If you are in a car crash and your visible injuries are minor, you may be relieved just to walk away from the wreck in one piece. However, you should not rush to accept an early settlement from the other driver’s insurance company.
Sometimes vehicle collisions can leave a lasting effect on internal parts of your body that you might not think about or feel in the immediate aftermath of a wreck. These can end up being much more severe and costing you far more than the bumps, cuts and scrapes you can see – particularly if you’ve suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Brain injuries can cause numerous health complications
Football players and boxers are living proof of the severe damage that blows to the head can cause. While they take more knocks than most, it only takes one car crash to cause you a traumatic brain injury (TBI) that will affect you for the rest of your life.
You have probably had a concussion at some point in your life and recovered from it relatively quickly. That was likely a mild TBI, which is what about 90% of TBIs turn out to be – but there’s no guarantee that any brain injury will leave you unscathed.
Here are some of the long-term health consequences that a more severe TBI could have:
- Chronic headaches or dizziness: They could make driving dangerous and everyday tasks unbearable.
- Depression and anxiety: Mental health issues can make life more challenging and less enjoyable.
- Mood swings: This could make it difficult to interact appropriately with others in your personal or professional life.
- Cognitive issues: You might not be able to get the grades you should have or hold down your current job.
If any of these more severe effects of a TBI happen to you, they could have a devastating impact on your health, your finances and your future. Ensuring you get adequate compensation for all your injuries – visible and invisible – is essential.