Head injuries are among the worst and most catastrophic injuries anyone can suffer in a car accident.
Unfortunately, the symptoms of a head injury sometimes take time to manifest. They could appear days, weeks, or even months after sustaining the injury.
Here’s an overview of the frequently delayed head injury symptoms, the risks of delaying treatment, and how delayed symptoms may affect your ability to claim compensation.
About Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are head injuries involving the brain which result from a severe blow to the head. Before discussing the types of brain injuries, it is crucial to understand the following:
The brain control almost all of the body functions, including the capacity to talk, walk, and breathe, according to the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA).
Yet, the brain has minimal chances of recovery after damage, and the loss of function caused by the injury is typically irreversible. Therefore, there’s no such thing as a “mild” brain injury.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, assaults, falls, and car accidents are some of the most frequent causes of TBIs.
While those with minor head injuries frequently heal with minimal lasting impacts, for others, the recovery journey is long, costly, plagued with complications, and full of uncertainties about the person’s ability to recover.
A head injury can be highly costly and disruptive. About 5.3 million people in the United States have permanent disabilities that limit their ability to work, finish schooling, or even live independently. TBI treatment costs range from $85,000 to $3 million.
Why Do Head Injury Symptoms Manifest Later?
Apart from headaches, a TBI can also cause disorientation or memory loss, mood or behavior changes, restlessness, blurred vision, seizures, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, slurred speech, and too little or too much sleep.
However, in some cases, these symptoms may take longer to manifest, deceiving the patient into thinking they are not severely hurt when they are.
According to Flint Rehab, delayed head injury symptoms are pretty common. A study showed that 57% of subjects who showed no concussion symptoms two weeks after the accident reported them within a year.
Additionally, 15 to 30% of people with a concussion continue to have the symptoms a year or more after the accident, even when specific symptoms are immediately noticeable. Those with severe injuries may experience more symptoms.
Cognitive symptoms such as memory loss and emotional symptoms like anxiety and depression are more likely to take longer to manifest after a head injury.
For example, dystonia, characterized by abnormal muscle tone and repeated twisting motions, is a common head injury symptom that can go unnoticed for years after the injury.
Risks of Delaying Head Injury Treatment
Delaying treatment for a head injury can worsen the condition due to such complications as:
- The accumulation of fluids in the brain can increase intracranial pressure and cause more damage to the brain. Injuries can also cause the swelling of brain tissues, thus increasing pressure.
- A drop in blood pressure may prevent the brain from receiving the oxygen it needs for proper functioning.
- Fever results from injury to the section of the brain that regulates body temperature and is a warning sign of infection.
- Pneumonia results from the patient spending so much time in bed following the accident.
- Infections cause penetrative brain injuries.
- Blood clots and skin tissue deterioration in patients whose head injury renders them immobile.
Even without the possibility of complications, there are several reasons to get a medical checkup after sustaining a head injury.
Your doctor can diagnose your condition, which may help you and them remain alert for any new symptoms. They can also offer treatment to lessen the injury’s symptoms and restore bodily function following the injury.
These treatments frequently consist of:
- Physical therapy improves motor functions like the range of motion, strength, balance, and coordination.
- Occupational therapy helps you relearn the skills you need to complete routine activities or compensate for lost abilities.
- Speech therapy helps individuals whose language part of the brain is injured restore communication skills while improving cognitive functions.
- Psychotherapy for improving the person’s thought processes and lessen the psychological effects of the injury, such as anxiety or depression.
A Futurity study of athletes aged between 12 and 22 who had suffered a brain injury revealed that those who sought immediate treatment recovered sooner than those who delayed treatment.
Likewise, those who received timely care had access to various acute treatments intended to lessen the effects of the injury.
With enough rest and a gradual increase in activity, most athletes returned to competition two to three weeks after injury. This recovery period also applies to those who delayed treatment after starting the rest and recovery stages of concussion treatment.
Degenerative brain disorders may manifest years after the injury
A head injury increases a person’s risk of degenerative brain disorders long after the initial damage. Alzheimer’s disease and other kinds of dementia are among these conditions.
While it is unknown why trauma causes neurodegeneration, injury to some brain areas might impair microtubule functions and result in degenerative disorders.
However, it can be challenging to prove without a doubt that the head injury caused the patient’s eventual dementia. It might be difficult to distinguish between the primary injury’s effects and mental problems unrelated to it.
For instance, only a post-mortem can conclusively identify chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain illness directly related to the multiple concussions that professional footballers suffer.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, common symptoms of CTE include memory problems, disorientation, personality changes, unpredictable behavior, and aggression.
Those who suffer a TBI earlier or in their midlife are twice to four times more likely to develop this condition later in life.
CTE can develop after several concussions that were first thought to be minor. However, the risk of the disorder appears to be greater in people who suffered a more severe primary injury.
Doctors usually suspect CTE after ruling out other potential causes of a person’s behavior change. There’s no known treatment for CTE, but medications can help manage the symptoms.
Are Late-Onset Symptoms Common in Children?
Individuals frequently assume that since children’s brains are still developing, they can recover from brain damage sooner than adults. Regrettably, that isn’t the case. Children have the same crippling symptoms and outcomes from brain trauma as adults.
However, children frequently struggle to express their specific symptoms; most won’t become noticeable until their physical development is complete.
Some delayed symptoms experienced by children, usually years after the injury, include:
- Anxiety
- Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
- Developmental delays
- Learning disorders
- Speech and language learning difficulties
- Bone, muscle, and joint problems
Remember that these disorders can manifest in children even without a head injury. However, the injury increases the chances of these problems developing.
A treatment history for the initial head injury can help the child’s physician quickly identify the issues connected to the injury.
Can Delayed Symptoms and Treatment Affect Your Ability to Collect Compensation?
When someone is injured in an accident resulting from another party’s negligence, such as an auto collision caused by a drunk driver or a fall resulting from workplace hazards, they can usually seek compensation by filing personal injury claims.
The first step of this process is to file a claim against the at-fault party’s liability insurance. If the insurance company denies the claim, the claimant may file a personal injury lawsuit where a jury will hear the case and determine whether the claimant is entitled to compensation.
Every state has a statute of limitations that applies to personal injury claims. You will often lose their right to pursue compensation for your damages through the court if you miss this deadline.
The insurance company will often refuse to settle the case if you miss the deadline since they are no longer legally required to pay outdated claims.
Unfortunately, delayed symptoms and treatments might result in costs and impacts not considered when your lawyer determines the claim’s value.
A knowledgeable personal injury lawyer in contact with your doctor can estimate future costs you will likely incur due to permanent or delayed symptoms.
How Can You Keep Track of Your Head Injury Symptoms?
Most people track their head injury symptoms by writing down the symptoms they experience daily, the notable changes they observe in their symptoms, and the date that new symptoms manifest.
Having such a journal and taking it with you during your appointments can help your doctor better understand the therapy you need to alleviate the symptoms or changes.
Talk to an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney for Professional Help!
Have you suffered a head injury in a car accident? A skilled personal injury attorney can help file a successful head injury claim.
At Legal Giant, we connect you with experienced personal injury lawyers who will communicate with your healthcare provider to estimate your future expenses and add them to your claim.
Our partner attorneys also know the evidence to present to show that your delayed head injury symptoms are related to your prior car accident.
They can prove this and your expenses through records and testimony from your doctors to ensure the at-fault party’s insurer compensates you fully.
Contact us today at (855) 740-5024 for a free, no-obligation case review.
