When a car accident happens, it is common for the vehicle occupants to suffer forceful blows, jolts, or bumps to the head. This trauma can cause serious damage to the brain and lead to painful, sometimes life-altering effects like persistent headaches, loss of function, or even a coma.
Brain damage can range in severity and can lead to significant financial, physical, and emotional hardships. There are many types of brain injuries that a person could sustain in a car accident, including concussions, skull fractures, and contusions.
#1: Concussion
Concussions are one of the most common types of brain injuries in traumatic accidents. This injury is typically caused by a blow to the head and results in symptoms like nausea, headache, vomiting, blurred vision, and ringing in the ears.
Concussions are relatively mild, but some injuries can lead to dangerous complications and long-lasting effects. Some patients experience a temporary change in mental function and could suffer compounded symptoms if they have another concussion before the first one is healed.
#2: Skull Fracture
During a car accident, the skull surrounding your brain can fracture or crack. Because they can happen any time that you hit your head, skull fractures usually occur in addition to other injuries like concussions. Symptoms of this condition include bruising, swelling, severe head pain, and bleeding from the ears or nose.
#3: Coup-Contrecoup Injury
A coup-contrecoup injury occurs when your brain is injured in two places. During a car accident, you could suffer a blow to the head that severely injures the brain at the site of impact. However, the force can be so great that it causes your brain to slide to the other side of your skull and suffer an injury on the opposite end. Coup-contrecoup injuries can be very painful and lead to bleeding, swelling, and bruising.
#4: Brain Contusion
Contusion is another word for bruise. When the brain suffers a violent jolt or blow during a car accident, it is very common for contusions to develop. In some cases, brain contusions heal without major medical intervention. However, these injuries can lead to extremely dangerous complications like blood clots and bleeding.
#5: Diffuse Axonal Injuries
Axons are cables that connect different neurons in the brain together, allowing electrical impulses to travel from cell to cell. Extreme forces exerted during a car accident can cause the axons to tear or shear, leading to a diffuse axonal injury. This type of brain injury is extremely severe and often results in devastating injuries, comas, or death.
Contact a California Brain Injury Attorney
If your brain was damaged in a motor vehicle collision, you deserve fair compensation for the harm that you suffered. By filing a brain injury lawsuit or car insurance claim, you could secure a settlement to help pay for medical care, property damage, disability accommodations, and other losses.
If you have suffered a brain injury in California, you should retain the services of an attorney who will fight for the full value of your compensation. Your brain injury lawyer can help you navigate the legal process and work to protect your rights and best interests.
Get in touch with an attorney as soon as possible after your car accident to initiate an insurance claim or lawsuit. Your lawyer will evaluate your case and help you begin the process of obtaining the settlement you deserve.