The risk of a car crash renders individual transportation a personal safety hazard. While people can complete hundreds of trips with no complications, all it takes is encountering the wrong driver at the wrong time for a simple trip to the store to turn into a life-altering moment.
Collisions are a leading cause of many of the most severe injuries possible, including spinal cord injuries. People can also injure their brains during motor vehicle collisions. A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause a variety of different medical challenges depending on the location of the injury and how severe it is. And, contrary to what people often assume, there are actually many different ways for someone to hurt their brain during a car crash.
Blunt force trauma
The best-known cause of brain injuries after a car crash is the risk of someone hitting their head. Blunt force trauma caused by striking the steering wheel or other vehicle components can lead to bruising and swelling inside the skull that eventually produce debilitating symptoms. Anyone who strikes their head during a crash could develop a TBI as a result.
Violent physical motions
Crashes often abruptly change the trajectory of a vehicle. People’s heads made rapidly on their necks. Their brains might strike the inside of their skulls violently during a crash, which can cause bruising and swelling. When vehicles spin or flip during crashes, people may have an elevated risk of a TBI because of those violent motions.
Penetrating injuries
Pieces of safety glass and other debris from the crash can cause significant trauma to someone’s head. If the force of the crash is strong enough, debris could potentially penetrate the skull and cause damage to the brain. Such injuries may seem small on the surface but could cause catastrophic symptoms for the person injured.
Oftentimes, brain injuries manifest subtle symptoms at first that grow worse as the injury progresses over multiple hours or days. Those involved in car crashes that were particularly violent often require medical evaluation to diagnose a potential TBI. Realizing that someone can hurt their brain in more than one way might help them obtain the right diagnosis and appropriate compensation after a crash.