Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are among the worst possible medical consequences of a car crash. A brain injury could leave someone dependent on life support or struggling with their motor function for the rest of their life. TBIs often force people to leave their jobs and might make them dependent on medical support and assistive technology.
Despite how severe and expensive brain injuries often are, those who hurt their brains in a car crash frequently don’t realize it at first. Why is it so common for those with a TBI from a car crash to not recognize that they could have a severe injury?
Delayed symptom onset is common
The symptoms a TBI generates are a result of bruising and bleeding inside the skull, which puts pressure on different parts of the brain. When someone first gets hurt, they may not have any symptoms, and their body’s reaction to the trauma of the crash might mask those symptoms initially. Given that it can often be several days before significant symptoms arise, the average person may have a hard time evaluating themselves for brain injury after a crash. Rather than waiting for those symptoms to worsen, they might benefit from speaking to a doctor soon after the collision.
Symptoms can be drastically different for different people
For some people, a brain injury means a persistent headache and a sense of nausea accompanied by issues with fine motor function. Other people experience a sudden shift in personality, problems with memory, issues with their sense of balance or changes in sensory perception. There are so many different types of symptoms possible that the average person may have a hard time connecting the changes they experience after a car crash with the blow to their head during the collision.
Getting a timely diagnosis for a crash-related TBI may improve someone’s prognosis and possibly make it easier for them to seek compensation. If you or a loved one may have a TBI, seek medical attention first and then turn your attention to seeking legal guidance accordingly.