If you’re in a serious automobile accident, it’s normal to feel a little out of focus and disoriented at first. But if those symptoms are severe and don’t improve quickly, you might have suffered a traumatic brain injury.

There are several ways traumatic brain injury can happen in a car accident, like if your head hits the steering wheel or windshield. You can also suffer a brain injury if you’re ejected and your head hits the pavement.

What types of brain injuries are there?

Generally, brain injuries can broken down into two categories: closed head injury and open head injury.

A closed head injury could include the following:

• Concussions – This is a mild brain injury that involves slight swelling of the brain.  The brain is typically able to recover from a concussion, but not always, and sometimes the concussion can cause brain damage if it is severe.

• Mass Lesions – This could include bruising (contusions), blood clots (hematoma), and bleeding of the brain (hemorrhaging). All of these put more pressure on your fragile brain.

• Diffuse Injuries – Diffuse injuries are tiny injuries that are dispersed throughout your brain in different places. They’re often hard to find and can end with brain damage.  

What are the signs of a traumatic brain injury?

Your brain is responsible for the following functions, among several others:

• Attention and concentration.
• Processing and comprehending information.
• Remembering things
• Communicating with others
• Planning, sorting, and putting things together
• Reasoning skills, problem-solving, making decisions, and judgment.
• Impulse control, patience

If you’ve suffered a brain injury, you might have issues with attention, concentration, talking, comprehending and remembering, or a host of other areas.  

Do you find yourself with any of the following problems?

• Restlessness, unable to sit still
• Easily distracted, unable to multitask or finish even one project
• Issues with talking to people for long periods of time

• Having trouble coming up with the right word
• Trouble starting or following conversations or understanding what others say.
• Rambling or straying off topic
• Difficulty organizing your thoughts.
• Trouble with nonverbal communication, unable to show facial expressions
• Unable to understand or respond correctly to other people’s nonverbal communication.
• Not understanding jokes or sarcastic remarks

If someone was negligent in causing your brain injury, you are entitled to compensation in several areas. A good personal injury attorney will go after the responsible party for the following, depending on the circumstances of your case:

• Medical bills, both current and future
• Rehabilitation and long-term medical care
• Lost income and lowered earning capacity
• Damage to your property
• Pain and suffering

If you or someone you love has suffered a brain injury because of an accident, contact Robert Armstrong’s office today for help.