Car accidents often result in catastrophic injuries, including brain injuries. When a person sustains a brain injury, this can lead to devastating consequences, including short-term and long-term disabilities. Here, we want to review the most common short-term brain injury symptoms as well as possible long-term consequences of a brain injury caused by a car accident.
Common Symptoms After a Brain Injury Based on Severity
There are a variety of types of brain injuries that individuals can sustain as a result of a vehicle accident. Most commonly, individuals sustain concussions, which are considered a mild brain injury that can lead to symptoms lasting anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. However, individuals can also sustain moderate to severe brain injuries, which can result in much worse symptoms that can lead to long-lasting disabilities.
Traumatic brain injuries are typically classified according to severity, with basic definitions as follows:
- Mild. With this type of injury severity, a person is generally awake and has their eyes open. Symptoms of a mild traumatic brain injury caused by a car accident can include disorientation, headache, confusion, memory loss, and possibly a brief loss of consciousness.
- Moderate. Moderate traumatic brain injuries will result in more severe symptoms, and a person may experience lethargy. Individuals may be conscious, but they may only open their eyes as a result of verbal or physical stimulation. Loss of consciousness can occur and last anywhere from around 30 minutes to six hours. Moderate brain injuries caused by car accidents can lead to brain swelling or bleeding.
- Severe. Severe traumatic brain injuries caused by a car accident will likely result in a loss of consciousness. An individual will not open their eyes, even when verbally or physically stimulated. Severe traumatic brain injuries typically lead to loss of consciousness of more than six hours.
The symptoms discussed above include what individuals can typically expect to occur right after an incident occurs. However, in the days and weeks following a vehicle accident, a brain injury victim may experience a range of symptoms, depending on the severity of the injury and how quickly a person was able to receive quality medical care.
Depending on the type and location of the brain injury, some of the symptoms an individual may experience include:
- Extended loss of consciousness
- Disorientation or confusion
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Visual problems
- Memory loss
- Problems sleeping
- Equilibrium issues and loss of balance
- Irritability or emotional disturbances
- Feelings of depression or anxiety
- Seizures
- Vomiting
- Cognitive challenges
Contact a Brain Injury Attorney in Boulder Today
If you or somebody you care about has sustained a brain injury in a car accident caused by the actions of a negligent driver in Boulder or elsewhere in Colorado, we encourage you to reach out to a skilled attorney as soon as possible. A brain injury lawyer will use their resources to investigate the vehicle accident, determine liability, and make sure that you recover the compensation needed to treat your brain injury. These cases can be complicated, particularly when insurance carriers want to settle the claim before medical treatment has finished. A lawyer will have your back and negotiate vigorously on your behalf.