What types of brain injuries can result from a car accident?

Many different injuries can happen in a car accident, including “invisible” injuries, such as brain injuries. In fact, some of these unseen injuries can be far more devastating than anything external, like lacerations and broken bones. Some of the main types of brain injuries that happen in accidents include the following:

1. A concussion. This happens when the brain impacts the inside of the skull. It can result in dizziness, nausea, confusion, memory loss, and much more.

2. A contusion. This occurs when there is bleeding on the brain, and it can cause dangerous pressure to build up.

3. A coup-contrecoup. This happens when there is an impact to one side of the head, causing damage on that side, but the force is such that it pushes the brain away from the impact site and crushes it against the opposite side of the skull. This can cause injuries to both sides at once.

4. A diffuse axonal. This occurs when the head is rotated. It can cause parts of the brain and connecting tissue to tear.

5. A penetrating injury. This is the one injury that may not be as invisible as the rest. It happens when an object passes through the skull and into the brain. For example, this could be caused by a metal piece of the car striking someone in the head during the crash.

No matter what type of injury you’ve sustained in a car accident, it’s important to know how to seek compensation in New York. Remember that brain injuries can last for years and some may never heal.

Source: Brain Injury Alliance Utah, “Types and Levels of Brain Injury,” accessed April 01, 2016