Every summer, children and adults in New Jersey and Pennsylvania flock to swimming pools, rivers, and the ocean to escape the heat. Unfortunately, any body of water can pose a serious safety hazard.

Near Drowning Brain Damage

According to statistics, more than two people drown every minute, resulting in 1.2 million deaths from drowning every year. Not only are fatalities a terrible outcome of drowning accidents, but brain damage from near drowning is a serious injury related to these accidents, too. Eight times this amount come close to drowning, but are successfully rescued. Although many of these near-drowning victims are able to move forward with a normal life, others suffer from brain injuries caused by oxygen deprivation.

Consequences of Oxygen Deprivation To The Brain

When a person is drowning, water enters the lungs, depriving the body of oxygen and cutting off the transfer of oxygen to the blood and the brain. This can lead to significant brain damage.

Medicine has thankfully come a long way, making it easier for drowning victims to be revived if they are rescued in enough time – especially if they were submerged in very cold water. However, brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation is permanent, and can cause a victim to have problems with proper brain function for the rest of their lives.

Amount of Brain Damage from Drowning

The length of time a near-drowning victim was deprived of oxygen usually determines the severity of their brain injury. Unfortunately, it is difficult to predict the effects of any given traumatic brain injury, especially since the symptoms of brain injury might not show themselves for several years. For example, a young child may initially seem fine after they are revived, but when they begin school, they might have trouble writing, drawing, concentrating, or remembering information.

Monitoring a Near-Drowning Victim for Brain Injury

Doctors should test and monitor near-drowning victims for signs of traumatic brain injury at regular intervals after their accident. Brain injury is all too often diagnosed as something else, leaving victims and their families without the resources, medication, and therapy services they need.

If you or your loved one has suffered a brain injury caused by a drowning accident due to another person’s negligence, or if you have not received proper diagnosis and treatment from your physician, please contact Wapner Newman today to schedule a free initial consultation with our experienced brain injury lawyers in New Jersey.

Our personal injury attorneys in Philadelphia represent brain injury victims throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with offices in Philadelphia, Allentown, West Conshohocken, and Marlton.