A person who sustains traumatic brain injury (TBI) in San Antonio, Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, Terrell Hills and surrounding areas may have many lingering effects of the injury. Some of the symptoms and consequences of a brain injury can stay with a person for the rest of his or her life. A victim of a brain injury should consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer in order to determine who should be held accountable and required to compensate the victim and victim's family members for losses.
New research suggests people who are suffering from traumatic brain injuries, or who have a history of head-trauma, may actually be more likely to cause similar injury to others. Additionally, drivers with a past history of brain trauma may be more likely to experience road rage that causes them to act out in dangerous ways. People who experience and act on road rage can significantly increase the risk of other motorists becoming involved in collisions. Car crashes are one of the leading causes of brain injury, so the cycle may perpetuate as brain injury victims cause accidents that create other brain injury victims.
Brain Injury Patients More Susceptible to Road Rage
According to US News Health, researchers are very interested in the psychological factors that can result in a motorist becoming prone to road rage and acting on feelings of aggression towards other motorists. There have been many past studies that have identified a possible link between road rage and various psychological issues.
One recent study took a close look at whether people who had experienced previous traumatic brain injuries were more likely to experience and act on road rage. For the purposes of the study, a traumatic brain injury was defined as an injury that resulted in a loss of consciousness for a total of five or more minutes or an injury to the brain that had necessitated an overnight hospital stay.
There were more than 4,000 adult drivers included in the study, with drivers ranging between the ages of 18 and 97. The research revealed that survey respondents who had experienced a previous traumatic brain injury were significantly more likely than people with no past history of brain injury to have an incident of "serious" road rage. Serious road rage was defined as causing damage to another motor vehicle, or making threats to cause harm to another motorist or driver.
Researchers warned results of the study show only a link between drivers who exhibit serious road rage and people who have had a past brain injury -- it is too early to determine if there is a causal connection between the past brain trauma and the violent or aggressive acts on the road. However, it is clear that a person who has suffered a brain injury is more likely to have problems with impulse control and anger management. All of this could strongly suggest that a past brain injury victim does have a significantly greater likelihood of giving into aggression on the road than someone who does not have this troubled health history.
Contact a San Antonio accident lawyer at the Herrera Law Firm. Call 800-455-1054 or visit www.herreralaw.com for a free case consultation. Serving San Antonio, Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, Terrell Hills and surrounding areas.
