Head injuries are a serious consequence of trucking and other vehicle accidents. In fact, truck and car accidents are the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries in the United States, accounting for 50 percent of all brain injury cases in people younger than 75.
In a truck accident, a brain or head injury can occur when the head makes violent contact with another object, such as part of the car, the area outside the car (in the case of ejection), another person, the seat or dash in front of a person, etc. Furthermore, head injuries can occur simply from the violent movement of the head in one direction and then the other during sudden acceleration or deceleration. This can cause the brain to collide with the skull violently, doing harm to that area of the brain as well as the area opposite to it.
Trucking accidents may cause only minor injuries to the head, but more often they result in more serious injuries ranging from a concussion to a serious and permanent traumatic brain injury. Other head injuries commonly sustained in truck accidents include skull fractures, brain hematoma (bruising of the brain tissues), and nerve damage.
In a head injury, damage to the brain can occur immediately and/or after the accident due to swelling and bleeding in the brain. Often the severity of a head injury and its effects and complications are not known immediately. It can take hours, days, even weeks to clearly understand the damage caused by head injury following a trucking accident.
In trucking accidents, brain injuries tend to be more common with side impact, as opposed to rear-end collisions, though brain injury is possible in any type of truck or car accident. Furthermore, airbag deployment in a truck accident can also cause or contribute to head injuries. Defective airbags are known to cause brain bleeding and bruising, as well as much more serious brain injuries. Tragically, 227 people have been killed in vehicle accidents since 1990 due to airbag deployment in accidents.
How to tell if a person has suffered head injury in a truck accident
It is a common misconception that you have to be hit in the head to experience a concussion or traumatic brain injury. However, doctors know that an impact elsewhere on the body with enough force to jar the brain can result in a traumatic brain injury. Concussions can range from mild to severe and the effects may or may not be apparent immediately after an accident. In some instances, head injury symptoms do not show up for hours and maybe even days later.
In many cases, it is clear when a person has suffered a head or brain injury in a truck accident. However, in some cases, it is not clear. The following are symptoms of head and brain injuries in adults:
- Mild headaches or neck pain that doesn’t subside
- Greater difficulty with cognitive tasks, such as making decisions, concentrating, and remembering
- Slowness in speaking, reading, thinking
- Confusion
- Unexplained fatigue
- Sleep changes
- Dizziness and lightheadedness
- Increased sensory sensitivity
- Loss of sensory abilities (i.e. smell or taste)
- Vision changes
- Mood changes
- Changes in social interaction
Head injuries are very cause of disability and death in adults. More serious head injuries can also include a skull fracture. Bruising and internal damage to the brain also can occur with a motor vehicle accident. If you have any symptoms of a traumatic brain injury or a head injury after a car accident or other accident you should immediately seek medical treatment.
Effects of head injuries from truck accidents
The effects of head injuries can be serious, often leading to significant disability and permanent loss of certain functions (or the reduced ability to perform certain functions). Furthermore, the risks of diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s are increased for patients who have suffered head or brain injuries.
Many people who suffer brain injury in truck accidents face a lengthy and exhaustive rehabilitation process. Furthermore they may not be able to return to work. These consequences result in significant financial and emotional strain on both the individual with the brain injury and his or her loved ones.
If you or a loved one have suffered a head or brain injury in a truck accident, we can help you obtain compensation for your medical expenses, emotional losses and suffering, and more. Please contact our qualified and experienced truck accident attorneys today for a free and confidential evaluation of your case.
Treatment of Head Injuries
Often after a serious accident the extent of a closed head injury may not be completely known until a comprehensive medical examination has been completed. That would include diagnostic testing and a physical examination. Some of the more common diagnostic tests for a head injury include a CT or a CAT scan, and EEG and an MRI.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year over 1.7 million head injuries occur in the United States. Car accidents account for about 17% of all head injuries in the United States.
That injuries can also occur in children such as a “shaken baby syndrome” and many instances of head injuries occur in day care accidents or in daycare abuse in the United States.
Head Injury Litigation
A person suffering from a concussion or other closed head injury may walk and talk fine and look on the outside. It is imperative that the head injury victim head injury litigation and communicating to a jury the reality of a closed head injury. Often, life care planners are used to present testimony in court regarding future medical needs of the head injury victim. Treating physicians are also a good source of medical testimony regarding the problems in recovery of a personal injury victim suffering from a head injury.
Austin injury attorney has handled numerous traumatic brain injury cases over the last 25 years. We offer free no obligation consultations for victims who have suffered a brain injury from an accident.