In most cases this injury will not have been caused by a car accident however there is a significant proportion that is a direct result of motor vehicle collisions. Road traffic accidents are a major cause of traumatic injury and represent more than half of all cases handled by personal injury solicitors. If you have been injured in a car accident and you want to make a compensation claim for personal injury and loss just complete the contact form, email our offices or use the solicitor�s helpline. Our car accident compensation claim solicitors offer free advice without further obligation. If we deal with your claim it will be on a no win no fee basis, compensation is paid in full and you do not have to fund or finance your car accident compensation claim.
A head injury involves trauma to the skull, brain or scalp. It can involve a small bump to the head or serious head and brain injury. Head injuries are open (penetrating) or closed head injuries. Closed head injuries involve no bleeding or cut but there are internal injuries. An open or penetrating injury involves bleeding and or a foreign object within the brain or skull, such as a bullet injury or puncturing injury to the brain. Motor vehicle accidents can involve open or closed head injuries.
There are a number of brain injuries you can get. These include a concussion, which is the most common type of injury, and a brain contusion, in which the brain is bruised. Subarachnoid hemorrhage and subdural hemorrhages can be the result of a head injury as can an epidural brain hemorrhage.
Head injuries occur in millions of people every year. Most of these injuries do not require much in the way of medical intervention and although half a million are bad enough to need hospitalization, at least overnight for observation.
In patients who have suffered a severe head injury, other organ systems are often involved. You can have facial injuries, spinal injuries or other bodily injuries along with a head injury.
Causes of head injury include sports injuries, falls, assaults, accidents at home, and motor vehicle accidents. Some result in permanent or irreversible brain damage. This can happen when there is bleeding into the brain or bruising of the brain that damages the nerves on a permanent basis. Serious head injuries can result in chronic headaches, coma, loss of nerve functions, paralysis, seizure disorders, and speech or language problems.
Symptoms of a head injury can happen right after the injury or can develop slowly over several days to several hours. The skull can bang about in the skull if there is enough force to do so. This can occur even though the skull itself may not be fractured. This is why CT scans of the head or MRI scans of the head can show internal damage when there are no signs of external injury.
Doctors look for a number of symptoms of head injury. These can include an unequal pupil size, seizures, fluid draining from the nose, ears or mouth, fracture of the skull or face, with swelling and bruising, impaired sensory functions, inability to move one or more extremities, unusual behavior or personality change. There can be restlessness, clumsiness, severe headache, slurred speech, stiff neck, nausea or vomiting and changes in level of consciousness.
You should get immediate help if the patient is drowsy or has loss of consciousness, if the person behaves abnormally or has a severe head or neck ache, or vomits more than one time.
If there is a severe or moderate head injury, you need to call 911. Begin CPR if there are circulatory or breathing problems. Make sure you know that a cervical spine injury is always possible and do not move the spine during CPR or other treatment. Stop any bleeding with a cold compress or a soft cloth. Do not apply direct pressure if you suspect a skull fracture and do not remove any debris or any foreign object from the wound. Roll the person to his or her side paying attention to the cervical spine if they are vomiting. Apply ice packs to any swollen areas you see.
There may be no treatment outside of observation for a mild, non penetrating head injury. Watch the person for twenty four hours and wake them up every 2-3 hours during the night to make sure they can rouse without difficulty. If a child begins to play soon after an injury to the head, a serious injury is not likely to be the case. It is safe to use acetaminophen or Tylenol for the headache but don�t use aspirin, ibuprofen or other anti-inflammatory drugs for pain as these increase the chances of bleeding.
If you have suffered physically, mentally or financially, you should consider making an accident compensation claim. For free telephone advice from specialist personal injury solicitors just call the helpline. Our lawyers will assess the strength of your claim and will advise you on your potential award of compensation without any further obligation.