Hollywood star Bruce Willis’ family recently confirmed that the beloved actor is suffering from aphasia, a cognitive disorder that can affect a person’s ability to understand speech and even speak properly. The condition can sometimes be linked to a past brain injury.
Willis’ family recently confirmed that the actor is suffering from aphasia. This is a condition that affects the part of the brain that is responsible for understanding speech and regulating the person’s ability to communicate and speak. The condition affects the person’s ability to understand both written as well as spoken language. This makes it difficult to read and comprehend what is being read. Understandably, the condition can pose challenges and can interfere with the person’s ability to lead a normal life. Treatments can include speech and language therapy that can help the person learn to communicate all over again. Family members may need to be involved in these treatments as well.
There are several causes of aphasia. A traumatic brain injury caused by a blow to the head is one. Other factors can include a stroke or a slow developing brain tumor. Symptoms can include the inability to understand other’s speech, speaking unintelligible words, writing sentences that make no sense, inability to speak clearly and so on. For a person in Willis’s position – an actor who is required to memorize lines and reproduce these lines in front of a camera – the inability to comprehend written material or speak clear sentences can be crippling. In fact, for most people, an inability to articulate or understand language can pose a serious challenge to the ability lead a normal life.
Some reports suggest that a head injury the actor suffered a decade ago on a movie set might have triggered the aphasia. In 2002, Willis was hit in the head by a projectile during an accident on the sets of his movie Tears of the Sun. Symptoms began to appear in the last five years in minor ways as difficulty in memorizing lines and so on.
Brain injuries can have a lifelong impact on a person’s ability to lead a normal life. Over the long term, complications like aphasia may set in, years after an injury has occurred. A brain injury claim, therefore, needs to take into consideration not just the short-term medical expenses of the victim, but also the long -term medical costs and rehabilitation expenses.
If you or a loved one have suffered brain injuries in a car accident or motorcycle accident, you might qualify for an injury claim that helps you to recover compensation for your losses. It is important to talk to an accident attorney who is experienced in representing persons who have suffered catastrophic injuries like brain injuries in auto accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across Georgia. Remember, a claim must include not just your short-term medical costs and rehabilitation expenses, but also the long-term expenses involved in your recovery, including medical costs, as well as the loss of earning ability down the line.