If you have been involved in a serious car accident, you know how frightening vehicle accidents can be, and you also know the aftermath of a car accident can be a nightmare, especially when you’re left with medical bills you can’t afford, a long period of recuperation and recovery that will affect your ability to work, and the stress that often accompanies legal action if you were injured in the car crash.
You are not alone.
Thousands of people are seriously injured in car accidents each year, and many of those involve head injuries referred to as “traumatic brain injuries” (TBI). Some TBI’s leave victims so incapacitated that they will require assistance with activities of daily living for the rest of their lives, and some TBI sufferers will function at only a fraction of the level they once did.
Regardless of the severity of your car crash-related traumatic brain injury, there is legal help for you. Here in New Hampshire and Vermont, attorney David Cole has extensive experience representing car accident victims and people with brain injuries. Please call us for a free claim evaluation.
TBI Defined
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a traumatic brain injury is “caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that disrupts the normal function of the brain,” but not all jolts and blows to the head result in TBI. A TBI’s severity will range from “mild,” which may result in a brief change in mental status or consciousness to “severe,” which may involve an extended period of change in consciousness, mental status or memory loss following the accident. A concussion is the most common type of mild traumatic brain injury.
Severe traumatic brain injury is a major cause of death and disability and TBI contributes to about 30% of all injury deaths. Those who survive a TBI can face issues that last a few days, or the rest of their lives. Effects of TBI may include impaired thinking or memory, movement, sensation (vision and hearing), or emotional functioning (personality changes or depression).
TBI and Car Accidents
Over 50% of all reported TBI’s occur in auto collisions; a TBI can occur as a result of any force that penetrates or fractures the skull. The head is one of the most susceptible to injury parts of the body in a vehicle collision. Trauma can occur when the head strikes the steering wheel, door or windshield. In vehicle collisions, the sheer force of the crash can cause the brain to collide against the skull bone. This occurs when your head movement comes to an abrupt halt, but the brain continues its movement striking the interior of the skull.
When this occurs, a contusion may result (bruising of the brain) or you may suffer a brain bleed known as a brain hemorrhage, which may not even be visible at the time of the injury. Medical testing will be necessary to accurately determine the severity of your brain injury.
Blunt trauma in a car accident occurs when your moving head strikes an immovable surface such as a door, steering wheel or windshield. At the moment of impact, the brain opposite the side of impact is pulled away from the skull, injuring the brain.
According to the CDC, “Among all age groups, motor vehicle crashes were the third overall leading cause of TBI-related…emergency room…visits, hospitalizations, and deaths (14%). When looking at just TBI-related deaths, motor vehicle crashes were the third leading cause (19%)” just a few years ago.
Where to Get Help After a TBI
If you or a loved one has suffered a TBI in a car accident, and the other driver was at fault, please contact us today to schedule a no-costs consultation. If the person who caused the collision is a truck driver employed by a trucking company or some other type of commercial driver like a bus driver for the country or city in which you live, there may be multiple parties at fault. We will listen to the details of your case and advise you on how best to proceed to recover compensation for lost wages, medical bills, and other expenses.