North Carolina Head Injury Lawyer
The most common cause of Traumatic Brain Injury is due to car accidents, and the extent of injury is most often not immediately evident. Auger & Auger Accident and Injury Lawyers is an experienced personal injury law firm in Charlotte, North Carolina, that handles car wrecks, truck accidents, motorcycle crashes, pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents and daycare accidents. Often times, in the case of a traumatic brain injury, the extent of the injury is not known right away. We can help with obtaining appropriate medical care, getting medical care paid for, insurance issues, and damages for pain and suffering.
A concussion occurs when there has been a blow to the head or an event that shakes the head or body so hard that the brain is moved within the skull. Inside the skull, the brain is cushioned by spinal fluid which prevents your brain from contact with the inside of your skull. During a car accident, the head can impact the steering wheel, the window, the head rest of the seat, or some part of the car’s interior, causing sufficient movement of the brain within the skull to cause a brain injury.
But brain injury can also occur even without the head contacting an object. For example, during a car accident, you may be hit from behind with great force. The body is suddenly jerked forward, and the neck is like a whip that snaps the head forward and back, causing the movement of the brain inside the skull, even though the head has not actually impacted with anything.
A concussion is not always characterized by loss of consciousness. The most common symptoms include headache, blurred vision, dizziness, light/sound insensitivity, imbalance, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, repeating same thing over and over, memory loss, sleep disturbance, and mood changes.
A concussion diagnosis is generally made based on responses to questions designed to assess the ability to pay attention, solve problems, and memory retention. The physician will conduct a neurological examination that evaluates balance, vision, coordination, strength, reflexes, sensation, and responses to interview questions. A CT scan is not required in order to diagnose a concussion, but it may be indicated in cases with significant mechanism of injury, amnesia to the event, difficulty retaining new information, seizure, or worsening symptoms.
Treatment of a concussion can vary from hospitalization for observation, to simply taking prescribed medication and resting.
It is important to follow up with your family physician or a neurologist following a concussion, as issues such as poor concentration, memory loss, affected mood, and cognitive changes might not have been evident when the injury occurred.
The effects of a concussion can be long lasting. The accident and injury lawyers at Auger & Auger are experienced in handling cases involving brain injury. If you or someone you care about has suffered a concussion or head injury due to the negligence of another person, we at Auger & Auger can help.
