Living With a Brain Injury From a Car Accident
Car crashes are devastating. One second, your life is normal. The next, everything you once knew faces a violent upset that can change the trajectory of your future forever.
In particular, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) have the potential to alter your life in major ways. From increasing your cost of living to contributing to mental health struggles, TBIs affect sufferers in major ways.
At The JLF Firm, we’ve helped many Californians get their lives back in order after a serious crash. We’ll help you understand the ways in which a brain injury from a car accident can change you and how we can support your quest for compensation in the aftermath.
How Do TBIs Happen?
Simply put, any serious blow to the head may cause a traumatic brain injury. In the event of a car crash, the most likely sources of a TBI are:
- Hitting a window
- Knocking into the roof of the car
- Crashing into another passenger
- Being hit by stray objects within the car
- Objects from outside the vehicle entering it
You can cut down on the chances of a TBI by ensuring that everyone in the car wears their seatbelt. Don’t keep stray, heavy objects in your vehicle, either. If you need to have a heavy object with you, try to store it in your trunk.
Of course, even taking these precautions can’t protect you from every risk in a crash. It’s important to know the signs of a TBI accordingly.
Car Accident Brain Injury Signs
When dealing with a brain injury from a car accident, you’ll likely have a hard time thinking clearly enough to diagnose yourself. This is why it’s important for everyone in a vehicle to recognize and understand the potential signs of a TBI.
Within the spectrum of symptoms, you have three categories: mental, physical and emotional.
The Mental Impact
Mentally, TBI victims may:
- Struggle to speak in coherent sentences
- Slur their words
- Suffer from intense confusion
- Forget where they are or what they were doing before the crash
- Become obstinate and argumentative
- Change personalities
The exact effects of a TBI differ from victim to victim, since it depends on what area of the brain suffers damage and the severity of the blow.
The Physical Struggles
Physical symptoms of a TBI are often easier to pick up on than the mental ones because they present so obviously.
They can include:
- Passing out
- Vomiting
- Extreme and intense headaches or head pain
- Changes in vision such as blurring or light halos
- Loss of fine or gross motor skills
- Unevenly dilated pupils
- Clear liquid leaking from the nose
If you experience a car crash and a passenger exhibits any of these symptoms, there’s a good chance they’re suffering from a brain injury and need immediate medical care.
The Surprising Emotional Devastation of Brain Injuries
When you’ve suffered a brain injury from a car accident, you’ll deal with two different types of emotional turmoil.
First are the emotional irregularities caused by brain damage. Needless to say, tissue damage to the brain can change the way you react, think and emotionally digest stimuli in your life. This can manifest as:
- A worsening temper
- The inability to handle stressors
- High-stress behaviors
- Scattered, distracted freneticism
The families and friends of TBI sufferers often state that their loved one becomes someone unrecognizable in the direct aftermath of a brain injury. Not only is this stressful for them, but it’s stressful for the TBI sufferer, too.
Second, many TBI sufferers go through a period of mourning. Your life before and after the TBI may look very different, and it can take time to reconcile the person you now are with the person you used to be.
While the changes you face may not seem quite so dramatic, chances are high that you’ll see some differences. These adjustments can hit surprisingly hard.
Unexpected Hurdles of Healing From a TBI After a Car Accident
Recovering from your TBI after a car accident comes with ample hurdles that you may not expect. The journey to recovery is long and fraught with unpleasant surprises, and recovery itself consists of many ups and downs.
You’ll also have to deal with two hurdles most people don’t think of: finances and legalities.
Financial Problems
When it comes to finances, you have two primary hurdles. First, you’ll lose money to the medical expenses. Hospital stays, surgery, medicine, specialties and therapy will all cost you.
Second, you’ll likely have to take time off work to recover. Though some jobs offer paid leave for injuries or life incidents, that’s not the case for everyone. On top of that, paid leave usually doesn’t last long.
Not only will you have big bills to pay, but you must find a way to pay them without being able to work. This is where legal compensation comes in.
Sorting Out the Legal Work
If you get into a car crash and suffer from a TBI, you may have the option of seeking financial compensation. This can help with:
- Paying hospital bills
- Covering any ongoing medical fees
- Repairing or replacing your vehicle if it’s damaged or totaled
Most importantly, it helps you maintain peace of mind. When it comes to legalities, you’re working with strict timelines, precise deadlines and legal jargon you may have never heard before. When you’re already dealing with the stress of paying bills and physically recovering, you don’t need one more task added to the stack.
Having an attorney in this dark time makes a world of difference. Never again worry about missing a deadline or representing yourself in court while you’re in the midst of recovery.
Don’t Face a Brain Injury From a Car Accident Alone
Traumatic brain injuries are life-altering events that can change your future. The recovery process is hard enough without handling your own legal case. Instead of worrying about filing legal paperwork on time, leave that to an attorney. Put your time and energy toward getting your life back on track.
If you’re ready to contact an attorney, The JLF Firm is here for you. Reach out to us and get started on your healing journey today.
