If you’ve been in a recent car accident, all of your injury symptoms may not appear right away. The shock and adrenaline of the accident can mask some of the worst problems, and some injuries, such as concussions, are not easily diagnosed right away. Knowing the most common concussion symptoms can help you get the care you need after a California car crash. The right lawyer can make a big difference in your ability to recover maximum compensation after a serious concussion.
What to Know About Concussions
Every day there are more than 580 hospitalizations for TBIs/concussions and 190 deaths. These injuries can range on the spectrum from mild with limited downtime and recovery to more serious, life-changing head injuries. The most common concussion symptoms will vary from one patient to another in type and in severity, but knowing what could happen may help you get medical treatment as soon as possible.
The daze of being through a car accident and compounding injuries may make it difficult to determine that you’ve also suffered a concussion.
Most Common Concussion Symptoms
Some people who have a concussion have no observable signs, especially immediately after the accident. This can make diagnosis challenging. It is critical to monitor your medical condition in the hours and days after an accident, making note of any severe changes. Some of the most common signs and symptoms of a concussion include loss of consciousness, memory loss, a dazed or vacant stare, incoherent speech, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, vomiting, ringing in the ears, or sensitivity to light.
Typical Treatments for Concussions
There are three different phases of concussion recovery. Acute symptomatic phase, recovery phase, and recovered phase. The acute symptomatic phase is referred to as the time from injury through all of your maximum symptoms to the beginning of when those symptoms start to resolve.
Any red flag symptoms such as severe neck pain, seizures, severe headaches, weakness, burning, tingling in the arms or legs, or persistent double vision should lead you to go to the emergency room directly. During the first couple of days after a concussion, it is critical to have near complete rest. Your doctor will help you through the other phases of recovery and may recommend treatments such as medication or physical therapy.
While many mild concussion patients may recover in full, that is not always the case for more serious head injuries. Sometimes, the most common concussion symptoms may linger with you for a long period of time, sometimes even altering the rest of your life. If this applies to you after a major California car crash, you need an attorney who will fight for your rights and help tell the story of your head injury.
What to Do If You Sustain a Concussion
In addition to following up with all diagnostic testing and treatment recommended by your doctor, start a journal to keep track of your head injury symptoms and their impact on your life. It can be hard to remember this after the fact, but your journal may help tell the story of how an accident caused by someone else’s negligence has changed your life. Your California car accident lawyer may use this and your medical records to build your claim and fight for the best compensation for you.
Our team knows how hard it can be to move on with your life after discovering other injuries or the most common concussion symptoms. If your injuries were caused by someone else’s negligence in a car accident, you need an advocate to help you navigate this complex process. As a head injury victim, you already have enough to worry about attending medical appointments and keeping track of your care.
Our legal team will help handle your legal case for you, keeping you advised of what to expect and negotiating on your behalf when you case reaches a settlement phase. If we’re not able to reach settlement, we’ll take your case to trial to help you put forward the best case for financial recovery. Even if a head injury has changed your life, we can help you tell this story to support you getting the care you need.