Traumatic brain injury can cause disabilities, even when the symptoms do not appear right away. Closed head injuries and brain injuries which occur with no blow to the head are often missed by doctors who do not know to look for them. The symptoms and impairment caused by brain injuries can take months, even over a year, to surface.
It is very important to keep in mind the potential long-term outcome of brain injury and to talk to your doctor about full testing if you suspect you may have a brain injury. Accepting a settlement hastily, before you understand the true nature and costs of your injury could mean missing out on full and just compensation and leave you out in the cold in the future if your injury causes disabilities that affect your ability to earn a living or require medical treatment and create other special needs.
Causes of Traumatic Brain Injury
Some common causes of traumatic brain injury include:
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Construction accidents
- Falls
- Sports
- Violent attacks
If you have suffered a traumatic brain injury due to someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing, you may have a claim. Your personal injury attorney can help you determine who can be held responsible for your injuries. Sometimes responsibility is not as clear cut as it appears.
For instance, if your brain injury was the result of assault, you would typically have a claim against your attacker. If that assault took place as a result of negligent security, you may also have a claim against the property owner or entity in charge of the property under the theory of premises liability.
Closed Head Injuries
Closed head injury occurs when there is no penetration or skull fracture. While this may sound less serious, it can actually be more dangerous because the pressure inside the skull has no way to escape and can cause very severe or fatal injury to the brain as time passes. Another danger of a closed head injury is the tendency to underestimate the severity of the injury, failure to monitor the progress, and ultimately failure to administer the medical treatments which may become necessary in the hours and days after the initial injury occurs.
Traumatic Brain Injury with No Blow to the Head
Many people do not realize that brain injury can occur with no blow to the head. “Shaken baby syndrome” is a well-known danger to infants and toddlers, but adults can suffer very serious brain injuries caused by extreme force to the body, too.
Car accidents and contact sports are common causes of this type of brain injury. It happens when violent forces cause the brain to slam into the inside of the skull and/or to twist and stretch inside of the skull. This can occur with no head injury, no blow to the head, and even no loss of consciousness.
Brain Injury Symptoms
Because debilitating and even fatal brain injuries can occur without a head injury or loss of consciousness, it is very important to recognize the symptoms of brain injury and seek immediate medical attention if you have been in an accident and experience any of these symptoms:
- Ringing ears
- Hearing loss
- Loss of other sensations such as smell or taste
- Vision changes
- Dizziness
- Nausea or vomiting
- Headaches
- Fatigue or lethargy
- Mood swings
- Irritability
- Difficulty concentrating
- Memory problems
- Repeating yourself or being told that you are repeating yourself
- Insomnia
- Seizures