What You Need to Know About Suffering a Brain Injury in a Car Accident

During a car accident, victims are at risk of suffering serious injuries, including brain damage. When your brain is injured during a traumatic event, it may result in permanent cognitive damage. This can affect your ability to live a normal and functionally independent life.

Additionally, car accident victims who suffer brain injuries often incur significant bills for medical treatment, rehabilitation, or the cost of long-term care or a caregiver. This, combined with the inability to earn an income while recovering, can place a financial strain on the victim and his or her loved ones.

For professional help recovering the compensation you deserve after a traffic collision, consider working with an experienced attorney. Lynch Law Firm, PC’s trusted New Jersey car accident lawyers understand the difficulties brain injury victims suffer, and will help you pursue the compensation you or your loved one deserves. Contact us today to schedule a free, no obligation consultation to find out how we may help you.

Types of Car Accidents that Cause Brain Injuries

Typically, motorists and passengers are at risk of suffering a brain injury in car accidents that involve multiple impacts. This may occur in several types of collisions, such as:

• Head-on collisions – This occurs when the front ends of two vehicles hit each other in opposite directions. The impact may cause your head to thrust forward and hit the steering wheel or dashboard. In some cases, the speed of your head and neck suddenly jolting forward can result in brain damage if the organ strikes the inside of your skull.
• Rear-end collisions – The vehicle traveling behind your collides into the back end of your vehicle. This may also cause your head and neck to suddenly thrust forward, increasing the risk of brain damage. However, the impact of the collision can cause loose objects in your vehicle to strike your head, which may cause a brain injury.
• Side-impact collisions – This type of crash occurs when another vehicle strikes the side of your vehicle. The impact can cause you to lose control of your vehicle, resulting in a spinout. Likewise, the impact may push your vehicle against other objects, such as a tree or light pole. Your vehicle may also be pushed into another lane, causing it to be struck a second time by another vehicle.

Any blow to the head or penetration of a foreign object can potentially cause a serious brain injury. During a car accident involving multiple impacts, loose objects or features inside the vehicle can pose a serious risk to its occupants. It is important that you carefully secure any dangerous objects that may potentially harm you during a collision.

Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries

As experienced brain injury lawyers in New Jersey, we are qualified to represent car accident victims that have suffered a wide-range of conditions that result in brain damage. This includes:

• Concussions – A concussion is caused by a sudden impact to your head or violent movement brain movement that causes the organ to strike the inside of your skull. Although minor concussions heal on their own, serious ones can result in bleeding inside the brain and permanent brain damage.
• Contusion – A contusion is a bruise that occurs on the brain after hard impact to your head. It results in the brain swelling, forming blood clots and a receiving an inadequate supply of oxygen.
• Coup-contrecoup – This type of brain injury occurs when you suffer contusions on the site of impact and the opposite side of the brain. These injuries occur when the impact is so strong that it causes your brain to strike both sides of the skull. This may occur in a side-impact collision where your body is moving in multiple directions.
• Diffuse axonal injuries – This type of injury occurs when the long connecting fibers in the brain, called axons, are torn as the brain shifts and rotates inside the skull. This may result in you suffering significant brain damage, fall into a coma or death.

Symptoms of a Traumatic Brain Injury

Car accident victims often suffer several, broad-range of symptoms after suffering a brain injury during the collision. Some common symptoms of a brain injury include:

You should always seek medical attention after a car accident. All too often, brain injury victim’s symptoms are misdiagnosed due to their vagueness and association with other injuries. Seeking help from a health care provider may help to diagnose your brain injury and receive the treatment you need.

Proving the At-Fault Driver Is Liable for a Traumatic Brain Injury

To recover compensation after a car accident, your New Jersey personal injury lawyer must establish that the other party is liable for your brain injury. This will require your attorney to prove the following factors exist in your claim:

Duty of Care

The other driver had a legal duty of care to drive in a reasonably safe manner to avoid causing a car accident. This includes following traffic laws and refraining from engaging in dangerous or distracting behavior.

Breach of Duty

The at-fault party breached his or her duty by driving in a manner that deviates from how a reasonably prudent person would operate a vehicle. This includes failing to exercise reasonable care to avoid causing a car accident.

Causation

Your brain injury was caused by the at-fault party’s breach of duty. This can be difficult to prove, and may require your attorney to obtain past medical records to show you did not suffer from any similar conditions before the collision.

Damages

You must be able to show that you suffered measurable damages as a result of the at-fault party’s breach of duty. This may include the cost of your medical treatment, long-term care, or wages you lost while you were unable to work. Your attorney will be able to advise you on the types of compensation available to brain injury victims.

Contact Lynch Law Firm, PC Today

If you suffered a brain injury from a car accident, it is important you have skilled legal help. Contact Lynch Law Firm, PC today to schedule a free, no obligation consultation.

We provide all of our services on a contingency fee basis, which means you only have to pay us for our services if you recover compensation. There is no risk in contacting us to find out if you have a case.

Call (800) 518-0508 today.