Medical teams look for signs of brain injury

While brain injuries related to sports receive much attention, they represent a very small percentage of total brain trauma in the U.S. A significantly high number of brain injuries result from motor vehicle accidents.

Improved restraints, increasing numbers of airbags and other safety advances attempt to make the ride safer, but if you are involved in a crash, checking for signs of brain injury will be among the first priorities of medical responders.

What are they looking for?

If you were recently involved in a motor vehicle accident that resulted in trauma to your head, you may have a foggy recollection of events, if any at all. However, you can assume medical responders worked quickly to stabilize you and ascertain if you suffered injury to your brain. They did not wait until you got to the hospital because every passing minute may limit your chances of recovery. Emergency responders may have had the following questions in mind:

• Did you lose consciousness even for a moment?
• Do you seem disoriented?
• Are you unable to remember details of the accident?
• Do you appear to have any injuries to the face or head, including broken bones or bleeding?
• Do your eyes appear sunken or protruding?

If the answer to any of these questions was yes, they likely alerted the hospital that you may have suffered a brain injury.

Doctors watch for more signs

When you arrived at the hospital, doctors ran tests to look for bleeding or swelling in your brain. They may have watched for additional symptoms to determine how seriously the accident damaged your brain tissue, for example:

• Are you having trouble with your memory, impulses or other cognitive abilities?
• Are you having difficulty seeing, hearing or with other sensory functions?
• Is it difficult for you to move your fingers, remain balanced or control your bodily functions?
• Do you seem irritable, depressed or prone to emotional outbursts?
• Are you suffering from headaches, insomnia or other related symptoms?

Sadly, if any of the above are happening, it is possible that they will be permanent consequences of your brain injury. You may be facing many years of medical care, therapies and medication to lead a life of quality. If your injuries resulted from a car crash cause by another driver’s negligence, you may wonder how you can find some justice for your suffering. Reaching out to a Delaware attorney may provide you with guidance for the options available for pursuing compensation through the civil courts.