Suffering a head injury tends to cause immediate panic. Most everyone understands that a head injury could also mean a brain injury has occurred, and serious harm could come from a brain injury. Because of the severity of these injuries, it is important that you obtain medical attention soon after experiencing any type of blow to the head.
You certainly hope that any damage suffered from a head injury is minor. While there are certain cases in which a brain injury could fall into a less-serious category, lasting effects could still occur. When it comes to understanding a brain injury you or a loved one may have suffered, you may want to learn more about the exact injury involved.
Concussion
Concussions are among the most common type of brain injury. You may have suffered a concussion due to whiplash, a direct hit to your head or having your head violently shaken. You could even suffer a concussion as the result of a gunshot wound. Some side effects of concussions include the following:
- Possible brief loss of consciousness
- Feeling dazed or confused
- Cranial nerve damage
- Other temporary or permanent damage
While a concussion may not seem like a serious injury, it can still have tremendous impacts on your life, and you may not fully recover for months or even years.
Diffuse Axonal
Another serious type of brain injury is a diffuse axonal. This injury typically occurs as the result of violent shaking or rotating of the head. This injury could also result from a concussion-causing event. A diffuse axonal injury involves nerve tissue tearing in various areas of the brain, which causes improper brain function. This injury could even have fatal outcomes.
Contusion and Coup-Contrecoup
When the brain suffers a contusion, it means that a bruise has formed on the brain. It typically occurs when you suffer a direct blow to the head. In some cases, surgery may be required in order to address the injury.
A Coup-Contrecoup injury means that both sides of the brain have suffered contusions. Generally, this damage happens when a direct blow causes bruising on one side of the brain while also causing the brain to violently shift, which results in the other side of the brain colliding with the skull. This second impact causes additional bruising.
All of these injuries, and many others, could easily occur as the result of a serious car accident. If you or a loved one has suffered any of these brain injuries as the result of such an incident, you may have reason to seek compensation from the driver considered at fault for the incident.