A traumatic brain injury typically results from a skull fracture and profuse bleeding as a result of the bone skull being shattered into different sized pieces. The injured person and emergency medical personnel can see that a head injury has occurred and treatment is usually prompt. This is also known as an open head injury. However, a closed head injury, is more subtle and not as obvious as an open head injury. There may be no skull fracture or visible bleeding at all and the damage is mainly inside the skull (not on the exterior). Due to this lack of external symptoms, closed head injuries can go undiagnosed, resulting in even more serious brain damage, even death in some rarer cases. This is why concussion injuries are sometimes overlooked by emergency personnel. You should check for bumps or any signs of a closed head injury after an accident - especially a car accident.
The most common cause of closed head injuries is motor vehicle accidents — being rear-ended in a car accident and suffering whiplash is one example, another would be from a slip and fall or motorcycle accident. In fact, trip or slip and falls are the second most common cause of closed head injury and concussion type injuries, especially falls from heights, falls in recreational accidents, and diving accidents. Again, closed head injuries are more subtle to detect than open head wounds or injuries.
Mark C. Blane is a San Diego Brain Injury Attorney and the managing lawyer of the Law Offices of Mark C. Blane, a San Diego, California Personal Injury Law Firm dedicated to representing families of people injured with brain and head injuries, or spinal cord damage. If you or a loved one has been killed or injured in a head injury accident in California, due to the negligence of another, please order your free copy of Mr. Blane's book, The 10 Secrets You Need To Know About Your Injury Case, BEFORE You Call A Lawyer. It is full of helpful information that will help you protect your legal rights and it normally sells for $16.95. However, it is free to all California residents, or those injured in an California accident.