A surprising way some people suffer brain injuries in a crash
Car crashes are a major cause of traumatic brain injuries, and it's easy for people to understand why. During a car crash, an individual can strike their head on the vehicle. They could wind up thrown from the vehicle. They could even suffer penetrating injuries from glass and other shrapnel that cause injury to the skull and brain.
While all of these risks are potential causes for brain injuries, there is another risk that people all too often overlook. You don't have to hit your head or have something cut into your head in order for you to suffer a brain injury
during a collision.
Car crashes can cause the adult equivalent of shaken baby syndrome
If you attended a parenting class in the last few decades, the presenter may have done a disturbing demonstration where they show a baby bottle full of colorful gelatin dessert and then proceeded to shake the bottle violently to simulate what happens when
someone shakes a baby.
The gelatin quickly loses its structure and revert to a near-liquid state. When frustrated parents or caregivers shake babies, they can cause irreversible and even fatal brain damage to the child involved. The risk for a shaking-related brain injury doesn't end when you reach adulthood.
The
violent motions in a vehicle crash, such as the rapid spinning, flipping or shaking of the vehicle could cause your brain to move inside your skull, causing severe damage and bruising. In other words, you don't have to hit your head at all to potentially suffer a traumatic brain injury in a car crash.
Be mindful of brain injury risks after a car crash
The higher the speed of your vehicle at the time of the crash and the more violent the motions of the vehicle during the collision, the greater the risk for you and other occupants to develop a brain injury after the crash.
Monitoring yourself and any other occupants of the vehicle for signs of brain injury for several weeks after the crash could be the difference between getting care quickly when symptoms arise and having a brain injury go untreated for weeks with a steadily worsening prognosis as a result of that delay.
If you do discover an injury in yourself or a loved one, you may need help seeking justice. People across Texas know that they can turn to us for help in their darkest hour. You can call us to learn about how you can get the results you deserve today. If you'd prefer to have us call you instead, you can fill out our confidential online form and we’ll get right back to you.