5 Signs You May Have a TBI After a Motorcycle Accident

Some of the most serious and devastating personal injury cases we handle involve motorcycle accidents. Without the added protection of an enclosed vehicle, bikers are particularly vulnerable to life-changing injuries and impairments after an auto accident.

But not all motorcycle crash injuries are obvious on the outside. A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, can keep you from enjoying your life just as easily as a broken arm or torn muscles and tendons.

Head injuries aren’t always obvious in the first few hours or even days after an accident. But if you suspect there’s even a chance you’re suffering from a TBI, make sure you seek medical attention immediately. Then, speak with an experienced Texas motorcycle accident lawyer. Getting your injuries documented and treated as soon as possible can significantly improve your odds of a successful recovery—both medically and financially speaking.

Keep reading to learn more.

5 Signs You Might Have a Brain Injury After Your Motorcycle Crash

The human brain is an extremely complex organ, directly involved in controlling or regulating almost every body function—memory, emotional control, motor skills, language skills, all your senses, and so much more.

For that reason, the symptoms of a TBI can vary wildly from person to person, depending on what region of the brain has been injured, as well as the severity of the injury.

Keep an eye out for these possible indications you may have a TBI:

1. You Hit Your Head or Suffered Whiplash in the Crash

Simply hitting your head doesn’t guarantee that you’ll suffer a TBI. But head trauma, or having your head and neck whip violently, is a common precursor to these types of injuries—particularly if you experienced a loss of consciousness during or after the accident.

It’s important for bikers to understand that motorcycle helmets don’t necessarily protect against TBIs. Helmets are great at defending the skull against external traumas, such as skull fractures. But many TBIs (particularly concussions) are the result of collisions between the brain and the inside of the skull, often due to rapid acceleration or deceleration of the head. So, if you got in an accident while wearing a helmet, it’s still possible you have a TBI from the crash.

2. You’re Experiencing Pain or Sensory Issues

In many cases, TBIs can directly cause physical pain or disturbances to your senses. Common symptoms that you might experience after a TBI or concussion include:

Headaches
Nausea
Dizziness
Blurry vision
Difficulty with balance or coordination
Oversensitivity to light or noise
Ringing in the ears
Changes in your sense of taste and smell
Seizures or convulsions

If you have any of these symptoms, go to the doctor as soon as you can.

3. You’re Having Cognitive Difficulties

The brain is critically important for thinking, processing and remembering information. If you’re worried that you or someone you love may have a brain injury, look for signs such as:

Memory loss
Slurred speech
Difficulty concentrating

Even symptoms like constantly feeling confused, disoriented, or even just “foggy” can be signs of a brain injury.

4. You’re Experiencing Social or Emotional Distress

Your brain is a big part of who you are, how you act and behave, how you interact with others, and how you manage stress and emotions. When certain areas of the brain are damaged, you may experience social or emotional struggles such as:

Mood swings and general loss of emotional control
Feeling depressed, anxious, or sad
Feeling constantly irritable or agitated
Personality changes

5. Your Sleep Habits Have Changed

Sleep disorders are extremely common among people who have suffered brain injuries—by some estimates, more than 60 percent of people with TBIs develop long-term sleep difficulties.

Some of these issues can include:

Difficulty falling or staying asleep (insomnia)
Excessive sleeping
Extreme sleepiness or drowsiness during the day, and sometimes even falling asleep suddenly and unexpectedly (narcolepsy)
Other significant changes in sleeping patterns

What to Do If You Suspect You or Someone You Love Has Brain Damage

First, we strongly encourage all motorcyclists to seek out medical examination and care as soon as possible after an accident, even if symptoms seem minor and tolerable at first.

Should your injuries prove to be more severe than you first realized, getting that early checkup can be massively helpful for your recovery. It also protects you in case the insurance company tries to use the fact that you didn’t seek medical care right away as evidence that you’re exaggerating your injuries. (This tactic, sadly, is extremely common in TBI cases.)

Next, contact a personal injury attorney with experience representing motorcycle riders and motorcycle accident victims as soon as you’re able. The insurance company will want to settle as quickly as possible, for as little as possible, and if you aren’t properly represented you could wind up making costly mistakes.

How a Motorcycle Accident Attorney Can Help You Protect Your Rights

In many ways, brain injury cases can be much more complicated than other types of injuries.

The symptoms of a brain injury can be debilitating, long-lasting, and cause substantial pain and suffering and mental anguish. In addition to medical bills, the constant headaches, inability to concentrate, and memory loss can make it nearly impossible to continue life as normal. Long-term care is often required—potentially for the rest of your life.

If you’ve suffered a TBI in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you absolutely deserve to be compensated to the fullest extent allowable under the law for these very real losses.

Accurately calculating the long-term economic costs and non-economic pain and suffering resulting from a TBI is not a simple matter. You can bet the insurance adjuster is going to work as hard as possible to keep your payout as small as possible.

Successfully proving your case may require special medical testing, multiple expert witnesses, the testimony of multiple close friends and family members, and more. You may also need to overcome persistent, unfair biases against motorcyclists when determining fault in an accident.

Managing all these complex factors can be overwhelming for someone without legal experience—particularly one just trying to heal from their injuries. By enlisting the help of an experienced personal injury lawyer, you not only greatly increase your chances of getting a fair settlement or trial verdict, but can also put your focus where it needs to be: healing.

Will Adams Law Firm Fights for Injured Bikers

For more than 25 years, the Will Adams Law Firm has been fighting (and winning) for individuals injured in motor vehicle accidents, including bikers and motorcyclists. We work tirelessly to keep negligent drivers, truckers, and companies accountable for their actions and get our clients the compensation they deserve. If the insurance company isn’t willing to offer a fair settlement, we’re more than able to take them on at trial.

Although the effects of a severe traumatic brain injury can’t always be undone, you should not have to continue paying for someone else’s careless or reckless mistake. Call us today at (281) 371-6345 or complete our simple online form to request your free consultation today.

References

Model Systems Knowledge Transition Center. TBI Fact Sheets: Sleep and Traumatic Brain Injury. Retrieved from https://msktc.org/tbi/factsheets/sleep-and-traumatic-brain-injury

The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.