Common Types of Head Injuries from Motor Vehicle Crashes
Motor vehicle crashes, even at slower speeds, can cause serious head injuries. What you may think is just a feeling of “being shaken up,” like headaches or dizziness, could be a brain injury. If you don’t treat head injuries after a car accident, it can result in serious cognitive issues. You can also experience physical limitations from the head injury. An experienced New Jersey brain injury can help you protect your legal rights and get you the full compensation you deserve.
What Is a Brain Injury?
A Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a sudden injury that causes damage to the brain. It can be because of a blow, bump, or jolt to the head – like in a car accident, when the head quickly thrusts forward and back, hitting the head rest, steering wheel, or airbag. This is a closed head injury. A TBI can also happen when an object penetrates the skull, called a penetrating injury.
TBIs are generally classified as mild, moderate, or severe. Recovery depends on the severity of the injury sustained. Prompt medical care and treatment is imperative to the best possible outcome.
Head Injuries from Car Accidents Take Different Forms
The symptoms of most head injuries are similar, including headaches, dizziness, foggy thinking, nausea, or memory loss. Car accidents can cause these symptoms, resulting in different types of head injuries:
- Concussions: Concussions happen when your brain strikes the inside of your skull. The concussive force or impact can result in bleeding, swelling, and tearing of tissue inside the brain. In a car accident, your head could hit the back rest, the window, windshield, or airbag, resulting in a concussion.
- Contusion: A contusion is a bruising of the brain. Even a small contusion can cause serious damage. Deeper and larger contusions may require surgery to repair the damage. A car accident victim who experiences trouble thinking clearly, has problems speaking, or has physical symptoms such as loss of balance and coordination, may have suffered a contusion.
- Anoxic and Hypoxic Brain Injury: An anoxic brain injury happens when there is a complete lack of blood flow to the brain causing brain cells to die. A hypoxic brain injury happens when there is a reduced flow of oxygen resulting in a slow, gradual impairment or death of brain cells. Both of these injuries can happen as a result of a car crash where the victim is trapped and partially suffocating, or has a stroke or heart attack.
- Penetration: In more serious car crashes, a foreign object, like a piece of metal or other debris from the crash, can penetrate the brain. These result in more visible brain injuries.
Call a New Jersey Brain Accident Attorney
If you or someone you know has suffered any type of head injury in a car accident caused by the reckless or negligent actions of another driver, an experienced New Jersey brain injury attorney can help. Call Beninato & Matrafajlo Attorneys at Law, LLC at 908-248-4404 to schedule a free, complimentary consultation with our legal team today.
Dan T. Matrafajlo, Esq. is the Managing Member and Lead Partner at Beninato & Matrafajlo, Attorneys at Law, LLC, a New Jersey-based personal injury law firm with offices in Elizabeth and East Brunswick. With over two decades of experience representing clients in complex matters—including motor vehicle accidents, workers’ compensation, and wrongful death cases—he has recovered over $100 million on behalf of his clients and is known for securing significant results. He has also helped shape New Jersey personal injury law through notable Appellate Division decisions such as Hardison v. King and Frenklakh v. Lojek, with his litigation work featured in the New Jersey Law Journal, underscoring his authority in the field.
Mr. Matrafajlo was recognized as a Super Lawyers® Rising Stars honoree from 2012 to 2017 and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum—an honor reserved for attorneys who have achieved multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements. Combining deep legal expertise with a client-focused approach, he provides strategic, results-driven representation while guiding clients through every stage of the legal process. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law and is admitted to practice in both New Jersey and New York.
