Did I Suffer A Traumatic Brain Injury?
Brian O Sutter
Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injuries are common injuries suffered in auto accidents or slip and fall accidents in the regions of Venice, Englewood, North Port, or Port Charlotte, Florida. These are also some of the most complex and difficult injuries to diagnose, treat, and recover from. In not all instances will a person know right away if they’ve suffered a traumatic brain injury and it may not be caught immediately by a medical team either. Traumatic brain injuries can be obvious, or they can be quite a bit more subtle. For instance, a person who has bumped their head against the steering wheel during a car accident may have an obvious contusion, laceration, or mark showing them that they should be checked for a traumatic brain injury or TBI. However, the brain can be injured by bumping against the skull even with no obvious contact with another surface. The force required to give a person whiplash can also be enough to give a persona mild to moderate traumatic brain injury at the same time.
In instances where a person is unsure if they’ve suffered a traumatic brain injury during an auto accident, they can look for a few subtle symptoms to point them in that direction. If a TBI is suspected, it should be brought to your medical team immediately so treatment can begin straight away. Traumatic brain injury symptoms may not show up all at once, and they can linger for days, weeks, months, or even years. Some of the signs and symptoms of a traumatic brain injury to look out for after your auto accident in Florida are:
• Physical symptoms – A traumatic brain injury comes along with plenty of physical symptoms, and some of these may not seem like they’re related to an injury in the brain. Physical signs like headache and dizziness may quickly clue a person into the potential that a TBI may have occurred, but other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and speech problems may not be so obvious. If you’re experiencing any new related or seemingly unrelated physical symptoms after an auto accident, it’s important to bring that information to your doctor as soon as possible.
• New sensory symptoms – A traumatic brain injury may also cause changes to your senses. You could experience new ringing in the ears, blurry or foggy vision, changes to your ability to smell, or a strange taste in the mouth. You could also have new sensitivities to light and sound that may come and go.
• Cognitive and behavioral symptoms – Cognitive and behavioral symptoms are often some of the most subtle and difficult to pinpoint symptoms of a traumatic brain injury. These may come on in the days to weeks after an accident and they can include mood swings, feeling depressed or anxious, difficulty sleeping, sleeping more or longer than usual, memory problems, and difficulty concentrating. These may be chalked up to stress or PTSD after a traumatic accident, or they could be caused by an injury to the brain.
Traumatic brain injuries often make for tough cases whether they’re the result of a work-related accident, an auto accident, or a slip and fall. They can require sophisticated diagnostics to find and ongoing care that may change several times over time. If you suspect you may have suffered a traumatic brain injury during your accident your first call should be to your doctor, but your second should be to your skilled Florida personal injury attorney. Only with an attorney by your side can your challenging case be handled with the care it deserves.