An older man touching his temple thinking about an old brain injury that hasn't healed.

Brain Injuries Do Not Always Heal. Why Not?

On Behalf of Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire LLP
|
Jan 3, 2023

The human body has an incredible ability to heal after a serious injury, and many injuries simply need time. Medical treatment is still needed at the beginning, of course, but the healing takes place in the months or years to come. Someone with a broken arm needs to have it sent by the doctor, but the body will take care of the rest as the bone repairs itself.

The brain shares almost none of these characteristics. It has almost no ability to heal itself, and it cannot even regenerate cells like the rest of your body. In fact, that is the reason that it struggles to heal. Without regenerative abilities, any neural cells that die as a result of the damage to the brain are not going to be replaced. They are simply lost, which is far different than the cells in your bones, skin and other organs.

What Does the Brain Do?

When healing is observed, such as when someone has physical limitations after an injury, and gradually regains their skills, what is often happening is that the brain is examining all of the neural pathways that are available to it. The impulses that travel through your brain are what give you physical skills and cognitive abilities. If the brain can find another way to send these impulses, often called a new neural path, then it can sometimes promote healing, even though the cells that were lost can never be regenerated.What does this mean for you?

If you have suffered a serious brain injury, what this means is that there’s no telling exactly how far healing will progress. Some people see dramatic progress and wind up feeling exactly the same as they did before the injury. Others have cognitive or physical ailments that they can never seem to shake, and their lives have been changed forever.

If you do find yourself dealing with these changes and all of the other ramifications of a serious injury that someone else caused, then you need to know how to seek financial compensation. It may be able to help you cover some of these costs or even compensate you for the emotional impact of these changes.

SHARE THIS STORY