A severe brain injury from a car accident can cause physically debilitating effects like sensitivity to light, dizziness and cognitive changes. More rarely, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) affect victims in an even more profound way. They can change your behavior and personality.
The effects of a TBI can fade over time. But in some cases, friends and relatives find that the victim is never quite the same. The person may be quicker to anger, more impulsive, less easygoing, or have other differences in the way they act compared to before their injury. In other cases, the victim’s personality traits may become exaggerated. Or they may lose their ability to feel emotions, or may express inappropriate emotions, such as laughing when someone feels sad.
A huge adjustment for everyone
Along with memory problems, these personality changes are out of the victim’s control. But they can confuse or alienate the people in their lives. Without meaning to, friends and loved ones can embarrass or frustrate the patient, who may never again be the same person they used to know before the crash. Caretakers and loved ones have to accept this fact.
Caring for someone with personality changes and other severe effects of by brain trauma can be a huge challenge. It can be done, but might require the caregiver (usually a spouse, parent or child) to give up working. Compensation from a personal injury lawsuit can help make up the steep costs that a brain injury can have on a family and give the victim a chance for a better recovery.