Brain Injuries Happen More Than You Think

 

Seth Smiley of the Smiley Law Firm is here with today’s edition of the Parents of Teen Drivers Facebook Group. Our topic today is something that hopefully no parent has to go through, “Brain Injuries Happen More Than You Think.”

I spent some time talking to a gentleman from the National Brain Injury Institute, and it got me thinking that brain injuries are far more common than we realize.

Most auto accidents are rear-end collisions, and if you get hit from the rear end, you go forward, and the seatbelt catches you, then your head whips forward and comes back. If you get T-boned, your head shakes in different directions.

When your head is violently whipping back and forth, your brain is sitting in the liquid inside of your head, and then it forcefully hits the front of your skull. That is when brain injuries occur.

The front of your skull is smooth on the outside, but on the inside, it has ridges and ripples that can damage the front part of the brain.

Many of the symptoms don’t show up right away, but you should look for blurred vision, memory loss, and changes in how people behave in everyday conversation. It may be temper, mood swings, and various other changes.

With personal injury and whiplash, some of the injuries with soft tissue and neck injuries don’t show up for a couple of weeks. With brain injuries, they might not become apparent for months or even years.

When dealing with a young brain that is not fully developed, you need to look out for these signs and get your child examined thoroughly to make sure that they aren’t showing symptoms of something that you can fix early on before it develops into a more significant issue.

Another consideration is that these tests and examinations are costly. It means that it is essential to have the right type of insurance to make sure your family is covered.

If your teen is in an accident with someone with no coverage or a state minimum insurance, things can start to get costly.

It would be best if you had proper health insurance and good UM auto insurance.

If anybody has any questions on what type of insurance they need or have, please DM me, and I will happily go over your policy with you. You can send me the declarations page, and I can discuss the details with you.

If you have any questions or comments about our topic of “Brain Injuries Happen More Than You Think,” please comment below or send me a DM.