Water-based activities can be a lot of fun but they can also be extremely dangerous. When a person is struggling in the water, the situation can get out of hand rapidly. Drowning accidents are very common in the United States and anyone can be affected by one of these incidents. Children, though, have the highest rates of drowning accidents reported every year. In specific, drowning in children aged four and under is the leading cause of death for this demographic. Even though it doesn’t take much water for a small child to drown, pools are where these tragedies happen the most.
Victims of drowning accidents can easily lose their life. If quick action is taken to help a person and they survive, they may have experienced other serious injuries from the ordeal. Brain injuries are often linked with drowning accidents because of the lack of oxygen that happens during a drowning incident. Virginia Beach drowning accidents can have multiple parties that are responsible for the resulting damages to a victim. In some cases, a victim themselves may have some amount of blame but even when this is true, a property owner where the accident took place may be liable. If you or a loved one were injured in a Norfolk drowning accident, call the Virginia Beach drowning accident attorney at Virginia Beach Injury Law to examine your case and determine who is at fault.
How Does Oxygen Deprivation Cause Brain Injuries?
When a person is submerged underwater and can’t make it to the surface, their body will begin gasping for air. As this happens, their lungs will fill up with water causing the body to become deprived of vital oxygen necessary for the brain to function. A victim that suffers brain damage from oxygen deprivation will have to endure the implications of the injury for the rest of their life. Depending on the severity of the damage, the quality of a victim’s life can be substantially impacted.
Generally, the longer a victim is languishing underwater, will relate to the extent of damage they sustain. In some cases, the damage is clear and is considerable. In other cases, it isn’t immediately obvious. Symptoms of trauma to the brain can present themselves years after the incident occurred. Often times, victims who have brain injuries that don’t show up soon after the incident may be given the wrong diagnosis for their situation. This will have major implications for the victim, who without the right prognosis, will not get the correct course of treatment necessary to care for their injury. It is important that doctors keep an eye on victims of near-drowning incidents by monitoring them for a period of time to see if any signs of brain trauma appear.
Speak with a Virginia Beach Drowning Accident Attorney Today
Permanent brain damage from a Hampton Roads drowning accident may require a victim to need long-term therapy, medications, and medical support which are all very expensive. Victims must be correctly diagnosed and compensated fairly for the harm they had to endure after their Virginia Beach drowning accident.Â
To file a Virginia personal injury claim, a victim must have a licensed Virginia personal injury attorney according to Virginia personal injury law. Call the skilled and experienced Virginia Beach catastrophic injury attorney at Virginia Beach Injury Law immediately after your accident at (757) 802-4662 to schedule your free consultation.