Auto Accidents can Lead to Hidden Brain Injuries

November 17, 2020 Accident

Auto Accidents can Lead to Hidden Brain Injuries

If you or a loved one has been injured in a Louisiana automobile accident or car crash, you are entitled to recover compensation to cover all of your injuries and damages to your vehicle. If this happens, you should seek medical care immediately and contact experienced Louisiana personal injury lawyers after that.

This is important because, generally, a victim of a car accident only has one opportunity to recover for all of his or her injuries. Once an insurance company has settled a claim or a jury has awarded a verdict, a victim cannot make another claim on the insurance company or file another lawsuit.

Hiring excellent personal injury attorneys is essential because sometimes injuries are hidden and not obvious. Good lawyers know the importance of uncovering the full extent of a victim’s injuries to ensure maximum recovery. For example, car accidents might result in hidden injuries to the brain. Recent medical studies have shown that shoulder and/or neck injuries that are caused by a car accident can also cause hidden traumatic brain injury. Brain injuries might be hidden because injuries to the shoulder or neck bones and muscles might, in some cases, mask or hide injuries to the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is connected to the tissues and membranes surrounding and covering the brain. If these membranes are injured directly or are disrupted by injuries to part of the lymphatic system that is lower in the body — near the shoulder, for example — the result can be traumatic brain injury (“TBI”). The symptoms of TBI might not manifest until some time after the accident and might seem unrelated to injuries caused by the car wreck. As such, the victim may not “connect up” the TBI symptoms to the injuries to a lower part of the body. TBI can make a victim more likely to suffer Alzheimer’s, dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases later in life.

As another example, a different set of medical studies have shown that injuries to the back might mask or hide TBI. This is because the cervical spine delivers blood and nutrients to the brain. What might appear to be muscle and soft tissue injuries to the back might also be injuries to the encephalic vasculature and the cerebrospinal fluid systems. Injuries that cause misalignment of those systems can lead to neurologic damage — TBI — which may not manifest until well after an auto accident.

As noted, this is why it is crucial to retain experienced Louisiana personal injury attorneys.  Proven personal injury lawyers will know to look for evidence of hidden injuries. Likewise, battle-tested personal injury attorneys will know how to prove your case — either providing sufficient proof to the insurance companies involved or proving your case in front of a Louisiana jury. To prove a claim, a victim must show causation. That is, a victim must show that the driver of the other vehicle was at fault AND that the accident caused the injuries. With respect to hidden injuries, the testimony of medical experts is always needed. Your treating physician will be an important witness. But with hidden injuries, the chain of causation is more complex and often requires the testimony of more specialized medical expertise.

Mansfield Melancon Attorneys can Help: Call Today

If you have been injured in a Louisiana automobile crash, contact the Louisiana car accident attorneys at Mansfield, Melancon, Cranmer & Dick LLC. We have a proven track record of success handling many types of Louisiana personal injury cases, including, but not limited to, car accidents, boating accidents, motorcycle accidents, premises liability accidents, and cases involving nursing care facility abuse/neglect. Contact us by calling one of our offices: New Orleans at (504) 500-1108, Baton Rouge at (225) 612-0800, or Lafayette at (337) 409-0003. You can also request a free consultation by using our “Contact Us” page.