When you get behind the wheel to drive on a New Hampshire roadway, you can expect other motorists to adhere to traffic laws. Not all of them do, but you can still expect, just as they can expect you to do the same. Motorists owe a duty to one another in this way. If a collision occurs that was the effect of driver negligence, and you suffer injury, you can hold the other driver accountable.
Even minor injuries can cause pain and discomfort, emotional trauma or financial distress, following a motor vehicle collision. If you or your loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a car accident, the implications of the condition may be far-reaching and, perhaps, even permanent. Learning to live with a TBI takes time and can be difficult.
TBI often causes chronic pain issues
If you suffer a severe concussion, skull fracture or other brain injury in a motor vehicle collision, your symptoms might not only be present in the head region of the body but other parts, as well. In fact, many patients with TBI develop chronic pain conditions, which require heavy doses of pain medication and other treatments to help them cope.
One of the chronic symptoms you are at risk for after a TBI is headaches. Recurring headaches associated with a brain injury can be debilitating. You might have to lie in a darkened room, and your pain might prevent you from being able to work or carry out typical daily tasks. TBI can also cause you to suffer from spasticity, which occurs when nerve damage causes your muscles to malfunction. It causes you to lose the ability to flex and relax your muscles at will and can be quite painful.
TBI and chronic pain conditions deplete quality of life
Recovering from a New Hampshire motor vehicle collision can take weeks or longer. If you have suffered a TBI, you might be dealing with the implications of the injury for the rest of your life. Living with a brain injury can have adverse effects on a person’s mental health, resulting in depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or other issues.
A brain injury can also cause you to have unsolicited negative thoughts, such as thoughts of suicide or doom. Many TBI patients are no longer able to control their emotions and have sudden outbursts of anger, crying or other drastic mood swings. Such conditions impede quality of life and may even prevent a person from being able to work or take care of his or her family.
Getting the care that you need when a collision has resulted in a TBI
It’s distressing to think that you could be safely driving along a New Hampshire road one moment and lying in a hospital bed with a severe brain injury the next. If there’s a distracted or drunk driver in your midst, the chance of this happening increases. Even if you notice a particular driver making erratic maneuvers in traffic, you might not be able to avoid a collision if he or she drifts into your lane or slams into your vehicle while trying to pass you on the road.
If you suffer a brain injury in a car accident, the top priority is to make sure you receive quality medical care and any and all support you need to make as full a recovery as possible. When another person has caused your injuries through negligence, you shouldn’t have to bear the financial burdens associated with extensive medical care or lost wages, etc., which is why state law allows recovering accident victims to seek compensation for damages in court.
