If you or a loved one has suffered from head injuries due to the negligence of another, you may be entitled to receive compensation from the at-fault party. Jonathan Perkins Injury Lawyers has years of experience in auto accident law. With offices located in New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport, our motor vehicle attorneys are prepared to take on your case today.
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A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is commonly missed after a motorcycle accident, as the injury is not one that can clearly be seen with the naked eye. Unless the TBI was a penetrating injury, some may even dismiss it as a concussion or a headache. If you have been involved in a motorcycle accident, it is important to seek medical assistance in order to determine if you have suffered a brain injury.
Some common signs of mild TBI include:
- Headache
- Difficulties remembering things
- Loss of concentration
- Dizziness or loss of balance
- Loss of consciousness (seconds to minutes)
- Mood changes
- Sensitivity to light or sound
- Mood changes
- Feeling depressed or anxious
- Fatigue or sleeping more than usual
- Insomnia
Along with having the symptoms of a mild TBI, those who have suffered a severe brain injury could experience:
- Loss of consciousness (minutes to hours)
- Slurred speech
- Profound confusion
- Loss of coordination
- Repeated vomiting and nausea
- Convulsions or seizures
- Inability to be awakened from sleep
- Dilated pupils
- Clear fluid draining from ears
Symptoms can begin within the first few hours of the injury but may also take several days to appear. The quicker an injury is diagnosed, the quicker treatment may begin. These serious injuries could disrupt an individual’s entire life, including their ability to work, drive and complete everyday tasks.
How Is TBI Treated?
Treatment for a TBI can vary based on the severity of the injury and whether it is the first occurrence. A mild TBI may be treated with pain medication and rest, but the victim must be monitored closely for any worsening symptoms.
When an individual suffers a serious TBI, it requires emergency attention to ensure that enough oxygen and blood are getting to the brain and to prevent any further injury from happening to the brain.
Some severe TBI treatments include:
- Surgery: Removing hematomas or repairing skull fractures
- Medication: Anti-seizure medication, diuretics to reduce the pressure inside the brain
- Rehabilitation: Physical therapy, speech and language pathology, recreational therapy, psychiatric assistance
When a person suffers from a serious brain injury, the length of treatment can vary and could last a few months to a few years.
Head Injuries: What To Know
Each year in the United States, there are approximately 1.7 million people who sustain TBIs, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The leading cause of both death and disability in the U.S. is a TBI sustained after an auto accident. A number of different head injuries can lead to traumatic brain damage, thus changing the accident victim’s life indefinitely.
Approximately 5.3 million Americans are currently living with some kind of long-term disability due to an accident that caused a TBI. Head injuries are most often caused by motor vehicle collisions, falls and high impacts of some kind. While the severity of head injuries ranges depending on the strength of impact as well as a number of other influencing factors, any damage to the head can truly affect a person’s ability to perform the most simple daily functions.
Head injuries are tricky, as even damage invisible to the human eye can have an enormous effect on the proper function of the brain. When a strong force is struck to the head, a number of different injuries may occur due to the shaking or impact of the hit. When the brain is shifted in any way, bleeding can occur in the spaces around the brain, brain tissue can bruise or the nerve connections linking the brain to other parts of the body can be damaged.
The Different Types Of Head Injuries
Both the severity of a head injury and the impact the damage will have on the future functionality of the brain can vary vastly. Concussions are the most commonly seen TBIs. These head injuries are usually linked to the shaking of the brain, which is why football players often suffer from concussions after hard blows to the head. Head injuries are generally referred to as either open or closed. Closed head injuries involve an impact to the head that does not crack the skull, whereas open head injuries involve some sort of penetration.
The following are the most commonly seen types of head injuries:
- Diffuse axonal injury (shear injury): These kinds of head injuries involve the brain’s axons, and the damage is generally devastating. The accident victim often appears comatose, as the damage of electrical flow between the brain cells disallows the patient from actively using the brain. Unfortunately, there is no surgery for this type of damage. The patient’s only hope for recovery is on their own, and sadly, most patients do not recover.
- Epidural hematoma: This type of injury refers to the trapping of blood in a small area in the brain, which causes a blood clot or hematoma to form. Most victims who suffer from an epidural hematoma require surgery, as pressure quickly increases in the epidural space, causing clots to push up against the brain. This pressure typically causes a great amount of damage for the injured patient.
- Intracranial bleeding: Any bleeding within the skull is referred to as intracranial bleeding. These head injuries are particularly scary, as sometimes there is no perceptible damage, only internal bleeding that cannot be seen by the human eye. Due to the possibility of severe internal injury, patients must always seek medical attention after any brain or head accident.
- Skull fractures: The link between a skull fracture and a brain injury depends largely on the strength and location of the impact. Fractures are labeled based upon the appearance and of the fracture as well as whether the bone was pushed inward. The following are various types of skull fractures:
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- Basilar skull fractures
- Diastasis fractures
- Depressed skull fractures
- Linear or stellate fractures
- Open or closed fractures
- Penetrating skull fractures
- Subdural hematomas
When the veins that cross the subdural area in the head either tear or bleed, a blood clot usually forms, which puts pressure on the brain tissue. Unlike other head injuries, a subdural hematoma may occur on the opposite side of where the impact took place or in the direct location of the impact. Surgery is sometimes required to fix this damage.
Let The Power Of Perkins Work For You
Jonathan Perkins Injury Lawyers is a firm dedicated to protecting the rights of residents across the state of Connecticut. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for our clients. When it comes to personal injury law, our objective is to make the litigation process as easy as possible for the accident victim. We understand that any accident takes a lot out of the survivor. From hospital visits to dealing with insurance companies, the last thing injured individuals want to deal with is a lawsuit.
Combining years of experience and the use of expert resources, our auto accident attorneys have won millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements. We are prepared to work tirelessly to achieve the maximum compensation possible. If you or a loved one has suffered from any kind of head injury following an accident, our Connecticut personal injury lawyers are here for you. With offices in New Haven, Bridgeport and Hartford, we are able to service all of Connecticut.
Please fill out a free case evaluation to get started today, or call 800-PERKINS.