Yes, it’s possible.
Concussions are one type of traumatic brain injury, often referred to as a TBI. Concussions are one of the most common types of TBI and yet nearly half of these injuries go unreported. Most likely, people do not report the injury because they feel better quickly. Even in that situation, there could still be long-lasting negative impacts.
If you or a loved one have suffered a concussion, it might have been because someone else caused your injury. The law may entitle you to compensation for your suffering and your medical bills. To find out for sure, speak with an experienced concussion injury lawyer today who can guide you through the legal process ahead.
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How Concussions Happen
Concussions happen when your brain moves around inside your skull and impacts your skull. Your brain sits in a thin layer of protective material that helps keep your brain safe and secure. When your body suffers a strike or an impact, your head might snap back toward the impact. This rapid motion can cause your brain to slam into the inside of your skull, resulting in a concussion. This commonly occurs with whiplash, when your car is struck from behind by another car. Your head may never come into contact with another object, and yet you could still suffer a concussion.
Other ways to suffer a concussion include:
To be clear, in any of these instances, your head could impact another object. But it’s also entirely possible that your head never strikes another object, and you could still suffer a concussion.
Many concussion victims do not know they have a concussion. They assume that because their head struck nothing, it cannot be possible for them to have suffered a concussion. Unfortunately, that is an inaccurate assumption, and one which can have dire consequences.
Signs and Symptoms
While a headache is the most common symptom of a concussion, it is not the only one. There are many signs and symptoms to look out for, including:
- Nausea
- Confusion
- Loss of consciousness
- Dizziness
- Blurry vision
- Drowsiness
- Sudden change in sleep patterns
- Sudden change in mood
- Anxiety
- Memory loss
Concussion symptoms generally appear within a few minutes of suffering an injury. But it’s possible that some symptoms take longer to appear or symptoms change over time. This can create confusion about whether the symptoms are a sign of a concussion or something entirely unrelated.
To know for sure, if you or a loved one experience any symptoms after possibly receiving a concussion, see a doctor. While medical professionals might refer to a concussion as a “mild” TBI, that only refers to the initial presentation of symptoms, not the likely outcome you face. A concussion is still a serious injury that could lead to lifelong challenges and changes.
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Testing for a Concussion
One of the best ways to know if you have a concussion is by speaking with your doctor about what happened shortly before you started experiencing symptoms.
Your doctor will also test you for neurological issues, including:
- Eye movement
- Reaction to light
- Coordination
- Memory
People often wonder if they will need to undergo a CT scan or MRI. Usually, that’s not necessary because those tests do not show if a concussion occurred. Your doctor’s evaluation is the best way to know if you have suffered a concussion. However, an imaging test might be required if your concussion is more severe and the doctor worries that you have sustained swelling or bleeding in the brain.
Getting Compensation for Your Injuries
Because you may have suffered a concussion with no impact to your head, you might not be entirely sure how you received the concussion. This presents unique challenges about how to get compensation from your injuries. Working with a trusted concussion injury attorney can help you determine how and when you suffered a concussion.
Your lawyer can help you show that another person caused your injuries and should be held responsible for your medical bills.
They do that by showing:
- The other party owed you a duty of care to act in a reasonably safe manner so as not to cause injury to anyone else.
- The other party breached that duty of care by acting in an unsafe manner.
- The other party’s unsafe actions directly caused an accident.
- In that accident, you suffered a concussion and have damages as a result.
When you work with a season concussion injury lawyer, they can work to obtain compensation for:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Lost wages
- Lost earning potential
- Loss of companionship
- Present and future medical bills
- Rehabilitation costs
The total direct and indirect medical costs associated with lifetime care of a TBI are approximately $76.5 billion. That is an obscene amount of money, and one that victims should not need to cover if they didn’t cause their accidents.
One thing is for sure—you have already suffered enough, and you should not be on the hook to pay for your medical expenses, too. That’s why it’s important to work with an experienced concussion injury lawyer who can fully investigate your concussion and the circumstances of the incident. It’s extremely important to understand how you received your concussion, so your lawyer can hold the negligent party liable for your injuries and accountable for your medical bills.
