Concussion & Traumatic Brain Injury Symptoms

Do You Have A Traumatic Brain Injury? Common Concussion Symptoms Following a Car Accident

Watch For Seemingly Minor Head Injuries After Collisions

A high percentage of people report the following symptoms after a car, truck or motorcycle crash: headache, dizziness, blurred vision, nausea, forgetfulness, their mind going blank for a moment in the middle of a conversation, using the wrong words in a sentence or feeling like their thinking and thought processes are in a cloud. These can be symptoms of a concussion and or a mild traumatic brain injury [MTBI]. They can be subtle and are not always obvious.

Most accident victims focus on more immediate physical injuries and neglect to even mention symptoms of concussion and MTBI to their doctors. This is understandable, as most people have not been through a serious injury or accident and they naturally report to doctors what they understand to be important. Unfortunately, most doctors do not thoroughly question accident victims about symptoms of head injuries or MTBI and this important injury frequently goes undiagnosed and untreated.

Statistically, most cases of MTBI and concussion do resolve over time, typically within a year of an accident. But for those accident victims whose head injuries do not resolve, they miss out on an important opportunity to get early medical help for their symptoms. And for most accident victims with concussisons or MTBI, they miss out on the chance to document this injury for their bodily injury claims.

MTBI Symptoms Can Be Subtle and Complex, and Don’t Always Surface Right Away

One of the problems that arises is that after a serious accident people wind up experiencing mental or emotional problems at work and in personal relationships that they do not fully understand. They do not get the help that they need and deserve in order to diagnose and treat these very real problems. Insurance companies do not compensate people for these problems in their personal injury claims because they are not documented in the medical records.

An experienced accident and injury attorney will inquire about symptoms of concussion and MTBI at the very first meeting with a client. He or she will ask family members or friends if they have noticed changes in a client’s mental functioning, personality changes, and mental abilities to see if there have been changes when comparing the client before an accident vs. after an accident. This leads to encouraging the client to become aware of head injury symptoms so that he or she can discuss them with doctors so that the appropriate examinations can be performed and the diagnosis and treatment of head injuries provided. This leads to better outcomes medically and better results in personal injury claims.

If you or a loved one or close friend have been in an accident, pay attention to the accident victim’s personality, speech patterns, habits and mental acquity. Sometimes these injuries are first noticed by friends and family, and brought to the attention of doctors. Head injuries are risk in all car, truck or motorcycle collisions and the harms and consquences of such injuries are too great for them to be ignored.