Brain injuries can be difficult to judge because they are often closed-head injuries. There may not be any external damage at all, so the extent of the injury can only be gauged by monitoring the person’s symptoms. There are medical scans that can be done at the hospital, of course, but EMTs on the scene will not be able to see the physical damage.
In some cases, people who have been injured in car accidents will turn down medical care. Someone could strike their head on the window during an accident and have a slight headache after the crash. They don’t think it’s anything to worry about, assuming that they have a concussion at worst. They don’t want to pay for medical treatment or expensive scans, so they go home to rest.
Why is this such a risk?
But this can be very risky because some brain injuries get worse with time. The symptoms become more severe. With some injuries, such as a subdural hematoma, it could even turn fatal. Symptoms of such an injury may include:
- Headaches that get worse or that never stop
- Trouble with balance and motor skills
- Lost memories or difficulty with cognitive processing
- Extreme fatigue and changes to a person’s sleep schedule
- The loss of certain senses, such as smell or taste
- Trouble with complex cognitive tasks, such as language or mathematics
The most important thing to look for is if these symptoms are getting worse without treatment. A minor brain injury would be healing, so symptoms that grow worse indicate that the injury is actually significant and needs medical treatment. The cost of that treatment can be prohibitive, so those who have been injured need to know how to seek financial compensation from the driver who caused the crash.