Unfortunately, every year in the United States millions of people suffer head injuries. Most of those injuries are minor, and usually do not need medical treatment. However, about 500,000 head injuries annually in the U.S. require hospitalization, reports the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
There are some common causes of head injuries, which account for the majority of the head injuries in the U.S. Those include traffic accidents, falls, and accidents at home, work, or outside. Some of those head injuries can result in permanent brain damage. Brain damage usually occurs if there is bleeding inside the brain or if the brain is impacted directly.
It can be difficult to recognize a brain injury, since sometimes symptoms take hours or even days to develop. In other cases, symptoms occur immediately. There are some symptoms that indicate a serious head injury, including changes in pupils, convulsions, severe headache, loss of consciousness, confusion, drowsiness, slurred speech, vomiting, fluid draining from the head, and impaired senses.
It can be hard to know what to do when a head injury occurs. A person might insist they are fine and don’t need medical treatment, even if the head blow seemed severe. If it was a mild head injury, closely watch the individual for 24 hours, and wake the person every two to three hours while sleeping. For moderate or severe head injuries, call 911, begin CPR if necessary, stop bleeding with a clean cloth, and apply ice packs to anywhere that is swollen. If the person is acting abnormally, is drowsy, loses consciousness, or vomits more than once, get medical help immediately, as these are signs the head injury could be very serious.
Many of the common causes of brain injuries involve someone else’s negligence, such as car accidents, falls, and other types of accidents. If you have suffered a brain injury because of the negligence of another person or company, contact the Northridge brain injury lawyers at The Mandell Law Firm at 818-886-6600. Compensation may be available for your brain injury.