Head injuries are a common occurrence among motorcycle crash victims. Many of these could be avoided by wearing helmets, which not all riders do. It is estimated that only 50 percent of motorcyclists wear helmets while riding.
While helmets do help prevent these injuries, motorcycle accidents can still cause head injuries to victims who were wearing helmets at the time. Head injuries are one of the most severe injuries that the human body can withstand. Following an accident, not all head injuries immediately show symptoms. Here are some important signs of head trauma to look for if you are ever involved in a motorcycle accident.
Types of Head Injuries
There are many different forms of head injuries that can lead to different outcomes for an individual. These can lead to traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), which account for 30 percent of all injury deaths.
A concussion is a well-known head injury that occurs when impact on the head is enough to cause injury to the brain. This is thought to be caused by the brain hitting the inside of the skull or sudden acceleration or deceleration.
A hemorrhage is uncontrolled bleeding. When this happens around your brain, it can be severe or even fatal. The severity will depend on how much blood is built up in the brain and how much pressure it causes internally.
Any sort of head injury can lead to edema, or swelling. The skull cannot sketch to accommodate if your brain is swelling, which can lead to pressure on both the skull and the brain.
Motorcycle accident victims can also suffer from hematoma, or blood clots in the brain, as well as skull fractures.
What To Look For
Not all head injuries involve external bleeding. Some are internal and won’t affect a person right away. After a motorcycle accident, victims of minor head injuries may experience signs of:
- Headaches
- Lightheadedness
- Mild confusion
- Nausea
- Temporary ringing in the ears
In addition to these, a severe head injury victim may also show signs of:
- Loss of consciousness
- Seizures
- Vomiting
- Memory loss
- Leaking of fluid from nose or ears
- Extreme headaches
- Abnormal eye movements
- Loss of muscle control
Because of the severity of them, head injuries should not be taken lightly. If you believe you have any of these signs of head trauma, you should seek medical attention immediately. Either call 9-1-1 or visit a local medical professional for further diagnosis.
How a Mississippi Lawyer Can Help You
After immediately seeking medical treatment for your injuries, you should contact an experienced attorney. Even if you may not believe at first you sustained any head injuries, symptoms could show later on and your case will be harder to prove the longer you wait.
An experienced motorcycle accident attorney can help prove liability in your motorcycle accident and help you seek the compensation you justly deserve.