I’ve you’ve been in a car, boat, or motorcycle accident, you’re bound to feel a bit shaky afterwards. However, if this feeling comes after suffering a bump on the head during the accident, you should be on the lookout for symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and act quickly if you see them.
What is Traumatic Brain Injury?
According to the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (an arm of the National Institutes of Health), a TBI occurs when “a sudden trauma causes damage to the brain.” There are two ways in which you can injure your brain:
- When your head is hit by an object with force (e.g., a bump on the head, a clash of football helmets, or a fall from standing height)
- When your skull is pierced deep enough to harm your brain (e.g., a gunshot, a fall from a great height)
Symptoms of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Depending on what happened to you in the accident, symptoms of TBI can range from mild to severe. Experiencing a mild TBI doesn’t require a loss of consciousness. You may never black out or you might lose consciousness for up to a few minutes.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with a mild TBI you might experience these symptoms:
- headache
- lightheadedness or dizziness
- blurred vision or tired eyes
- ringing ears
- a bad taste in your mouth
- fatigue, lethargy, or a change in sleep patterns (sleeping too much or too little)
- behavior or mood changes, such as uncontrollable anger, impulsive behavior, or depression
- trouble with confusion, memory, concentration, attention, or thinking
Symptoms of Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury
If you have moderate to severe TBI, you can experience any of the symptoms listed as “mild” above as well as these additional symptoms:
- an unending or increasingly painful headache
- repeated vomiting or nausea
- convulsions or seizures
- inability to wake up from sleep
- prolonged dilation of one or both pupils
- slurred speech
- weakness or numbness in your hands or feet, loss of normal coordination
- emotional signs like increased confusion, restlessness, or agitation
What to Do If You Think You Have Traumatic Brain Injury
The NIH recommends that if you get medical attention as quickly as possible if you have TBI. Delaying treatment can result in further brain damage.
If you have TBI, you may be entitled to reimbursement of medical costs, payment for damages, and more. Talk to one of our lawyers to see what your options are.