
| high risk for being involved in car accidents, which are | | | | combat doctors might be forced to deal with. |
| the most common cause of all TBIs. In addition, | | | | And as Commander James Dunne, lead trauma |
| military personnel are consistently at risk of being | | | | surgeon at the National Naval Medical Center, |
| injured by powerful munitions, which can also cause a | | | | observed at a 2006 summit of military physicians, the |
| brain injury through concussive force. Though military | | | | long-term consequences of an undiagnosed TBI can |
| service does exposed personnel to the risk of a | | | | be devastating. Those servicemen and women with |
| penetrative brain injury, such as caused by a bullet or | | | | an undiagnosed brain injury can lose all-too-important |
| shrapnel, an even greater risk exists for a TBI | | | | treatment time, which can prolong recovery time and |
| caused by a concussive blast wave as a result of an | | | | possibly cause serious personal complications and |
| explosive. The high occurrence of explosions due to | | | | setbacks. Because side effects of a traumatic brain |
| improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in combat | | | | injury include behavioral and emotional problems, |
| theaters such as Iraq and Afghanistan means | | | | especially depression, TBIs can hold discharged |
| American troops in the field are at a high risk of | | | | soldiers back from reintegrating into civilian society or |
| incurring a TBI. | | | | even from continued success in the armed services. |
| Afghanistan, Iraq Conflicts a Major Risk Factor for | | | | A 1996 medical study showed that a behavior-related |
| Traumatic Brain Injury | | | | discharge from the military was 1.8 times more likely |
| We now know those who have served in | | | | for a TBI patient than for a soldier without a TBI. |
| Afghanistan or Iraq are at a much higher risk of TBI | | | | Difficulties with memory, motor skills and the senses, |
| than combat veterans from previous wars. In the | | | | more common side effects of brain damage, can also |
| Vietnam War, 14 to 18 percent of all veterans had a | | | | affect veterans' ability to get a job, care for a family |
| brain injury. Today, the Walter Reed Army Medical | | | | or perform other life functions. And without a |
| Center says 31 percent of those admitted between | | | | diagnosis, military TBI patients may be liable for tens |
| January 2003 and May 2005 had some kind of brain | | | | of thousands of dollars' worth of medical bills, on top |
| injury. A 2005 study in the New England Journal of | | | | of lost wages. |
| Medicine attributed these higher numbers in part to | | | | Proper helmets and body armor, particularly the |
| advancements in munitions, especially improvised | | | | newest Kevlar armor, remain the best way to |
| explosive devices, and in part to improvements in | | | | prevent a traumatic brain injury among those who |
| body armor, which protects soldiers from what | | | | serve in the military. It is also important to have rapid |
| would previously have been a fatal penetrative | | | | diagnosis and quickly implemented treatment of a TBI |
| wound, but not from a nonfatal blast injury. | | | | to prevent secondary injuries due to the chemical |
| Misdiagnosed/Undiagnosed Traumatic Brain Injury in | | | | and physical changes to the brain that can |
| Soldiers | | | | accompany a TBI, swelling for example. It can also |
| Because the symptoms of a traumatic brain injury | | | | minimize the cost, both personal and financial, of the |
| often do not appear until weeks after the injury is | | | | injury to the soldier and his or her loved ones. If you |
| sustained, it is not uncommon for a TBI to go | | | | believe that you or one of your loved ones might |
| undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. This is especially true | | | | have an undiagnosed service-related TBI, an |
| when the symptoms of a TBI are subtle, such as a | | | | experienced brain injury attorney can help you get |
| personality change or emotional problems, which are | | | | the help and compensation you deserve. |