Head Injuries Can Be Hard to Spot

Car accidents can be confusing events. Accidents usually happen in the blink of an eye, and most people experience a rush of adrenaline that can make it difficult to accurately gauge injuries. In many cases, injuries are obvious and indicated by visible wounds. However, sometimes injuries aren’t visible at all and may not show symptoms until well after the crash takes place. This means that people may walk away from an accident without getting the medical attention they need for an injury. One type of trauma that can be difficult to notice after a crash is a traumatic brain injury. These injuries can be serious and leaving them untreated can cause secondary injuries as well as complications.

Causes

Most traumatic brain injuries are caused by blunt force trauma to the head. However, brain injuries don’t always require blunt force trauma. Sometimes a violent motion of the head can cause the brain to press against the skull. This causes a concussion, which can also have serious health effects. In rare cases, traumatic brain injuries can be caused by puncture wounds, but these are normally easy to identify.

Noticing Symptoms On-Scene

Brain injury symptoms may show up at different points after the initial trauma. All caregivers, which may include police officers or citizens helping at the scene of a crash, may be able to observe brain injury symptoms in injured individuals. Even people who don’t know what to look for may be able to make valuable observations about a person’s cognitive state. Symptoms of a brain injury at this point may include dizziness, confusion, light sensitivity, nausea, disorientation, and more.

If a car accident survivor is placed on an ambulance, medics will generally perform a short mental status examination if they suspect the survivor suffered a brain injury. During this examination, ambulance attendants may be able to estimate the duration of post-traumatic amnesia.

Noticing Symptoms at Home

People who are not obviously injured during a crash may decline treatment and simply return home instead of going to a hospital. It’s important to see your doctor as soon as you can after being involved in an accident, but many people don’t get a checkup for days after the event. During this time, brain injury symptoms may develop.

If you’ve been in a crash, you should be aware of common brain injury symptoms. If you notice any of these symptoms, it’s important to see a doctor as soon as you can: headaches, dizziness, memory problems, fatigue, sleep issues, nausea, weakness, difficulty focusing, and emotional instability or mood swings. Other symptoms may include neck pain, seizures, numbness in the extremities, pupil dilation, and loss of coordination.

Many brain injuries are discovered by family practitioners, internists, or chiropractors. These clinicians may not think to look for head injury symptoms, so it is important to let them know that you were in a car accident and believe that you may have sustained a brain injury.

Calling a Lawyer

Brain injuries can cause serious problems for crash survivors. Many people have to pay for medicines, surgeries, or other medical procedures as well as ambulance rides, hospital stays, in-home care, and more. Suffering a brain injury often also leaves people unable to continue working, which can make it even harder to pay for their recovery. Because of these issues, it is important to speak with a Chico brain injury lawyer who has handled cases like yours. Accident survivors can often hold negligent drivers or other parties responsible for covering these losses.

While you should focus on recovery as a priority, there are time limits for filing personal injury claims. This means that it is better to call an attorney sooner rather than later. If you want to know more about these limits, see this video:

More Articles from Ed Smith, Chico Brain Injury Lawyer

Chico Brain Injury Lawyer

I’m Ed Smith, a Chico brain injury lawyer. If you suffered a head injury during an accident, contact me and get some free, friendly advice. You can call me at (530) 392-9400 or (800) 404-5400.

I have been serving the Chico community for over 37 years and have helped many people claim fair payment for serious personal injury cases. See the settlements and verdicts I’ve obtained for my clients and check out my reviews on:

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Head Injuries Can Be Hard to Spot