Bodily trauma is a leading cause of injury and death throughout the United States and worldwide. A significant number of these traumatic injuries result from blunt force head trauma, usually resulting from a motor vehicle. Vehicle drivers, passengers, motorcyclists, pedestrians, and bicyclists involved in car crashes are all at risk of suffering injury or death from blunt force trauma.
Understanding Blunt Force Trauma
A blunt force trauma represents injury to specific body parts, typically caused by impact, like in a motor vehicle accident, or by attack or assault. Blunt force trauma should not be confused with penetrating trauma, a type of injury caused by an object entering the body by force, like being stabbed with a knife or impaled by an object resulting from a car crash.
The most common forms of blunt force trauma are severe head injuries. Blunt force head trauma is particularly concerning because such traumas can result in traumatic brain injury. Traumatic brain injuries are incredibly serious conditions that can result in life-altering health problems or even death. Any head injury requires significant medical attention and monitoring from a medical professional. Still, it is especially important to seek medical attention following blunt force trauma to the head because such injuries can cause more severe physical or neurological damage when left untreated.
Although blunt force trauma to the head is most often associated with traumatic brain injury, it can also significantly damage a victim’s neck, face, eyes, and skull. It is not uncommon for blunt force head trauma victims to suffer contusions on their faces, particularly their jaw and nose, and whiplash neck injuries.
What Causes Blunt Force Trauma to the Head?
Car Accidents
Car crashes are a leading cause of blunt force trauma to the head. Nearly all motor vehicle accident deaths, whether they involve cars, trucks, or motorcycles, result from blunt force trauma, particularly related to head or brain injuries.
Blunt force trauma typically occurs when an accident victim has been jolted forward at the time of the accident. Often, they hit their heads on steering wheels or dashboards or have been ejected from cars or motorcycles, hitting their heads when landing.
Slip and Falls
A slip and fall accident can also result in blunt force trauma. Blunt force head trauma can occur whether the victim falls from a second-story window or slips on a sidewalk. When it comes to blunt force trauma to the head, the injury doesn’t just depend on force, but where the victim is hit and at the angle at which the victim fell. Internal bleeding from slip and falls can happen in the head as well as the rest of the body.
Physical Assault
Physical assault can often result in blunt force trauma to the head, particularly in domestic assault cases. While these types of blunt force head traumas don’t usually result in traumatic brain injury, they do result in severe head, throat, nose, ear, and jaw damage.
Sports Accidents
Sports-related accidents are also a leading cause of injury from blunt force trauma to the head, and many of them result in traumatic brain injury. The issue of blunt force head trauma and traumatic brain injury in sports has gained notoriety throughout professional football. Studies now show that players who take constant hits to their head develop frequent concussions
The issue of blunt force head trauma has gained significant public notoriety around the sport of professional football in recent years. Football players constantly taking hits in the head have developed frequent concussions and are at greater risk for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE can cause memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control issues, aggression, depression, anxiety, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia.
The Effects of Blunt Force Trauma to the Head
Brain injuries are often difficult to diagnose, particularly because they’re not immediately apparent following an accident. Sometimes it takes days or even weeks for symptoms of brain injuries to show. Anyone who has suffered blunt force trauma due to an accident must seek medical attention immediately. A medical professional can monitor a victim’s symptoms following an accident and assess any injuries.
Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injuries resulting from blunt force head trauma can range from mild to severe and include the following symptoms:
- headaches
- nausea
- vomiting
- Consciousness loss
- dizziness
- sleep issues
- sensitivity to light and/or sound
- depression
- mood swings
- anxiety
Blurred vision, loss of the sense of smell, and ringing in the ear are all common signs of traumatic brain injury. More severe symptoms may include long periods of loss of consciousness, migraines, repeated vomiting, seizures, clear fluid draining through the nose or eyes, pupil dilation, coordination loss, and overall weakness. Confusion or unusual behavior are also symptoms of brain bleedings, or traumatic brain injury.
Contusions and Concussions
Other serious effects resulting from blunt force trauma to the head include concussions and contusions. While your injury may seem minor right after an accident involving blunt force trauma, how can you tell if you have a concussion? There is the possibility that you might have a minor concussion without even knowing it.
Surface Injuries
Blunt force trauma can also cause orbital injuries such as bruising of the face or black eyes.
Seek Legal Help Following a Traumatic Brain Injury Due to Blunt Force Head Trauma
If you or someone you loved was injured in a car accident and suffered blunt force trauma or blunt force head trauma caused the death of a loved one, you might be entitled to compensation. Contact the Pennsylvania brain injury attorneys from the team at The Thistle Law Firm today or call them directly at 215-525-6824 to schedule a free consultation.