You may have heard it said that brain injuries are different for everyone because different parts of the brain can be harmed. Two people could suffer TBIs, or traumatic brain injuries, in the same car accident, for example, and have drastically different outcomes and paths to healing. Below are a few examples of the way that brain injury causes can drastically change the scope of the injury.

1. With a direct impact, such as a strike from a falling object, the brain may only be injured right below the spot where the object impacted the skull.

2. An injury caused by an explosion, however, could cause damage to many areas of the brain because the blast and the shockwave have such a widespread striking area. Even if the blast is in front of the person, the interior or even the back of the brain could also be injured. This is a concern for soldiers, firefighters, and others.

3. Even a single jolt can hurt multiple areas of the brain if it’s hard enough to move the brain within the skull. For instance, if a person is involved in a car accident, the deceleration could be fast enough that the person’s head snaps back and forth, and the brain compresses itself against different portions of the skull wall, unable to slow at the same speed.

4. Injuries that cause bleeding on the brain, inside of the skull, can cause extensive damage. This comes both from the pressure and from the disruption of normal blood flow, which could cut off parts of the brain from blood and oxygen.

These are just a few examples, but they really do a good job of showing how and why a brain injury really is different for everyone. No matter what challenges you’re facing or how long the road to recovery may be, make sure you know what rights you have to compensation if someone else’s actions or negligence caused the injury.

Source: Mayo Clinic, “Traumatic brain injury,” accessed Dec. 16, 2016