Traumatic Brain Injuries Often Follow Car Accidents
Car accident victims in Wayne and elsewhere in New Jersey may not immediately experience the symptoms of traumatic brain injuries. It is never a good idea to decline a trip to the hospital after an auto accident in order to ensure that a potential hidden trauma is diagnosed. Prompt treatment can limit long-term consequences.
Brain injuries often happen even without penetration of the skull. A severe blow to a person’s head or whiplash could cause brain trauma. Whiplash occurs when a person’s head whips back and forth violently, such as upon the impact of a collision. It causes the brain to smash into the rigid inner walls of the skull, damaging or even destroying brain cells and nerves.
Causes of Brain Trauma
Although car accidents likely cause a significant percentage of reported brain injuries, the following could also cause traumatic brain injuries:
Physical assaults
Falls
Sports accidents
In severe cases, blows to the head could also cause spinal damage.
The Road to Recovery May Be Long and Difficult
Long-term therapy and rehabilitation might be required before full brain function is regained. The specific lost functions depend on the area of the brain where the damage occurred. The type of therapy and rehabilitation will be determined by the particular brain function lost due to the accident. In many cases, TBI victims need to relearn functions like speech and mobility.
Living with The Consequences of TBI
Here, too, the severity of the injury will play a significant role. Victims of severe brain injuries could face permanent personality changes, impaired physical abilities and various cognitive problems. Along with the ongoing costs of medical treatment, therapy and rehabilitation, they may not ever recover enough to return to work.
Although their lives may never return to what victims regarded as normal, financial recovery might be possible. If another person’s negligence caused the accident that led to the traumatic brain injuries, victims could file personal injury lawsuits in a New Jersey civil court. Economic and emotional damages might be recoverable.