Minnesota is in the midst of vacation and travel season. Consequently, our state experiences far more traffic as vacationers flock to our lakes to fish, swim, boat and enjoy Mother Nature. The downside of this for you, however, is that you face an increased risk of having an auto accident whenever you yourself hit the road.
You can receive any number of debilitating injuries in a car wreck, but one of the most catastrophic is a traumatic brain injury. This is an injury to your head of sufficient severity that your brain begins to dysfunction in some manner. Sadly, more than 286,000 people receive a crash-related TBI each year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
TBI symptoms
Any head injury you receive, regardless of how seemingly slight, can cause a TBI. In addition, while your symptoms may show up immediately, they may not appear until several weeks after your car wreck. Therefore, even if your doctor gives you a clean bill of health right after your injury, you should watch for the onset of any of the following symptoms in the days and weeks afterward:
- Abnormal sensitivity to light or sound
- Blurred vision
- Ringing in your ears
- Headaches, nausea or vomiting
- Dizziness or problems with your balance
- Feelings of disorientation or confusion
Also be watchful for feelings of anxiety, depression or fearfulness. And if your family members mention that you seem to be more irritable, angry, argumentative or aggressive than usual, take them seriously. TBI victims often suffer from these personality changes.
Extraordinary TBI costs
Not only can your TBI be catastrophic in terms of its physical, psychological and emotional aftereffects, your medical costs can quickly skyrocket. Depending on which part(s) of your brain received injury and how severe those injuries were and are, you could incur medical expenses for any and all of the following:
- Surgery and ICU treatment
- Rehabilitation
- Occupational and physical therapy
- Prescription medications
- Nursing home care
In addition, your TBI could leave you unable to work for a long time, resulting in lost wages. In a worst-case scenario, it could leave you permanently disabled. To cover these TBI medical costs, you may wish to consider filing a personal injury lawsuit against the driver whose negligence caused your TBI.
