According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.), a typical midsize sedan in the United States weighs on average 3,361 pounds, and a passenger truck or SUV can weigh well over 4,000 pounds. When it comes to car crashes, then, it should come as no surprise that the sheer force involved is easily capable of causing severe injury or death. One frequently underappreciated harm from automobile collisions comes in the form of a Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI. A TBI happens when someone takes a direct blow to the head, usually bruising internal tissue and causing the brain to push up against the inside of the skull resulting in swelling and internal bleeding.
One reason TBl’s don’t get the attention other physical injuries get is because it is not necessarily obvious when someone has suffered a TBI. Hemorrhagic contusions, increased intra-cranial pressure, and brain swelling are not visible without complex medical imaging techniques, and TBI symptoms often do not present or become apparent until some time after the car crash. A blow doesn’t need to be obviously rattling to cause a TBI, so people often shrug it off until the symptoms become too obvious to ignore. However, damaged or destroyed brain cells are unlikely to heal fully and delaying treatment for a TBI could result in much more severe, permanent injury. Every brain injury is different, but anyone who believes they may have sustained a TBI should immediately seek emergency medical treatment.
Traumatic Brain Injuries are extremely serious, but it is possible to recover. Depending on the type and severity of the injury, a person can engage in various types of therapy to recover. This includes occupational therapy (mobility, speech and writing, job skills, self-care instruction, etc.), psychological treatment, pain management, and so on.
Hopefully, you, your friends, and loved ones will never be involved in a car crash and experience a TBI or other injury, but if it happens, contact one of our experienced personal-injury attorneys at Bell & Pollock, P.C.
