Anderson Injury Lawyers | February 25, 2025 | Personal Injury
Blunt force head trauma is a serious injury that can change your life in a flash. The effects can range from a mild concussion to permanent brain damage. These injuries have the potential to cause further complications that last a lifetime.
Understanding how these injuries happen and what symptoms to look for can help you deal with the challenges ahead — and fight for your future if your head trauma was caused by someone else.
What Is Blunt Force Trauma?
Blunt force trauma happens when something strikes the body without breaking or piercing the skin. When it involves the head, the damage can be especially severe. Unlike sharp-force injuries from cutting or puncturing, blunt force injuries typically cause swelling, bruising, fractures, and internal damage.
Blunt-force trauma to the head often affects the brain. Since the skull protects the brain, any strong blow can make it move suddenly and jostle around. Even if there’s no visible injury, the damage beneath the surface could be significant.
Common Causes of Blunt Force Head Trauma
Head trauma can happen in many ways, but some situations are seen more often than others in personal injury cases.
Vehicle Crashes
Car crashes are one of the leading causes of head trauma. When a car suddenly stops or hits something, the force can send a person’s head into the steering wheel, dashboard, windows, and other hard surfaces. Even with airbags, the impact can cause concussions, skull fractures, and severe traumatic brain injuries.
Slips and Falls
Falls can happen anywhere — at home, at work, or in any public space. Hitting your head on a hard surface like concrete or tile can cause a lot of damage. Older adults and young children can be especially at risk for serious head injuries when they trip or slip and fall.
Workplace Accidents
Warehouse employees, construction workers, and others who work in high-risk environments face several risks to their safety on a daily basis. Equipment accidents, falling objects, and slipping on unsafe surfaces can easily cause blunt force injuries. Without the right safety measures in place, these workplace accidents can also lead to severe head trauma.
Sports Injuries
Contact sports like hockey, boxing, and football often involve high-impact collisions. Repeated blows to the head can increase your chances of suffering concussions and long-term brain damage. Helmets provide some protection, but they can’t prevent all injuries.
Physical Assault
A punch, kick, or blow with a hard object can cause severe head trauma. Victims of assaults can be left to deal with long-term problems, especially if they experience several head injuries over time.
Symptoms of Blunt Force Head Trauma
Head injuries can be tricky as, sometimes, it’s hard to tell whether you’ve been injured immediately afterward. Signs tend to include:
- Headaches
- Pressure in the head
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Loss of consciousness
- Blurred vision
- Ringing in the ears
On the other hand, some symptoms can take hours or even days to appear.
Those symptoms are more likely to involve:
- Trouble with concentration and memory
- Mood swings or personality changes
- Sensitivity to light and sound
- Problems with sleep and feeling tired when awake
- Persistent headaches that get worse
It’s tempting to brush off a head injury, especially if there’s no visible wound and you feel otherwise fine. However, even minor head trauma can cause major problems. If you hit your head and show any of these signs, it’s important to see a doctor right away. Some brain injuries progress quickly and can become life-threatening if they’re ignored.
Aftermath of Blunt Force Head Trauma
The impacts of head trauma depend on how severe the injury is. Some people can recover within a few weeks, but others may face lasting complications and need ongoing therapy and medical care. These long-term effects can involve seizures and challenges with coordinating movements.
Sometimes, the headaches, dizziness, and cognitive problems associated with head trauma take a long time to clear up or even refuse to go away. Brain injuries can also have a lasting impact on a person’s mood and could trigger other conditions, like depression and anxiety.
Additionally, there’s reason to believe that head injuries may contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia later in life.
Recovery After Blunt Force Head Trauma
The brain is a complicated organ, and modern science still doesn’t know everything about it. Because of this, recovering from head trauma isn’t always straightforward. The severity of the injury, the care you receive, and your overall health can all play a role in how well you heal.
Keep in mind that head trauma doesn’t just impact your physical health. It can take a heavy emotional toll, too. Besides the usual medical care, some victims — and even their loved ones — benefit from counseling and support groups to help them deal with the challenges.
For some people, the effects of blunt force head trauma last a lifetime. They often can’t return to work in the same capacity, if at all, and they can’t go about their lives like they once did. Planning for long-term medical care and legal steps can help ease the burden on both the injured person and their family.
A Life-Altering Injury That Demands Awareness
Blunt force head trauma is as much a legal issue as it is a medical one. When these injuries are caused by accidents that involve someone’s negligence, victims are often left in a difficult situation. Hospital bills pile up, and not being able to work creates financial strain. If long-term care or disability is involved, the stress can easily reach family members and friends.
Fortunately, you have the right to seek compensation if someone else is responsible for your injury in Texas. A personal injury attorney with experience in brain injury cases can help you hold the responsible parties accountable and pursue compensation to provide financial stability while you heal from your trauma.
Contact Our Personal Injury Law Firm in Texas
If you’ve been injured in an accident in Fort Worth or Dallas and need legal help, contact our personal injury lawyers at Anderson Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation. We proudly serve Tarrant County, Dallas County, and throughout Texas.
Anderson Injury Lawyers – Fort Worth Office
1310 W El Paso St, Fort Worth, TX 76102
(817) 294-1900
Anderson Injury Lawyers – Fort Worth Office (Secondary)
6618 Fossil Bluff Dr # 108, Fort Worth, TX 76137
(817) 631-4113
Anderson Injury Lawyers – Dallas Office
408 W Eighth St Suite 202, Dallas, TX 75208
(214) 327-8000
Anderson Injury Lawyers – Dallas Office (Secondary)
6301 Gaston Ave suite 820, Dallas, TX 75214
(469) 457-4711
