A motor vehicle accident could cause a blow to the head. This ding can produce a mild traumatic brain injury or concussion. Concussions temporarily affect the brain causing confusion and problems with memory, speech, vision, or balance. At first, a person appears fine, however, symptoms show hours or days later. However, left untreated, a concussion can have severe outcomes.

About Brain Injuries

During the impact of an accident, the brain bounces back and forth inside the skull. This can cause bruising, bleeding, and tearing. Immediately after the accident, the person may be confused, not remember what happened or have nausea, blurry vision, or dizziness. The person may appear fine at first but show symptoms hours or days later. One does not have to lose consciousness to suffer a concussion.

Undiagnosed Brain Injuries

A headache, dizziness, confusion, and fatigue tend to start immediately after an injury, but resolve over time. Emotional symptoms such as frustration and irritability tend to develop later on during the recovery period. Other people may miss many of the signs and symptoms since people may appear healthy even though they act or feel different. Many of the symptoms overlap with other conditions, such as depression or sleep disorders.

Then, someone may have repeated blows to the head from sports or other accidents. This can cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE is a progressive neurological disorder associated with a variety of symptoms, including cognition and communication problems, motor disorders, problems with impulse control and depression, confusion, and irritability. A single, severe brain injury also may lead to a disorder called post-traumatic dementia (PTD). PTD could replicate CTE.

Longterm Effects

Undiagnosed brain injuries can lead to dementia later in life. However, it can also cause issues with arousal, consciousness, awareness, alertness, and responsiveness. Generally, there are many traumatic outcomes such as brain death, coma, vegetative state or minimally conscious state. Brain death is the lack of measurable brain function and activity after an extended period of time. Whereas a coma is a person who is totally unconscious and unaware of anything going on. A coma can last a few days or weeks. However, if a comatose person awakes without brain function, this is a vegetative state. If this state lasts longer than a few weeks it is referred to as a persistent vegetative state. This is why it is important to have a brain injury diagnosed right away. If one isn’t, the consequences are dire.

Free Consultation

It can be shocking after an accident to learn how expensive, time-consuming and frustrating the process can be. For many, pain does not present itself at the scene of the accident, however, the debilitating pain begins a day or two later. This can be difficult for many Americans who do not have health insurance or disability insurance.  Therefore, it can be difficult to receive medical attention or income while out of work. 

At The Michael Brady Lynch Firm, our dedicated staff is skilled in complex litigations like vehicle accidents. Our consultations are free and without obligation. Let our two decades of experience get justice for you.