doctor with patient from car accident injury

Common Car Accident Head Injuries

The potential injuries car accident victims face can be difficult to think about. When involved in a motor vehicle accident, sustaining serious and lasting injuries can be all too easy. The extent and nature of an accident victim’s injuries can greatly depend on things like the force of impact, the nature of the crash, and a number of other factors. Head injuries are particularly scary to consider. It is, however, far too common for car accident victims to sustain head injuries. Some are more serious than others, but most can have serious implications for the people who sustain them.

Common Car Accident Head Injuries

A concussion is one of the most commonly sustained head injuries in car accidents. A type of traumatic brain injury (TBI), concussions can fall into a range in terms of severity. The injury occurs when the brain hits the inside of your skull due to a sudden movement or change in momentum. Such movement is common in car crashes. Symptoms of a concussion can include things like headaches, nausea, and disorientation as well as temporary loss of consciousness, fatigue, and changes in personality.

Contusions also represent a common car accident head injury. Essentially, a contusion is when your brain is bruised. It is caused by a direct impact to the head. Contusions are commonly sustained in car accidents due to the driver hitting the steering wheel, window, or being struck by other internal fixed objects or external objects. Symptoms of a contusion can include memory difficulties, slurred speech, and trouble concentrating as well as numbness in the impacted area and cognitive changes.

The brain rapidly moving inside the skull, which can be commonly caused by a car accident, can also lead to diffuse axonal head injuries. In this type of traumatic movement, the fibers in the brain stem, which is quite delicate, can tear. This compromises the connection the brain has to the rest of the body. This type of head injury can be particularly devastating. Many people with diffuse axonal injuries end up in comas.

There are also coup-contrecoup head injuries that commonly occur in car crashes. With this type of injury, it is actually two injuries that the brain sustains. The force of impact causes injury to the brain and then the brain moves within the skull upon impact, causing the brain to sustain another injury. The injury at the site of the impact is the coup and the injury on the opposite side of the brain is the contrecoup.

Head injuries are particularly dangerous for a number of reasons and failure to get proper treatment for a head injury can have devastating consequences. The full range of symptoms of a head injury may not even appear until several days after an accident so be mindful of what symptoms you are experiencing and be sure to seek proper medical evaluation and treatment so that you can most effectively heal from your injuries.

Personal Injury Attorneys

Have you sustained a head injury in a car accident? These types of injuries can have a substantial impact on your health and well-being. They can also be very expensive to treat. Let the dedicated team at SoCal Injury Lawyers fight for you and your right to be fully compensated for your injuries and other losses. Contact us today.