Understand Head Injuries that Happen After a Car Accident

Understand Head Injuries that Happen After a Car Accident

Your Car Wreck Attorney Helps with Your Settlement

Car accidents are a big deal.  Even though you may feel fine immediately following the wreck, if it was more than a small fender bender, you need to get checked out by a doctor and monitored to ensure that you aren’t suffering from a traumatic brain injury.

These injuries can take on a variety of different forms.  Knowing what to watch out for can help you prevent the injury from causing more problems later on in life.  If you have been in a wreck, you need a car wreck attorney to help get you the settlement you deserve; especially if there were injuries or a death involved.

Different Types of Head Injuries

One of the most common injuries in a car wreck is the head injury.  But that encompasses a range of injuries, some more serious than others.

Concussion – A minor head injury that occurs when the brain bumps the inside of the skull.  This happens when your body stops moving suddenly, such as in a car accident.  It may result in loss of consciousness, headaches, nausea, and confusion.  Generally they’re not life threatening, but can take time to heal.

Contusion (or Coup) – Take a concussion, and move it up a notch.  When the head strikes a solid object (or is struck), the brain is bruised at the point of impact.  Symptoms include difficulty thinking, memory loss, balance and coordination loss, and difficulties speaking.

Coup – Contrecoup – Think of this as a double contusion.  When the impact is hard enough that the brain is bruised, but knocks against the opposite side of the skull causing a second bruise.  Violent car wrecks create this kind of serious injury.  Results are often bleeding and swelling of the brain, skull fractures, ongoing headaches, loss of consciousness, memory loss, difficulty thinking and speaking, and more.

Diffuse Axonal Injury – Axons are what connect nerve cells within the brain (like a telephone wire).  When the brain moves quickly inside the skull, it can stretch or sever these axons.  Severe types of this injury can cause inability to stay awake as well as nausea, headaches, and dizziness.

Traumatic Subarachnoid Hemorrhage – The brain is surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid providing a cushion or padding.  In the event that the brain or area around the brain starts to bleed, that fluid is mixed with blood causing hemorrhaging.  Widespread problems include sudden severe headache, stiff neck, light sensitivity, and seizures.

Signs of Traumatic Brain Injury

Brain injuries sustained in a car wreck will often have symptoms that show up immediately, and others that will come later on.  Think of it like when you get a bruise, it hurts right away, but the bruise sometimes doesn’t show up until the next day.

  • Loss of consciousness (a few seconds to hours)
  • Headache, especially localized to area of impact
  • Pupil dilation
  • Memory loss
  • Confusion
  • Difficulty thinking or speaking
  • Balance issues

Many of these are early warning signs of a serious traumatic brain injury and none should be ignored.  Some symptoms that may develop later include:

  • Clear fluid draining from ears
  • Inability to wake up
  • Vomiting or nausea
  • Headaches that get worse instead of better
  • Seizures
  • Numbness in fingers or toes
  • Loss of coordination

What Happens if Symptoms Show Up Later?

If you have been in a car wreck, and experience any of the mild symptoms, it’s important to be checked out by a doctor.  The doctor can monitor your health, and give you an accurate prognosis as to what you can expect.

There have been cases where brain injuries today, lead to depression, Alzheimer’s, or Parkinson’s disease months or years later.

When it comes to filing your car accident lawsuit, these medical records are going to be necessary so you can receive the compensation you deserve.  Your car wreck attorney can help you collect payment for medical bills that happen now, and those that show up down the road in case more serious problems develop over time.

Contact Zach Herbert – Car Wreck Attorney in Texas

Because of the unknown nature of traumatic brain injuries, you need a car wreck attorney on your side.  Most insurance settlements will offer payment for what you are experiencing at that time, not taking into account that issues may come up later in life.

Zach Herbert has a great track record of helping victims after their accidents.  Licensed in both Texas and Oklahoma, he can serve as your car wreck attorney and get you the compensation that you deserve.

Call 214-414-3808, let’s chat about what happened and how we can help.