With many injuries that you suffer, healing may take time, but it’s going to happen. A serious cut on your arm is going to heal. A broken bone that has properly been set is also going to heal. Your body is able to renew these areas, even if there are scars left behind.
So why doesn’t that happen with the brain? Say you’re involved in a serious car accident with an 18-wheeler, and the height of the truck means that it impacts your head in the crash. You suffer serious injuries to the brain. The surgeons are able to stop the bleeding and get you stable, but they don’t know if you’re going to completely regain the abilities you’ve lost.
Why not? Why can’t the brain he’ll just like the rest of your body?
The cells do not divide and replace themselves
The problem is simply that 99% of brain cells have no way to renew themselves or replace themselves. This means that parts of the brain that are injured cannot generate new cells to aid in healing. Your skin can, as can other tissues. That’s why a cut can heal and the skin can grow back. But the brain has no way to accomplish this because it has an almost set number of cells to work with. Any that are damaged severely in the accident cannot be replaced, and so full healing doesn’t always occur.
This means that you may have to deal with certain symptoms for the rest of your life, and it’s just one reason why it’s so important to understand your legal options after a catastrophic brain injury.