If you or your child suffered a bump to the head during a car accident, you may be wondering if it is a serious head injury. While any type of injury to the head is a concern, some are much more serious than others
Identifying a Serious Brain Injury
If great forces are involved, it is possible that a blow to the head can be serious enough that it causes bleeding around the brain—resulting in a serious head injury. So how can you tell when a blow to the head is serious and when it isn’t? The speed, impact, and force involved will help determine if a serious injury actually occurred. Additionally, serious head injuries typically involve some of the following symptoms:
- Severe headache
- Bleeding
- Loss of consciousness
- Fluid draining from ears, nose, or mouth
- Stiff neck
- Vision loss or blurred vision
- Slurred speech
- Loss of smell
- Loss of taste
- Hearing loss
- Convulsions and seizures
It is important to remember that symptoms might not show up immediately after impact; however, the more serious a brain injury, the more serious the symptoms will be. Sometimes, symptoms of a serious head injury may develop over hours and days, which is why you need to be aware of the above symptoms as well as if there have been any changes in personality, trouble concentrating, or memory issues.
Because a hard skull protects the brain, people often assume the brain will be unaffected by an injury that doesn’t actually penetrate the skull. However, even a minor impact can cause the brain to move within the skull and become bruised and damaged even with no external sign of injury. This is why it is important that you are aware of brain injury symptoms and make sure you seek medical attention as soon as possible following a collision.
Contact a Fairfax Brain Injury Lawyer
Learning to identify serious brain injury symptoms and making sure you seek immediate medical care can save your life or the life of someone you love. Unfortunately, a delay in recognizing these symptoms and a delay in medical care can be damaging and even fatal. If you’ve been injured and need help navigating a personal injury claim, contact our Northern Virginia law office today to schedule a free case evaluation. For immediate assistance, call our office at 703-721-4233