How Do You Know if Your Child Has Suffered Brain Damage After an Accident?

If your child has been injured in an accident, it’s essential to get them medical care immediately, even if their injuries seem minor. In some cases, head injuries don’t produce significant symptoms like pain right away. However, even with prompt medical care, it’s not always possible to know if a child has suffered permanent damage from a head injury at first. Children are still growing and developing, and they may develop difficulties that don’t become apparent until months or years later.

Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury in a Child

The Mayo Clinic suggests that parents look out for the following symptoms in children who have had a head injury:

• Any alteration in eating or nursing habits.
• Being more irritable than usual.
• Excessive crying or crying more than usual, especially if the child can’t be consoled.
• Changes in attention span.
• Changes in sleep patterns – sleeping much more than usual, frequent or excessive drowsiness, or having difficulty going to sleep when they didn’t previously.
• Seizures. Remember that there are different kinds of seizures with different symptoms. Some seizures may look like a child staring into space or blinking quickly.
• Sadness or symptoms of depression.
• Losing interest in toys or activities they previously enjoyed.

If you notice any of these signs in your child following a head injury, please follow up with their doctor immediately, even if the initial exam after the accident didn’t reveal any problems.

Risks Associated with Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI

According to a recent study, kids who have a mild TBI or head injury have an increased risk of behavioral or emotional health issues. Researchers found that children who suffered a mild TBI were 15 percent more likely to develop an emotional or behavioral health problem. This risk also held for kids who sustained a blow to the head but didn’t meet the diagnostic criteria for a TBI. One researcher noted that brain regions associated with mental health might be affected during a TBI.

What Are the Potential Causes of Head Injuries in Children?

The most common causes of head injuries in kids are falls, sports injuries, car accidents (including pedestrian accidents where a vehicle strikes a child), and child abuse. However, any situation that results in a hard blow to the head can cause a TBI. If you believe your child’s head injury was caused by another party’s negligence, please speak with a Georgia brain injury lawyer immediately to learn your options for compensation.

Preventing Head Injuries in Children

Children riding in cars should always wear a seatbelt or be secured in a car seat appropriate for their age and size. Head injuries are more likely to occur when a child is unsecured during an accident.

The American Association of Pediatrics reports that wearing a properly-fitted helmet reduces the risk of TBI during bicycling or other sports. Best practices include:

• Make sure the helmet fits your child’s head snugly and is designed for the sport they play.
• You can’t watch your child every minute, and sometimes, kids don’t wear helmets when their parents aren’t around. To encourage your kids to want to wear their helmets, let them pick one out in a color or pattern they like.
• You can also make helmets fun by asking your child if they want to decorate their helmet with brightly-colored or glow-in-the-dark stickers. These can help make the child more visible after dark or in poor visibility conditions.
• Be a good role model for your child, and always wear a helmet when you ride a bike or play sports that require one.
• If your child receives a blow to the head or is involved in an accident while wearing a helmet, it should be replaced immediately. Sometimes protecting a child from head injury damages the helmet, making it less effective at preventing future injuries.
• Many parents save money by purchasing used sports equipment for their kids. But because it’s hard to know the history of an individual helmet and some components may break down over time, it’s better to spring for a new one.

Effects of Severe Head Injuries on Children

With milder head injuries, a doctor may send your child home with instructions to rest for a few days. However, more severe head injuries could require hospitalization for days or even weeks. Possible serious effects include:

• Seizures. When these happen within a few hours or days of the head injury, there is a good chance they represent an acute problem that will go away on its own. However, controlling the seizures is still important so they can’t cause further brain damage. Your child’s doctor will probably want to keep them in the hospital until it’s clear that the treatment is effective.
• Coma or persistent vegetative state. Significant brain damage from a head injury can lead to a prolonged state of unconsciousness or a coma. If the lack of consciousness remains unchanged after several weeks, this is a persistent vegetative state. When these conditions happen, the patient needs to be hospitalized, and a medical team will perform tests to see if the coma is caused by an issue that can be corrected.
• Brain bleeds. A solid blow to the head can cause internal bleeding. Milder brain bleeds may not require any treatment, but a physician will probably keep your child in the hospital for observation. A more significant bleed could be life-threatening and will likely require surgery.
• Stroke. Bleeding or bruising of the brain can also lead to clotting, which may cut off circulation to some areas of the brain – also known as a stroke. Hemorrhagic strokes caused by excessive bleeding may also occur. A stroke caused by a clot is often treated with blood thinners, but these may not be a good solution after a head injury. Surgery is sometimes necessary to clear the clot or the bleeding.
• Increased intracranial pressure, or ICP. This happens when the brain swells after a head injury and presses against the skull. It can coincide with other issues like bleeding inside the brain. ICP is typically treated with medication to reduce the swelling, but if this isn’t effective or the ICP is severe, doctors may use more aggressive treatments, such as draining excess cerebrospinal fluid or drilling a hole into the skull to relieve the pressure.
• Permanent disabilities. These are caused by damage to various areas of the brain. Depending on the area affected, your child might have difficulty walking, talking, or performing other tasks. They could also develop cognitive challenges that cause schoolwork, judgment, or decision-making issues.

How Can the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm Help?

Treatment for a child’s head injuries can be expensive, and your child may suffer long-term difficulties such as epilepsy or emotional or behavioral health challenges. They may need care for years to come or the rest of their life. Your focus should be on helping your child get the necessary assistance, not worrying about how to pay for their treatment. Unfortunately, many people in this position do worry because they’re not sure how to pay for all the support their child will need currently or in the future.

If your child was injured due to another party’s negligence, such as in a car accident caused by a negligent driver, you might be able to seek compensation from the other party or their insurance carrier. But insurance companies are never eager to pay claims. When they do, they often make lowball offers that don’t consider all damages – including present and future medical costs, your child’s pain and suffering, permanent disability or disfigurement, and more.

The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm is dedicated to helping injured people and their families get the compensation they deserve. An experienced brain injury lawyer will review your child’s case and explain the options for pursuing compensation from the at-fault party, their insurance company, and any other liable parties. Even if you’ve already had a claim rejected by the insurance company, we may be able to appeal the decision or sue the insurance carrier. Your initial consultation is free, and we won’t charge you anything until we win or settle your case.