If you are involved in an automobile accident you may have sustained a brain or head injury.  If you suspect that you have suffered such an injury, consult with your doctor immediately and advise the lawyers at Kosteckyj & Parhar (604) 742 – 2285.

What is a head injury?

A head injury is any trauma that leads to injury of the scalp, skull, or brain. The injuries can range from a minor bump on the skull to serious brain injury.

Head injury is classified as either closed or open (penetrating).

• A closed head injury means you received a hard blow to the head from striking an object, but the object did not break the skull.
• An open, or penetrating, head injury means you were hit with an object that broke the skull and entered the brain. This usually happens when you move at high speed, such as going through the windshield during a car accident. It can also happen from a gunshot to the head.

Head injuries include:

• Concussion, the most common type of traumatic brain injury, in which the brain is shaken
• Contusion, which is a bruise on the brain
• Scalp wounds
• Skull fractures

See also:

• Subarachnoid hemorrhage
• Subdural hematoma

Considerations

Every year, millions of people have a head injury. Most of these injuries are minor because the skull provides the brain with considerable protection. The symptoms of minor head injuries usually go away on their own. More than half a million head injuries a year, however, are severe enough to require hospitalization.

Learning to recognize a serious head injury and give basic first aid can make the difference in saving someone's life.

Causes

Common causes of head injury include traffic accidents, falls, physical assault, and accidents at home, work, outdoors, or while playing sports.

Symptoms

The symptoms of a head injury can occur immediately or develop slowly over several hours or days. Even if the skull is not fractured, the brain can bang against the inside of the skull and be bruised. The head may look fine, but complications could result from bleeding or swelling inside the skull.

In any serious head trauma, always assume the spinal cord is also injured.

Some head injuries result in prolonged or nonreversible brain damage. This can occur as a result of bleeding inside the brain or forces that damage the brain directly. More serious head injuries may cause the following symptoms:

• Changes in, or unequal size of pupils
• Chronic or severe headaches
• Coma
• Fluid draining from nose, mouth, or ears (may be clear or bloody)
• Fracture in the skull or face, bruising of the face, swelling at the site of the injury, or scalp wound
• Irritability (especially in children)
• Loss of consciousness, confusion, or drowsiness
• Loss of or change in sensation, hearing, vision, taste, or smell
• Low breathing rate or drop in blood pressure
• Memory loss
• Mood, personality, or behavioral changes
• Paralysis
• Restlessness, clumsiness, or lack of coordination
• Seizures
• Speech and language problems
• Slurred speech or blurred vision
• Stiff neck or vomiting
• Symptoms improve, and then suddenly get worse (change in consciousness)

Information sourced from “MedlinePlus Trusted Health Information for You”

A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of Health