Victims of serious accidents can suffer brain injuries that produce both short-term and long-term consequences. Given that brain injuries can be difficult to diagnose, it is recommended that you seek treatment as soon as possible after your accident, so that a knowledgeable healthcare provider can fully diagnose your medical condition and determine whether or not you suffered a head or brain injury in your accident. After performing a physical examination, including imaging studies, a healthcare provider can determine if you suffered an injury to your head, and if so, can render the necessary medical treatment that you need.
Keep in mind that not all head and brain injuries are the same. These types of injuries can vary in their severity and in the consequences that result. Some common types of head and brain injuries suffered by accident victims include:
- Concussions – An accident victim can sustain a concussion when an impact to the cranium causes the accident victim’s brain to bruise. As a result of suffering a concussion, an accident victim might experience severe headaches, memory difficulties, dizziness, and vomiting, among other symptoms.
- Fractures to the skull – A fracture to the skull occurs when one or more of the bones that surround the accident victim’s brain suffer a break. These injuries typically happen when there is a strong blow applied to the accident victim’s head.
- Anoxic brain injury – This injury occurs when an accident victim’s brain is denied over a significant period of time the necessary amount of oxygen that it needs, causing brain cells to die off.
- Hematoma (subdural) – When there is a significant amount of blood buildup between an accident victim’s brain tissues and the brain’s upper lining, the accident victim may sustain an injury called a subdural hematoma. This often leads to surgery.
- Traumatic brain injuries (otherwise known as TBIs) – Some brain injuries occur when there is a strong jolt or amount of force applied to an accident victim’s head. This force can occur when an object strikes the accident victim’s head or when the accident victim’s head strikes something hard, such as the ground. A traumatic brain injury occurs when the accident victim’s brain moves around inside his or her skull, causing the brain to strike either the front or the back of the skull. In the process of this movement, the internal wiring of the brain could become disrupted, consequently affecting the brain’s internal functions.
- Diffuse axonal injuries – These brain injuries occur when the actions or nerve fibers in the brain, which act as the brain’s internal hardware system, are cut. As a result of a diffuse axonal injury, the accident victim may suffer a coma and/or be saddled with a lifelong disability.
