Traumatic brain injuries are the most severe car accident injuries in Indiana.

This life-altering experience can impact your life and the lives of those you care about. Not only is the path to this recovery difficult, but the time, medical bills, and emotional stress are unmatched by any other injuries sustained in the car accident. 

As per the data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, traumatic brain injuries make up about 30 percent of total injury deaths. 

The most common causes of TBIs are high-speed impacts, sudden breaks, and surface collisions. However, the severity of a TBI can vary significantly, depending on the accident's type and nature, safety devices' use, like seat belts and airbags, and the individual's overall health.

The symptoms of brain injuries are typically not evident immediately after the car accident, resulting in people ignoring to get medical help, which affects their brain injury claims.

Suppose you have been met with a car accident and have sustained traumatic brain injuries. In that case, you must talk to an experienced traumatic brain injury lawyer in Indiana at the earliest. The clock starts ticking as soon as the accident occurs, so act quickly!  

What Traumatic Brain Injuries Can Occur in Car Accidents?

TBIs occur when the brain goes through a sudden and forceful impact when the head hits an object or is jolted inside the skull. There are types of injuries that can occur the following are as follows:

Based on Injury to the Skull

Penetrating Brain Injury: Brain injuries wherein the skull is penetrated due to the objects in the car or the debris during the car accident are serious and can lead to long-term issues or be fatal due to the risk of infection and severe brain damage.

Closed Head Injury: It happens when the skull is not harmed, but the brain gets injured. This usually happens from severe shaking, a rapid movement that causes the brain to slam against the inside of the skull. 

Coup-Contrecoup Injury: A coup-contrecoup injury involves damage to the brain at two points. A coup injury happens where the brain hits the inside of the skull, while a contrecoup injury occurs on the opposite side, where the brain recoils and strikes the skull again.

Based on Injuries Sustained During and After the Accident

Primary Brain Injuries

They are sustained during the accident and include:

• Hematomas: A hematoma is a blood collection inside the brain or between the brain and the skull caused by damaged blood vessels.

• Skull Fractures: It happens when the hard bones of the skull are broken, often from hitting the window, dashboard, or other parts of the car. 

• Contusions: Continuation is a bruise on the brain surface, usually caused by directed trauma. For example, if the head hits during a car crash, the brain can start bleeding and swelling. 

• Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI): This type of injury causes the tearing of connections between the brain cells, often resulting from rapid acceleration or deceleration.

Secondary Brain Injuries

These types of injuries develop over time after the primary injury. 

• Hypoxia: This is generally caused when the brain loses oxygen supply. 

• Hypertension: This is caused by extremely low blood pressure, which deprives the brain of oxygen and nutrients

• Ischemia: When there is no proper blood supply to the brain, this leads to tissue damage 

• Cerebral Edema: Excess fluid accumulation in the brain increases the pressure, thereby injuring the brain.

What Steps to Take after Sustaining Traumatic Brain Injuries?  

Seek Medical Diagnosis and Brain Scans

The first and foremost step after sustaining traumatic brain injuries is to seek medical diagnosis and brain scans to diagnose the injury as early as possible. It is advised that, at least for the first 48 hours, activities such as reading, watching TV, and playing video games be restricted. Also, exposure to bright lights, loud noises, and crowds must be limited, as this might trigger the injury.

Call the police at 911

Call the police to report the accident as an official report will be important for insurance and legal purposes to claim compensation from the wrongdoer. 

Exchange information and get started with the investigation 

To make a proper claim for compensation, you need to have the required information, such as the witnesses' contact, the vehicle number, the police report, etc. 

Get an experienced attorney at your disposal

You must get help from a personal injury attorney in Indianapolis as the first step toward justice and compensation. All the evidence collected after the car accident is critical in establishing the liability and the party at fault. You must prove fault to obtain compensation for the losses and injuries sustained in a car accident. In most cases, this is done by showing that the party at fault was negligent. 

Contact the insurance company

Notify the insurance company or, better, let your car accident lawyer know about the accident; given the mental state you are in at the medical site, you must end up sharing too much of the information. 

What Damages Can I Recover for Traumatic Brain Injuries in Indiana?

Compensatory Damages

In Indiana, individuals who suffer brain injuries due to accidents can claim various compensatory damages; these are damages aimed at compensating victims for the costs and suffering they endure like ambulance fees, hospital tests, follow-up medical visit expenses, loss of income, and opportunities due to the accident, etc.  

Punitive Damages

They are meant to punish the defendant for particularly harmful behavior and deter similar future actions. These damages are bestowed if you prove the defendant's actions were malicious, fraudulent, willfully negligent, or exceptionally egregious. 

To obtain punitive damages, you must meet a higher burden of proof, demonstrating that the defendant's actions went beyond ordinary negligence.

In Indiana, there are legal caps on punitive damages:

• Indiana courts do not award punitive damages in wrongful death cases.

• As per Indiana. Code § 34-51- 3-4, punitive damages cannot exceed $50,000 or three times the total compensatory damages, whichever amount is greater.

Further, as a victim of a car accident with serious brain traumatic injuries, you have two years to pursue your case from the date of the accident to seek compensation. 

Get the Best Car Accident Lawyer to Help You

When facing the burden of post car-crash traumatic brain injury, having a dedicated and assertive legal team on your side can make all the difference. They understand the importance of compassion in advocating for your rights. With expertise in personal injury law, they strive to alleviate the burdens you face and help you move forward with your life as comfortably as possible.