Common Types of Brain Injuries From Car Accidents

Brain injuries, from mild concussions to life-altering trauma, are most common in car accidents. The brain and skull can collide in a crash, causing cognitive and physical damage. Data from the Brain Injury Association of America, car accidents are the leading cause of TBI and death for 15-24, 25-34, and 75-year-olds. Motor vehicle accidents caused most brain injury-related hospitalizations in 15-44-year-olds.

According to TBI lawyers from McLachlan Law, APC car accident brain injuries have several common types, each with different symptoms, severity, and treatment needs. Doctors use the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) to evaluate brain injuries. It measures a patient’s consciousness using three factors: Eye opening, Verbal Response and Motor Response

Now let’s look at the common types and how these brain injuries are essential for diagnosis, treatment, and long-term recovery.

Concussions

Concussions are common brain injuries that can result from the sudden impact of a car accident. When your head abruptly stops due to a collision, your brain can hit the skull, causing a concussion.

Symptoms may vary, but you might experience headaches, dizziness, confusion, or even temporary loss of consciousness. It’s crucial to seek medical attention promptly, as concussions can have serious consequences if not properly managed.

In some cases, rest and pain management may be sufficient for recovery, while in more severe instances, rehabilitation and monitoring are necessary.

If you’ve suffered a concussion in a car accident, seek medical and legal help. A TBI lawyer near you can help you file a claim and get compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and long-term treatment. They can help you understand the complicated legal part of the process.

Contusions

Contusions in the context of car accidents typically result from direct impact to the head or brain. These injuries involve bruising of the brain tissue due to the forceful jolting or shaking of the brain inside the skull upon impact. When a car suddenly stops or changes direction, the brain can collide with the hard bony structure of the skull, leading to contusions.

Contusions can cause headaches, confusion, dizziness, nausea, and eventually loss of consciousness. Symptoms of contusions after a car accident should be treated immediately because they can worsen over time.

Rest, monitoring for symptoms, and, in severe cases, brain surgery may treat contusions. Depending on the severity of the contusion, some symptoms may last. Contusions are best managed early and properly.

Diffuse Axonal Injuries

A sudden car crash can cause diffuse axonal injuries to the brain’s nerve fibers. The brain moving rapidly inside the skull can stretch and tear nerve fibers, causing these injuries. High-speed collisions or forceful accidents often cause this injury.

Diffuse axonal injuries can impair brain-body communication. This can cause unconsciousness, cognitive issues, and even coma. If you suspect a diffuse axonal injury, seek medical attention immediately to improve recovery.

Poor imaging methods like CT scans can make diffuse axonal injuries harder to diagnose than other brain injuries. Many diffuse axonal injury patients need rehabilitation and therapy to regain function and quality of life.

Coup-Contrecoup Injuries

During a car accident, the sudden slowing down and speeding up forces can cause Coup-Contrecoup injuries. This kind of injury happens when the head stops suddenly, causing the brain to hit the skull at the impact site (coup injury) and then bounce back and hit the other side of the skull (contrecoup injury). Forces in a car accident can cause a double impact inside the skull, causing damage to both the first and second sides of the brain.

Coup-Contrecoup injuries can result in severe consequences such as bruises, bleeding, and brain swelling. These injuries can damage multiple parts of the brain, leading to cognitive problems, memory loss, and behavioral changes. When coup-contrecoup injuries are severe, they can leave people permanently disabled or even kill them.

Penetrating Injuries

Penetrating injuries can happen in car accidents when things or pieces of debris go through the skull and hurt brain tissue directly. Because these injuries go straight to the brain, they can have catastrophic effects. During a car accident, sharp objects like broken glass, metal pieces, or even debris from the environment can pierce the skull and go through to the brain tissue, causing damage in the area and possibly long-term problems.

Injury severity from penetrating wounds is conditional on a number of variables, including the object’s size, shape, and velocity. Emergency surgery may be necessary to remove the foreign object and repair the injured tissue. Penetrating brain injuries can be challenging to recover from. You may need to go through rehabilitation to get back the functions you lost or learn how to deal with any permanent problems.

Conclusion

You just learned the common types and severity of each brain injury. It’s important to seek medical attention immediately if you suspect you have sustained a brain injury in a car accident. Prompt treatment and rehabilitation can greatly improve outcomes and help individuals recover more effectively.

Drive safely and wear your seatbelt to avoid serious brain injuries.