Living With a Concussion
Most concussion victims recover completely. They do, however, also tend to accumulate a great pile of medical bills along the way. Other victims are not as lucky, and a full recovery may not be possible.
Some concussion victims suffer from post-concussion syndrome, where symptoms of the concussion can last for months or even years. To prevent this, you need to listen to your medical professionals. If your doctor says to take it easy, take it easy. Getting back to your regular life too quickly or without taking proper precautions can increase the likelihood that you suffer another concussion or have to live with post-concussion syndrome.
Because having one concussion puts you at greater risk for future concussions, your best bet is to trust that your doctor is right. While it may not be fun to stay on the couch or miss out on some sporting events, in the end, it is in the best interests of your health and safety.
Longer-term impacts from a concussion without recovery might include:
- Ongoing dizziness
- Blurred vision
- Seizures
- Permanent memory loss
- Loss of physical coordination
These are dangerous conditions you should avoid at all costs. Rest is extremely important, and can help prevent you from suffering a second concussion.
The best things you can do after you suffer a concussion include:
- Rest both your body and your brain by not engaging in mentally strenuous activity
- Avoid fast motions
- Avoid intense light or flashing images
- Follow your doctor’s orders
Here are some things to avoid while you recover:
- Video games
- Action movies
- Exercise
- Sport
- Physical movement
- Changes in medication
- Driving
You may feel like you are a prisoner in your own home, especially if your doctors tell you to avoid driving, but it’s all in your best interest. Taking these actions and avoiding certain activities for a short period of time can save both you and your family more heartache and worry in the future.
Injured in an accident? Get a real trial lawyer. Get Gomez.
Document Your Treatment and Recovery
Suffering a concussion causes serious worry and concern about your health and your future. This is especially true when you are not even sure what caused your concussion. But what you do know for sure is where you need to go from here, and that all focuses on you getting better.
Part of getting better is making sure you do not suffer any financial hardship. The best way to do this is to pursue compensation for your injuries and your suffering. To help maximize your compensation, you can keep a brain injury journal. In your journal, you should keep daily notes about how you feel, what setbacks you may have had, any medication you take, the pain you suffer from, and any doctor visits or medical procedures you endure.
Keeping this information is important to your concussion injury lawyer as they work hard to get you every dollar you deserve. Knowing how you felt on a day to day basis, what hurdles you had to overcome, and the time it took you to make progress and start feeling yourself again, are all important pieces of your recovery story, a story that we can tell on your behalf.
Over time, you will not remember how you felt each day and what obstacles you faced. That’s why keeping a brain injury journal is important, so we can better understand your suffering; but also, so we can use it to negotiate on your behalf.
Take Settlement Offers Seriously
Many concussion victims think they cannot recover much compensation because their injuries are relatively minor. As shown above, concussion injuries can be extremely costly. To make a complete recovery from your injury, there’s often no way around these bills.
Getting a settlement offer from the insurance company representing the at fault party can be an exciting time. You may be relieved that some of this nightmare is ending. Unfortunately, it might not be the ending you hoped to receive. When you get a call from the insurance company soon after you have suffered a concussion, they are likely calling to offer you a low ball settlement. Their goal is to make you go away for as little money as possible. Oftentimes, they succeed when the concussion victim does not have a lawyer standing at their side looking out for their best interests.
When you use the services of a trusted brain injury attorney, you can rest assured that your best interests are represented in everything your lawyer does for you, including reviewing a settlement offer. Working with a concussion injury attorney gives you access to years of experience battling big insurance companies and coming out ahead. You can lean on your lawyer’s knowledge of concussions to help you understand the true value of your claim. You do not want to get shortchanged in a settlement, and your lawyer’s job is to protect your best interests and make sure you get every dollar you deserve.
Speaking With a Brain Injury Lawyer Can Help
If you or a loved one has suffered a concussion after an accident, slip, sporting event, or any other situation, even where you did not hit your head, contacting an experienced brain injury lawyer should be your next call. You may have confusion about what comes next, and your lawyer can help guide you to a full recovery.
Your job is to make sure you get better. You do that by giving up the legal stress and worry. Your lawyer’s job is to take on that burden and let you focus on your recovery, while they worry about how to get you every dollar you deserve.
