INJURED?

Car accident head injuries may be more severe than they seem

On Behalf of | Aug 17, 2018 | Car Accidents, Injuries |

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries in Georgia and around the country according to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control, but they are not always treated in a timely manner because diagnosing serious head trauma can be difficult for even experienced neurologists and emergency room doctors. While the symptoms of a traumatic brain injury are often apparent within a matter of seconds, they can sometimes lurk undetected for several days.

This is especially concerning for medical professionals because timely treatment is crucial if patients are to recover fully from serious head injuries. According to neurologists, car accident victims should visit their doctors or an emergency room if they are slurring their words, bumping into walls or objects, or having difficulty gathering their thoughts or remembering things.

When presented with a possible traumatic brain injury, doctors check cognitive function by running balance, coordination and memory tests and asking patients to perform simple tasks like counting backwards. Scans and tests are also often run to check for bleeding on the brain. When left untreated, the pressure caused by this type of bleeding can cause permanent brain damage.

Experienced personal injury attorneys may have encountered clients who were injured far more severely than they appeared to be; such attorneys might urge car accident victims with unusual symptoms to consult with specialists when brain or soft tissue injuries may have been missed in hospital emergency rooms. An accurate diagnosis and appropriate course of treatment give car accident victims the best chance of regaining all of their faculties, and they also provide attorneys with the information needed to calculate damages in car accident lawsuits. Attorneys may pay particular attention to damages when their clients have suffered injuries that require years or even decades of expensive care.

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