Types of Head Injuries That Can Result from Accidents
A serious injury to any part of the body will have an undeniable effect on a person’s quality of life, not to mention his or her physical, emotional, psychological, and financial well-being. However, head injuries, especially those involving damage to the brain, can be particularly devastating to accident victims and their families. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people experience serious head injuries in the United States, creating unexpected hardships for themselves and their loved ones. When those injuries occur as a result of other people’s negligent or deliberately wrongful actions, they should not have to cope with the consequences on their own.
That’s where the Daytona Beach head injury attorneys of Chanfrau & Chanfrau can come into play. Each personal injury attorney at our family-owned firm has the skill and knowledge to successfully handle the full range of cases that can result in traumatic brain injuries and other serious head injuries. Whether you are reading this page on your own behalf or on behalf of an injured loved one, we want you to know that we can help. We may not be able to return your health or the health of your beloved family member to its pre-accident state, but we can work to ensure that you receive every penny to which you are entitled for the losses and expenses you have sustained as a result of someone else’s actions.
Types of Injuries to the Head
There are two basic types of head injuries: open head injuries and closed head injuries.
As the name suggests, open head injuries include any injury that involves the penetration of the skull by an object. These injuries are often localized, meaning that they affect the parts of the head and brain that have been struck, rather than spreading generally.
Conversely, closed head injuries occur when the skull is not penetrated, but the brain is forced by a blow or a shift in momentum to collide with the inner wall of the skull. Unlike open head injuries, closed head injuries often spread to multiple areas of the head and brain. One of the most dangerous closed head injuries is swelling of the brain, which, if left untreated, can result in severe brain damage.
Types of Brain Damage
The type of damage caused to the brain in open and closed head injuries can be divided into two categories: primary and secondary.
Primary damage refers to damage that occurs at the time of the accident that caused the open or closed head injury. Its symptoms will be immediately evident, and it will not worsen over time. Generally, a competent medical professional should be able to identify the presence of primary brain damage with a proper and thorough evaluation.
Secondary brain damage is particularly dangerous because it may initially produce few if any symptoms, and it will unfold over time. Victims of secondary brain damage may feel as though they have walked away from an accident uninjured, only to find themselves coping with devastating brain injuries days, weeks, months, or even years after the fact. This is why accident victims should seek immediate medical help even if they believe themselves not to be injured.
Contact Our Personal Injury Attorneys
Our skilled auto accident attorneys have helped numerous head and brain injury victims recover the full measure of compensations they are allowed under the law. To schedule an evaluation of your head injury case, please contact the law firm of Chanfrau & Chanfrau today.
