Herndon Reston brain injury lawyer Doug Landau is asked, “How can I have a brain injury to the side OPPOSITE where my head struck the interior of my car ?”

Brain injury lawyer Doug Landau studied neurology and neurophysiology before attending law school. He recognized that it was important to understand how his clients’ bodies functioned. This Virginia trial lawyer also realized that he needed to have more than just a passing understanding of the medical terminology used in his clients’ records and experts’ reports.

Landau (shown here teaching in Richmond on the topic of medical care and equipment for disabled workers on a government program) is fond of pointing out that the human body is a miraculous machine. It is resilient, and often able to recover from horrific and traumatic injury. The ABRAMS LANDAU trial team has seen a number of clients heal from terrible injuries and bounce back from enormous impact. This is especially true of our younger clients. Children, even those who sustain fractured skulls and subdural hematoma, seem to make better recoveries than their adult counterparts.

Part of the resiliency of the human body is found in the flexibility and elasticity of many of its parts. Tendons, ligaments, muscles and other connective tissues are often able to withstand and absorb significant impact and blows. There may be bruising and pain, but the body’s natural healing ability is often up to the task of repair and replacement of damaged cells and tissues.

When the head is struck, it often moves until it is abruptly brought to a stop against a solid object. At this moment, the brain continues moving for a brief instant until it hits the bony prominences inside the now stationary skull. The skull does not give with this impact. The brain does. This is often accompanied by a stretch of the nerve endings. Sometimes this “stretch” goes beyond the nerve’s limit, and microscopic nerve (axonal) tears occur. These are not detected by regular x-rays. Sometimes, the injury to the moving brain takes place at a site opposite the point at which the skull was initially struck. This type of injury is called “contra-coup,” as opposed to a “coup” injury occurring on the same side as the initial impact (coup = blow, French; contra-coup = opposite the blow). Traumatic lesions, whether they are the product of closed or penetrating injuries, and whether they are coup or contra-coup, may be said to have direct effects, and secondary effects. Direct Effects and Secondary Effects will be addressed in the next post.

See, www.pathology.vcu.edu/trauma.html