According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, car accidents are the second leading cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI) hospitalizations, accounting for about 20 percent of these serious injuries. The force of a collision makes concussions and other brain injuries unfortunately common, and the effects can be long-lasting or even permanent. If you or a loved one has suffered a TBI in a car crash, an attorney can help you make the case for all possible compensation.

What is a Traumatic Brain Injury?

A TBI is an injury to the brain that results from a forceful blow to the head. The best-known example of a traumatic brain injury is a concussion, but depending on the force of the impact, TBIs can be much more serious. For a brain injury to be considered traumatic, it must affect regular brain functions in the short or long term, or both.

It is not always obvious that you have suffered a traumatic brain injury, but you should look out for a wide range of symptoms, some of which might not become apparent for several hours or even days after the accident. Common symptoms of TBIs include but are not limited to:

Brain injuries can vary considerably in severity. Some brain injury sufferers only experience short-term, mild symptoms. Other brain injury victims suffer from debilitating symptoms that prevent them from working or even enjoying life as they once did. If you or a loved one suffered a brain injury in a car accident in Illinois, you may be entitled to compensation. However, getting the compensation you deserve may be a very challenging task.

Reimbursement for Medical Expenses Caused by a Brain Injury

Brain injuries are typically diagnosed through imaging tests including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computerized tomography (CT) scans. Brain injuries are often difficult to diagnose because the symptoms may not appear for a few hours or days after the accident. Severe brain injuries may be immediately apparent and require emergency medical intervention. Sometimes, surgery is needed to stop bleeding in the brain or relieve the pressure inside of the skull. Some brain injury sufferers must be placed in a temporary coma so that the brain has time to heal. Many severe brain injury sufferers require rehabilitative care and ongoing medical treatment for months or years.

The costs associated with these medical treatments can be exorbitant. Unfortunately, many car insurance companies try to get brain injury sufferers to settle for less than they need to cover their medical bills and other damages. In cases like these, it may be possible to bring a personal injury claim against the party that caused the accident. A personal injury claim may allow the victim to recover compensation for medical bills as well as other damages like lost income from missed work and reduced earning potential.

Serious injuries can occur in a wide variety of situations, and in many cases, victims will be able to understand the immediate physical effects of their injuries and the impact this will have on their lives. However, some types of injuries are not always immediately obvious. Traumatic brain injuries are sometimes considered “invisible injuries,” since they cannot be easily observed, and their effects may not make themselves fully known for weeks or months after the injury occurred. 

Long-Term Complications of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Brain injuries can occur in a wide variety of different situations, ranging from car accidents, to slip and falls, to workplace accidents in which a person is struck by a falling object. Medical malpractice can also lead to brain injuries, such as when a doctor misdiagnoses a condition such as a blood clot that leads to damage to a patient’s brain.

In the immediate aftermath of a brain injury, a victim may experience symptoms such as loss of consciousness, headaches, dizziness, problems with balance and coordination, sensory issues, memory loss, or difficulty concentrating. In cases involving minor concussions, these symptoms may clear up over time with no permanent effects. However, moderate or severe brain injuries can have a permanent impact on a person’s health and well-being, leading to effects such as:

Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that approximately 2.87 million traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) were recorded in the year 2014. Motor vehicle accidents were the second most common cause of recorded brain injuries, and they accounted for more than half of all TBI-related hospitalizations in the United States that year. What can you expect during your crash-related TBI injury? It is important to understand what is involved in the recovery from this type of injury, both physically and financially. In some cases, another driver's negligence may have caused the crash that led to your TBI. A seasoned personal injury attorney can assist you in pursuing full and fair compensation for your losses. 

Understanding Your Prognosis

TBI-related injuries can range drastically in severity. Whereas one person might suffer only a minor concussion, needing only rest and relaxation for several weeks before making a full recovery, others may never return to full function. The areas of the brain affected by the injury, the duration between injury and treatment (where applicable), and the severity of the injury can all impact a person's prognosis. Some people do improve or recover sooner than expected, but your recovery plan should be discussed with your physician and followed exactly as instructed.

When you hit your head in a slip or fall, you can suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBIs are divided into two broad categories - open head injuries, which are injuries where the skull is penetrated, and closed head injuries, which are injuries where the skull is not opened. As you can imagine, an open head injury has obvious symptoms. A closed head injury often does not, and because of this, many slip and fall victims who suffer closed head TBIs do not realize they are injured and do not seek the medical care they need. Familiarize yourself with the symptoms of a closed head TBI so you can recognize them in yourself or another victim.

If you slip and fall, seek medical attention for your injury as soon as possible. An accurate diagnosis will enable you to receive the medical care you need, which depends on the severity of your injury.