How do I Know if I’ve Sustained a Head Injury After a Car Accident?

When you’re in a car crash, you have lots of things that you worry about. One frequent concern of accident victims and their loved ones is whether they suffered a head injury from a car accident. Head injuries are serious and debilitating injuries and they can sometimes go undiagnosed at the scene of the accident.

Was There Impact to the Head?

Head injuries after a car accident are often caused by an impact to the head. If your head struck or was struck by any solid object in the accident, you are at risk of a serious head injury. Some of the most common head injury situations occur when the occupant of a vehicle’s head strikes the interior of a car, windshield, or windows, but the head can also strike seat backs and other objects located inside the vehicle. If not restrained, the victim can be ejected from the car, and their head can strike the ground or another vehicle.

Was There a Loss of Consciousness?

If you suffered a loss of consciousness after the crash, there is a chance that you suffered a head injury from the car accident. Even a slight loss of consciousness that is very brief is an indicator that the brain is suffering from some type of trauma. If you lost consciousness in your accident, you need to tell the medical professional that treats you, so that they can screen you for brain injury.

Was There Acceleration and Deceleration?

Sometimes head injuries from car accidents occur when there is no impact to the head. These head injuries are called acceleration-deceleration injuries. They usually occur when the accident causes the vehicle to jerk the body (particularly the head and neck) rapidly forward and backward (or side-to-side). This causes the brain to impact against the skull, which causes swelling and traumatic brain injury.

Check the Symptoms of Head Injury!

If you think there is a possibility that you suffered a head injury after a car accident, check your symptoms. Some of the common symptoms of head injuries include dizziness, headaches, nausea, vomiting, confusion, feeling disoriented, blurred vision, and slurred speech. However, there are many different head injury symptoms depending on the location of the brain affected by the accident. If you have any doubts as to whether or not you have suffered a head injury you should…

Ask a Medical Professional.

If you think you could possibly be suffering from a head injury, you should seek medical attention. The sooner you seek medical care after your accident, the more likely you will be able to reduce the serious complications from a head injury. Once you have sought medical treatment, you will need to hire an attorney who is experienced in handling complex head injury claims. Boston, Massachusetts car accident attorney David Dwork has represented clients who suffer from serious brain injuries after, and he understands the complicated nature of these types of cases.