Concussions and Head Injury

Traumatic brain injuries can have a wide variety of effects depending on their severity and the individual. Some of these effects are more common than others. Some of the most common effects of traumatic brain injuries include:

• Headaches
• Confusion
• Feeling like your head is in a fog
• Vague or lost memories of the time shortly before and after the injury
• Nausea
• Loss of consciousness or difficulty staying awake or waking up
• Sudden changes in behavior

If you or a loved one has hit their head and experiences any of these symptoms, you may have suffered a concussion and should seek medical attention as soon as possible.

While Traumatic Brain Injuries can sometimes be relatively minor and allow the injured person to fully recover, sometimes more severe injuries can have long-term and even life-long effects. Some of these include:

• Loss of muscle strength
• Deterioration of motor skills
• Loss of speech
• Loss of vision
• Loss of hearing
• Chronic headaches
• Sense of confusion or “Brain Fog.”
• Memory issues
• Vertigo
• Severe mood swings

These long-term effects may not always be immediately visible, but they can seriously impact the injured party’s quality of life.

It can sometimes be quite difficult to tell if someone has suffered a concussion, as the effects are not always immediately apparent. Sometimes the effects of a concussion do not fully show themselves until hours or even days after a concussion. Some signs to watch out for that the injured person may need medical treatment include

• The pupil of one eye is noticeably larger than the other eye.
• The individual has a more difficult time than usual staying awake or waking up.
• The individual suffers from continuous nausea or convulsions
• The individual suffers from persistent or a worsening headache

If you aren’t sure whether you’ve suffered a concussion or traumatic brain injury from an accident, it’s better to get a professional opinion. Seek medical attention as soon as possible to prevent your injuries from getting worse.

Even seemingly minor head injuries can lead to more severe effects if you aren’t careful. If you or a loved one has hit their head and are concerned that it may be an issue, it’s a good idea to seek medical attention immediately. If you are uncertain, some of the potential signs of complications from a head injury are:

• Open wounds on the head
• Severe or persistent, worsening headache
• Confusion or other changes in behavior. Excessive sleepiness, aggressiveness, etc.
• Convulsions
• Temporary memory loss. Often related to the details before and after the accident, sometimes more with more severe injuries.
• Difficulty waking
• Difficulty speaking
• Difficulty walking
• Severe nausea or vomiting
• Muscle weakness or tenderness/soreness in the arms or legs

If you or a loved one is experiencing any of these signs of traumatic brain injury complications, please seek medical attention as soon as possible.

When it comes to damages caused by a traumatic brain injury, the most obvious is your medical expenses. Emergency care. Surgery, physical therapy, counseling, medication. Follow-up care. 

An experienced traumatic brain injury lawyer will be able to work with you and your doctor to calculate your current and predicted future medical costs in order to fight so that you can be properly compensated. 

Some of the other damages that are commonly included with traumatic brain injuries are:

• Lost wages since the accident
• Loss of future income due to long-term impacts of the accident
• Loss of consortium when a spouse is unable to provide the support they once did
• Pain and suffering from chronic or long-term pain caused by the accident or loss of quality of life due to disability from the accident.

The details of the law and figuring out the full extent of your damages can be complicated, especially while you’re trying to focus on your recovery. That’s why we’re here to help.

When injured on the job, the procedure for getting assistance is different than for other kinds of accidents as it goes through worker’s compensation rather than the insurance of the other party. 

Though the individual details of your case may vary, these are some of the compensations that are often awarded when dealing with worker’s compensation after a traumatic brain injury on the job.

• All medical expenses, as well as predicted future medical expenses
• Wage loss benefits based on the scale of your injuries – temporary total disability (TTD), temporary partial disability (TPD), or permanent partial disability (PPD)
• Mileage reimbursement for traveling to and from medical appointments
• Expenses related to finding new employment if unable to return to their previous work
• Death benefits up to 2/3rds their previous wages and funeral expenses up to $7500 in the case of an unfortunate death.

Due to limitations with workers comp, they often do not cover the entirety of the cost of an accident. To help make sure you have a rock-solid case for getting the compensation you deserve, it is a good idea to reach out to a lawyer with experience with traumatic brain injuries for a free consultation.

A concussion is one of the most common types of traumatic brain injury. According to the CDC, a concussion is an injury “caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth.“

Despite being considered a mild brain injury due to a comparatively low risk of death, concussions can be quite serious with more severe concussions having long-lasting effects. They can also be accompanied by other unseen injuries that need prompt treatment, so you should always treat a possible concussion seriously.

While concussions are one of the most common types of traumatic brain injuries, they are not the only kind. Two other common types of traumatic brain injuries are skull fractures and intracranial hematoma.

• Skull fractures: When parts of the bones of your skull break from an injury. These range from linear fractures which often require a brief period of observation in a hospital to basilar skull fractures which often require hospitalization and close observation.
• Intracranial hematoma: Blood clots or internal bleeding in the skull or brain. These come in a variety of types based on where in the brain the bleeding is happening, but are very serious if left untreated.

Like concussions, these types of injuries might not be immediately visible, but they can get quite serious if left alone. This makes it especially important for you to seek medical attention as soon as possible if you or a loved one has suffered an injury to the head. Just because they look like they’re okay doesn’t mean that there isn’t an injury that you can’t see, and the brain can be very sensitive to injury.

Though the individual details of accidents leading to traumatic brain injuries vary widely, most traumatic brain injuries stem from one of four major categories.

• Violence accounts for a little over 10% of traumatic brain injuries.
• The impact from being struck by another person or object, such as through sports or accidents.
• Car Accidents – The impacts caused by a sudden crash often shake the body violently, leading to whiplash and concussions. 
• Falls – Nearly half of all traumatic brain injuries are caused by falling. By extension, a great deal of traumatic brain injury cases is related to slip and fall accidents.

This is why many lawyers experienced in traumatic brain injury are often also experts with car accidents as well as slip and fall accidents. When considering a traumatic brain injury lawyer, it is a good idea to look at their experience in dealing with these types of accidents.

Following an accident leading to a traumatic brain injury, it can be difficult to know what kind of treatment is needed. As the brain is a very sensitive area and everyone heals differently, you should discuss the details of your accident and recovery with your doctor. 

Many experienced traumatic brain injury lawyers will be able to help you find the resources you need to find appropriate care, whether through advice or simply knowing doctors that are skilled in those areas from experience working in the field. Though the details may differ, some common processes for treatment following a traumatic brain injury include:

• Emergency medical care, including possible brain surgery, if the injury was severe.
• Rehabilitative therapy to help the injured to adapt and recover from their injury so they can return to everyday life as best as possible. This process can often take over a year in the case of moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries.
• Psychological counseling to help the injured person with learning to cope with the changes to their life stemming from the injury, such as when they are unable to do something that they could before.

Even seemingly minor traumatic brain injuries can sometimes have very long-term effects. Ensuring you get the care that you need and are compensated for your losses is just one of the ways that a traumatic brain injury lawyer can help you during your recovery.