Article Summary
- Head injuries are common after car accidents even if the symptoms don’t immediately present themselves.
- It’s important to be aware of symptoms that may appear in the days and weeks after an accident, including dizziness, confusion, mood swings and headaches.
- Car accidents are the second leading cause of traumatic brain injuries, which can have lasting economic impacts on an individual or a family.
Head injuries after a car accident can be tricky. They’re tricky because they can’t be seen with the naked eye and because their symptoms can be delayed or ambiguous.
But the possibility of a head injury should never be taken lightly, even in minor accidents. When medical personnel respond to an accident, whether it’s serious or not, they routinely ask questions that help them determine if someone has suffered a head injury. Those questions help them assess a person’s cognitive function to see, for example, if someone’s speech is slurred or if they are confused or weak.
In addition, those questions help them determine the details of an accident. Did the impact cause whiplash? Did the accident cause someone to hit their head or lose consciousness? This assessment at the scene allows medical professionals to better understand the sequence of events and how those events may influence what treatment they recommend.
Medical professionals look for head injuries after car accidents because they’re common. Car accidents are second only to falls as the leading causes of a traumatic brain injury.
Symptoms Of Head Injury After Car Accident
Head injuries, like any injury, can be graded on a scale of severity. Believe it or not, concussions are considered a mild traumatic brain injury, abbreviated as mTBI. Traumatic brain injuries as a whole are classified as mild to severe, and include skull fractures as well as closed head injuries like brain swelling.
Moderate to severe TBI can be life-changing for many people as they navigate life-long challenges because of the injury. These types of injuries often require ongoing care and can create a significant economic impact on a person’s family or loved ones. Costs associated with ongoing care can quickly rise beyond six figures, and into the millions, over the course of a lifetime.
The economic impact, beyond the emotional toll a traumatic brain injury inflicts, is just one of the reasons that people who have been injured in this way seek compensation. A brain injury settlement can help offset some of the financial burden of care. However, receiving TBI compensation can be complex, and many people choose to work with an experienced legal team, like the professionals at Torgenson Law, to guide them through the process.
Legal professionals who work on cases like these understand that head injuries are serious. At Torgenson Law, we encourage our clients to keep track of their medical records and adhere to treatment plans. And, even when clients have mild symptoms after an accident, we advise them to keep an eye out for delayed symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, memory issues or mood changes.
Those symptoms can sometimes indicate an injury that wasn’t evident immediately after the accident, when adrenaline is prone to mask pain or discomfort.
Average Payout for Traumatic Brain Injury
When it comes to financial settlements, the average payout for traumatic brain injuries varies. Several factors influence the size of a potential settlement, including the cost of long-term care and lost wages. And head injury claims can take time to unfold, sometimes needing 18 months to three years to finalize.
But as an experienced traumatic brain injury lawyer, Torgenson Law works tirelessly to maximize settlements for our clients so they have the support and focus they need to recover.
No one should navigate a traumatic brain injury settlement alone. The team at Torgenson Law is here to support you through this process, ensuring your best interests are represented so you can focus on recovery. If you or a loved one have experienced a traumatic brain injury following a car accident, reach out to our team today.
No pressure, no upfront costs, just answers from a legal team that takes your recovery personally.
The post Head Injury After Car Accident: What Can You Claim? appeared first on Torgenson Law.