Sustenance of Head Injuries following a Car Crash

In most form of car accidents such as rear-end car accident or head-on accident, may it be a minor accident, the chances of sustenance of head injury is pretty high and suffering having it following the accident is common even when driving with restrain. In general, a head injury is the collective term for the wide specific form of injuries that inflicted damage to the head specifically, to inner and outer skull, brain, as well as bruises to tissues and blood vessels in the head. In medical terms, head injuries are commonly addressed as traumatic brain injury (TBI), and these damages extends up to the neck. The history of people who have sustained head injuries have deadly background as it can lead to multiple complications and permanent disabilities, in addition, its operations are pretty expensive and risky as well as medical practitioners and experts are operating upon you brain which is the most sensitive part of one’s body. Though, these unexpected yet necessary expenditures for series of operations and for recuperation of victim can be covered though filing an injury claim as victims of the recent crash are entitled to file an injury claim against the at-fault driver with the help of an injury attorney or a law firm. Ryan Injury Lawyers is an Ohio based injury lawyer that represents victims of personal injury caused by car accidents, medical malpractice due to medical professional’s negligence, and even wrongful death against large companies, agencies and even individuals. We have 40 years of experience doing our service in this field and evidently successful with our civil litigations. Call our office now for free legal consultation.    

Common Forms of Head Injury

1. Concussion is a form of traumatic brain injury (TBI) where can be acquired and is caused when there is a bump or blow to the head or the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly and cause a fast movement of the brain, in the case of car crashes, this happens when head hits directly to hard surface of a car because of sudden brake or external impact.

• • Unconsciousness, confusion, and dizziness
  • Headache or tenderness felt in the head
  • Temporary loss of memory
  • Nauseous feeling or vomiting
  • Slurred manner of speech

Coup-contrecoup is type of injury that occurs inside the skull. This is the most common type of injury sustained in extreme car accident such as rollover accidents as the violent impact from the accident causes the brain to abruptly strike both inners sides of the skull resulting in damages of both sides of the brain. Some of the most common symptoms of a coup-contrecoup head injury include: Diffuse axonal injury is a type of head injury that has similar description and cause as concussion since diffuse axonal injury is caused by violent and strong rotation or shaking. In the context for a car accident, this occurs when a vehicle stops suddenly and the brain is not moving with the same speed as the skull does. Some of its symptoms to look out for are:

• Headache and tenderness
• Nausea and vomiting
• Slow Cognition
• Numbness or itchy feeling in the bumped area
• Motor skills issues

A traumatic brain injury is caused by a sudden head trauma damages the delicate parts of your brain. A closed-head injury, which does not break through to the skull may still cause damage because it is hard enough that there will be knock and shake inside your head against those fragile areas in your cranium. The same goes for penetrative injuries where an object pierces straight into our brains from outside sources causes irrevocable harm as well though this case usually with worse consequences due to its deeper penetration.

Main causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries

These are the main causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries that contributed 95% to all cases of TBI in the last 5 years in US, susceptible ages for these causes are; newborns – four years old, ages 15 – 24 where working is rigorous, elder ages 60 above where falls and slips are numerous, and most common among male because of lifestyle:

• Vehicle related injuries or violent motions
• Falls
• Sports related Injuries
• Violence

Complications  Immediately following a traumatic brain injury, it is not uncommon for patients to experience complications. Some of these can worsen the severity and number of symptoms experienced by the patient in their post-injury state. Severe injuries make this worse as they increase both risk factors that lead to greater numbers and severities of complications such as:

Psychological and Cognitive Complications

• Consciousness – Patient’s responsiveness and mental activity may worsen in form of cases of least conscious state, vegetative state or in few worst case, coma or brain death. 

• Altered cognitive, nervous and communication process and function – Patient may as well show an decline in performing daily tasks and common human features such as speech and reasoning. Memory loss, learning, memorizing (and its constituting abilities such as organizing, planning and multitasking) as well are evidently declining on some cases of TBI.  Communication problems are seemed to be common and not something to be surprised when exhibited by someone who suffers TBI, may it be in writing or vocal messages as their nervous functions are damaged by a certain cause.

• Behavioral Changes – Difficulty in controlling emotions and habits are as well observed in a TBI patient, they show lessen self control and awareness, sudden emotional burstouts and oftentimes show risky behavior.

• Decline in sense – Widen blind spots, difficulty in smelling and distinguishing tastes, random audio distortion and other impairment of senses and hand – eye coordination are complications that could possibly developed in most TBI patients.

How are Traumatic Brain Injury patients are treated?

Brain injury can have a variety of effects on the individual, including mental and physical impairment. Rehabilitation may be beneficial to help improve your ability to function at home and in your community while treating any underlying psychological or physiological problems caused by brain damage. It also provides social support for both patients with TBIs as well as their families who are going through similar experiences during recovery; it helps provide acceptance of changes that happen over time following an accident such as losing abilities or experiencing other adverse side-effects from treatment plans. The reasons why you might need rehabilitation post traumatic head injury could involve improving one’s self-efficacy due to lower levels of independence which is typically seen after these injuries occur. The medical rehabilitation process helps with many of the complications that can arise from TBI and other injuries, such as blood clots, pain pressure ulcers or bedsores. It also aids in preventing future related health problems by treating those who have been diagnosed with a TBI to prevent them from getting worse after they are discharged home.

Types of Brain Damage Sustained in a Car Accident

When involved in a car accident, there are countless possibilities on how victims could sustain their injuries. Range of injuries include cuts, broken bones, bruises, burns, possibility of amputation, and even head and neck injuries which could lead to either brain damage or spinal cord issues. In this blog, we are going to talk about the array of possibilities what forms of brain damage a victim in a car accident could sustain as in the field of medicine, brain injuries are deemed to have the highest fatality recorded in terms of damage sustained in a car accident, one of the most life-changing injury that one could have from one event and we are about to shed light on why drivers should take premeasures when driving due to taking these adversities.

Diffuse axonal injury

Diffuse axonal injury is one of the brain injuries sustained from car accidents that happens when the connection between the cerebrum’s nerve fibers and the spinal cord are torn due to the trauma from external violent force such as vehicle crash which cause a person’s brain to violently shift forward and backward or even rotate. This injury could cause cognitive issues and even death.

Hematoma and hemorrhage

These two are in same category of brain damage where they are both dangerous and fatal and are likely to be sustained from car accidents. This specific injury involve blood clot or blood gathering inside the skull and putting pressure on the cerebrum which damages it and possible cut off of blood and air supply. This affects victim’s cognitive function or permanent damage to the cerebrum.

Skull fracture

Skull fracture is a rare form of brain injuries sustained from car accident where the crash causes a person’s head to strike against hard objects inside the car hard enough to cause a breaking of bones or the skull itself. Infection, damage to cerebrum, and close tissues could be damaged and may affect cognitive and movements of the victim.