What if you suspect a brain injury after a car accident? (Four tests your doctors may recommend and what they help diagnose)
by John Kelly | Nov 11, 2016
Female doctor examining a brain cat scan
A brain injury following a car accident isn’t always obvious. It can take a day or more for symptoms to appear. People with brain injuries do not always lose consciousness, and sometimes symptoms aren’t apparent to the victim. If you were in a car accident and feel dazed or “out-of-it,” or if family and friends think you are behaving strangely, get yourself to the doctor as soon as possible.
Anyone involved in a serious automobile accident should seek input from a physician, even if the impact did not send them to the hospital. It is not unusual for a person suffering from a head injury to lack the perception necessary to make an informed decision regarding testing. In some cases, such tests are lifesavers.
Diagnostics for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
If the doctor suspects you suffered a concussion, the mildest form of traumatic brain injury, there are four basic tests he or she will likely conduct. Along with asking questions about the accident and your symptoms, the doctor will perform a neurological examination. This exam evaluates your vision, coordination, balance, speech and reflexes.
The next test involves your cognition, or ability to think. This segment includes memory tests as well as requests to follow simple directions and perform certain tasks. For example, the doctor may ask a patient to name 10 words beginning with a particular letter or to identify photos of famous people.
CT Scans
CT- or computed tomography – scans are similar to X-rays. The patient lies on a table, with the head going into the scanner. The machine then takes images of the brain and skull. These images can show whether there is swelling or bleeding in the brain.
MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses radio waves and magnets to provide detailed, two-and-three dimensional brain pictures. The MRI can show smaller areas of damage than the CT scan. For instance, it can pick up evidence of a blood clot in the head – a potentially life-threatening situation.
Neither the MRI nor CT scan can definitively diagnose a concussion, in that the damage does not always appear on the scans. A positive image indicates some level of brain trauma, but a negative image does not mean a concussion didn’t occur.
Most people recover from concussions within a few weeks. If you or a loved one got involved in a significant car accident, your doctor may need to perform some or all of these tests. If suffering or unusual behavior continues after these preliminary tests are completed, you may require a more extensive workup.
Our personal injury attorneys can help you strategize to obtain compensation for damages and medical bills; call us at 602-283-4122 to schedule a consultation.
Willow Midwife Center for Birth & Wellness – Our firm is currently counsel for plaintiffs in a lawsuit (midwife malpractice) against the birthing center – involving failure to transfer mothers and newborns to hospitals when emergency care was needed, causing devastating consequences for those involved.Â
At the Kelly Law Team, our personal injury practice includes a wide range of injuries caused by negligence and other wrongful conduct. including injuries that are inflicted upon newborn babies (and their mothers).
When a woman is about to give birth, she understandably wants to be as comfortable as possible, not only in her surroundings, but also in terms of the quality of care she will receive. People choose birthing centers in part, at least, due to the promise of a more personalized attention, a home-like environment, “continuous care,” less medical intervention, and a more “natural” birthing experience.Â
Unfortunately, birthing centers are not equipped to handle many emergencies. There are numerous areas of concern when you entrust your maternity care to a birthing center. For example, as in our case, delayed transfer of mothers and newborn babies to a hospital could lead to devastating consequences, including oxygen deprivation, untreated fetal distress, and more. This could result in the baby suffering with cerebral palsy, developmental delays, and other serious problems and conditions.
These centers generally operate without an onsite physician, and the possibility of a delay in the transfer to a hospital in the case of an emergency or difficult delivery is only one example of injuries to newborns and to their mothers, who suffer needlessly as the result of negligence on the part of the birthing center. Moreover, birthing centers are not able to perform Cesarean sections, while almost one-third of births in the United States are delivered by C-section.
Indeed, according to the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, birthing centers carry an increased risk of adverse outcomes, including the following:
- Neonatal deaths (birth through day 28);
- Depressed Agpar scores in the first few minutes of birth (Apgar evaluates the newborn’s heart rate, muscle tone, reflexes, respiration, and appearance); and
In addition to the risks to the infant, medical problems suffered by the mother may also be well beyond the capacity of a birthing center to diagnose and/or treat.
If you or a loved one has given birth at a birthing center, and either mother or child has had health problems, during or after childbirth, we may be able to assist in finding out whether the birthing center was at fault, causing or exacerbating the injury/condition, and whether you are entitled to compensation. If you believe a birthing center caused or failed to diagnose or properly treat a medical condition, contact the Kelly Law Team to find out what our firm can do for you.
