When you get into an accident that involves blunt trauma, rocking, shaking, or falling, there’s always the potential for a traumatic brain injury. Your brain can sustain damage due to rapid movement, pressure or trauma, or impact after falling.
Because your brain is trapped inside the protection of your skull, if swelling happens, there’s nowhere for tissue to go. Increasing damage and symptoms can result from these kinds of brain injuries.
Traumatic Brain Injury Can Be Caused in Many Ways
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are more common than many people think. People playing contact sports like football or fast-moving and high-flying sports like gymnastics or baseball can easily sustain brain injuries.
Car accidents, even those at moderate speeds, could cause brain injuries due to penetrating objects, hitting the wheel or window with your head or rapid motion such as rollovers. Even the seemingly innocuous slip-and-fall accident can result in a serious brain injury.
Symptoms of Brain Injuries Develop Over Time
Some symptoms of brain injuries, like dizziness or headache, and nausea, could present themselves right away. Other times, symptoms could take days or even weeks to develop. If you lose consciousness, even for a second, you should get evaluated as soon as possible for a traumatic brain injury.
You should also watch for any of the following symptoms:
- feeling dazed or disoriented
- headache
- nausea or unexplained vomiting
- fatigue
- difficulty sleeping
- excessive sleeping
- dizziness
- loss of balance
- blurred vision
- ringing in the ears
- sensitivity to light
- problems concentrating
- mood changes
- feeling depressed or anxious
- convulsions or seizures
- loss of coordination
- dilation of pupils
- clear fluid draining from ears or nose
- weakness or numbness in fingers and toes
Any combination of these symptoms could indicate an ongoing or worsening traumatic brain injury. Early treatment may reduce swelling and other issues, preventing increased damage or symptoms. If you have any kind of accident where you get shaken or hit your head, you should always seek medical evaluation afterward, just in case.
Brain Injuries Can End Your Career
Because your brain is where you store your memories and knowledge and how you control your body, a TBI could effectively end your career. If you struggle to remember things or can’t manipulate your hands as well as you did before the injury, you may not be able to continue working in the same field.
In some cases, your injury could prevent you from working any kind of job. When you combine that loss of income with the medical expenses involved with treating and managing a TBI, it can be a financial disaster. To protect your health and your security, you should carefully consider all of your options for compensation after a serious brain injury.
