Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
Each year, Florida residents sustain serious and even life-threatening head injuries in Homestead and across the state. These injuries are caused by a number of accidents, including car accidents, pool injuries, sports-related accidents, slip and fall accidents in Homestead, and other causes. Head injuries range from concussions to epidural hematoma and while some patients recover fully from their injuries others suffer fatal complications or find their lives forever changed by their injuries.
Why Head Injuries are So Easy to Miss
One problem with serious head injuries is that symptoms do not always occur right away. In some cases, it takes hours or even days for symptoms to manifest. Another problem is that many people assume that if they do not hit their head hard, they are not at risk. This is not the case. Even a minor injury to the head can result in a serious and life-threatening head injury. Another problem with serious head injuries is that many people do not notice symptoms or do not think that their symptoms are related to their head injury.
For all these reasons, head injuries can be hard to diagnose. It is therefore important to see a doctor if you have sustained any head injury – even if it seemed relatively minor and you do not yet have symptoms. If you have been in a truck, car or motorcycle accident in Homestead or have sustained a bump to the head in any other way, get it checked out at once by a medical professional.
Symptoms to Watch Out For
If you sustain any head injury – even a minor bump to the head – and experience any of these symptoms, seek emergency medical help immediately:
• Headaches – especially severe, sudden headaches
• Vision problems – such as seeing stars or blurry vision
• Loss of consciousness
• Convulsions or spasms
• Memory problems or memory loss
• Stiffness in the neck area or the back of the head
• Vomiting or nausea
• Confusion or disorientation
• Uncharacteristic or off behavior or impulses
• Lack of balance or difficulty walking
• Dizziness
• Weakness in the legs and arms
• Changes to the pupils, dilated pupils or uneven pupils
• Fatigue, sleepiness or drowsiness
• Ringing or other unusual sounds in the ears
• Difficulty speaking or slurred speech
• Lack of appetite
• Bleeding from the nose or ears
• Clear fluid coming from the nose or ears
Even if the symptoms seem relatively mild or minor, it is safer to get them checked out rather than risk serious complications.
Types of Head Injuries
Sports-related head injuries are extremely common across Florida and across the country. They are especially tragic because in many cases these injuries affect children and young people playing contact sports. Although there is more awareness about sports concussions, in many cases players do not notice or report mild symptoms of head injuries while playing. This can lead to a secondary head injury when players return to the sport.
Another common type of head injury in Homestead is epidural hematoma. This type of injury occurs when the head is bumped and a blood vessel is damaged, leading to a blood clot or bleeding between the brain and the skull. The injury places pressure on the brain and can result in fatalities unless it is treated right away. In many cases, patients experience few or no symptoms, even if the condition is life-threatening. In many tragic cases, patients wait too long to seek help because the symptoms are so mild.
If you have suffered a head injury in Homestead, seek medical help, even if you are not sure that your situation is serious. If your injuries have been caused by someone’s recklessness, seek legal advice by contacting the Flaxman Law Group for a free accident consultation.