Driving in Ohio can be an uneventful activity. You go to work or travel with friends or go grocery shopping and nothing extraordinary occurs. On the other hand, a seemingly uneventful road trip can take a sudden turn for the worse if a distracted or drunk driver is nearby. Instead of arriving safely at your destination, a collision may occur, resulting in serious, even life-threatening, injuries. In the days and weeks that follow a collision, it is important to monitor your health in case symptoms of brain injury arise.
It’s possible to suffer a brain injury in a motor vehicle collision and not know it right away. Symptoms may experience a delay for hours, days or weeks. This is why it’s important to understand what to look for and to seek immediate medical attention if your condition changes and suggests that you may have suffered brain trauma in an accident.
Do not disregard these possible brain injury symptoms
During recovery from an Ohio motor vehicle collision, you may experience a lot of pain and discomfort, in addition to the emotional trauma associated with the incident. As time passes each day, however, your injuries should begin to heal. If your condition worsens or you experience any of the symptoms shown in the following list, it is wise to seek medical testing for a brain injury:
- Nausea or vomiting
- A feeling of confusion or difficulty forming thoughts or words
- Irritability or erratic mood swings
- Visual impairment that was present before the accident
- Loss of balance when sitting, standing or trying to walk
These symptoms are indicative of traumatic brain injury. It is imperative for an attending physician to know that you were recently involved in a motor vehicle collision so that he or she knows what to look for and what tests to run to rule out or confirm a brain injury.
A brain injury often reduces quality of life
Several factors may be relevant if you receive a brain injury diagnosis after an Ohio car accident. You might have a skull fracture, a brain bleed or a severe concussion. There could be swelling on the brain or a cerebrospinal fluid leak. All these conditions require specialized care and would no doubt prevent you from returning to work, at least for a time.
When you suffer a brain injury in an Ohio collision that was caused by another driver’s negligence, a civil court judge can hold the party accountable for his or her actions by ordering restitution for damages. Such a ruling typically occurs in conjunction with a recovering victim filing a personal injury claim.