On October 25, 2023, an Army reservist opened fire in a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston, Maine, killing 18 people. Boston University researchers who analyzed a sample of 40-year-old reservist Robert Card’s brain tissue found evidence of a traumatic brain injury (TBI). A TBI is a stressful injury to the brain caused by an outward force, often due to a blow to the head or a violent movement.
According to Dr. Ann McKee of Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center, an analysis of Card’s brain tissue revealed deterioration in nerve fibers that facilitate communication between different sections of the brain, inflammation, and small blood vessel injury.
Card had been an instructor at an Army hand grenade training range in the summer for eight years. Though grenades have a lower explosive force than artillery, imaging demonstrates that persons exposed to these blasts experience significant, perhaps harmful alterations in their brains within five months. According to an article in The New York Times, Card may have been subjected to more than 10,000 explosions.
It is unknown if shock waves from artillery fire caused Card’s brain injury and what effect the injury may have played in his worsening mental state before he opened fire late in October. However, Dr. McKee, stated, “While I cannot say with certainty that these pathological findings underlie Mr. Card’s behavioral changes in the last 10 months of life, based on our previous work, brain injury likely played a role in his symptoms.”
Both police and the Army were told that Card’s mental state was deteriorating in the months leading up to the shootings. In addition, some of his family alerted police to his paranoid conduct and expressed concern about his access to firearms. Body camera footage of police interviews with reservists before Card’s two-week hospitalization in upstate New York last summer revealed fellow reservists’ concern and fear about his behavior and weight loss.
The Impact of TBIs on Behavior
Recent evidence indicates that the type of blasts Card was exposed to are harmful to brain function and can cause increased anxiety and despair. The Department of Defense (DOD), in fact, believes that explosion exposure could render whole gun crews unsuitable for service.
According to an article in The New York Times, data from 2002 to 2018 showed that suicide rates were nearly three times higher than the national average for service members diagnosed with even mild TBIs. Suicide rates among those with moderate to severe TBIs were more than five times higher than in the general population. Soldiers with TBIs had severe mental health issues.
Additionally, a report published in the Army Times on March 11, 2024, said that from 2019 to 2021, indirect fire infantrymen (those who fire high explosive weapons that cause shock waves beyond normal atmospheric pressure) had nearly 1.4 times the suicide rate as infantrymen who did not use these weapons. According to the same survey, suicide rates are greater than usual among artillery soldiers, tankers, and combat engineers.
Moreover, a DOD report estimates that nearly 500,000 troops experienced brain injury while in the service between 2000 and 2022, some of whom now suffer from chronic TBI symptoms, which can affect service members’ ability to deploy, job performance, and quality of life.
TBI Symptoms
In addition to head injury symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, constant headaches, slurred speech, sensitivity to light, and loss of consciousness, additional symptoms may include:
- Seizures occur in many moderate to severe cases and serve as a warning sign of a more serious brain or neurological impairment.
- As a result of persistent negative feelings, memory loss, impatience, and violence, veterans suffering with TBI may struggle to connect or achieve meaningful closeness in a relationship.
- In some moderate to severe brain injuries, the patient may have substantial personality changes as well as mood swings as a result of continual irritability caused by the injury’s
pain and stress. - Many TBI patients experience depression or impulsive control issues because they believe they are no longer the same person they were before the TBI.
Helping Traumatic Brain Injury Victims
TBI Victims typically require substantial medical care to regain their everyday life. In some situations, these injuries may result in permanent disability or death. Victims of TBI, particularly those who sustained injuries through no fault of their own, may be eligible for substantial financial compensation. Skilled attorneys with a deep understanding of the medical profession and the legal repercussions of TBI cases can assist victims. The attorneys at Ronemus & Vilensky have extensive experience and knowledge in managing these matters, reflected by the millions of dollars awarded to their clients for medical costs and lifelong care, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, and other expenses.
