There are many reasons why you’ll want to talk to medical professionals if you ever suffer a head injury. It is one of the most severe types of injuries that you could experience, whether it occurs as a result of a fall, a car accident, assault or a work accident. It’s very important to go to the hospital to get proper treatment.
If you’re tempted to forgo urgent treatment, you’ll want to keep in mind that some head injuries can get worse with time, and abstaining from treatment now could make your condition worse down the road. There are even cases wherein people who do not think they were severely injured end up suffering fatal complications. In many cases, prompt medical treatment can help you to avoid unnecessarily negative outcomes.
A single example: subdural hematomas
Just one example of how this can happen involves a condition referred to as a subdural hematoma. There is tissue – dura matter – surrounding your brain and insulating it, and it can be damaged in an impact. Even if it’s a closed injury, your brain can still suffer severe damage as it moves against the inside of your skull. This can occur, for example, if you are involved in a car accident and your head hits the dashboard or even an airbag.
With a subdural hematoma, there can be bleeding in this tissue around your brain, or even within the brain tissue itself. That bleeding can slowly cause pressure to build up within your skull. If it is undetected and untreated, this pressure can reach a point where it leads to the death of neural cells. In some cases, the bleeding can become so significant that someone could pass away, even though they looked fine at the scene of the accident.
You may be entitled to compensation
Of course, going to the hospital and enduring intense treatments may save your life in the wake of sustaining a traumatic brain injury. But this effort may also be incredibly expensive. The cost of TBI treatment is just one reason why it’s so important to know about all of the potential options you have to seek compensation if someone else’s negligent behavior was responsible for your injury. By pursuing any and all compensation to which you’re rightfully entitled, you’ll better ensure that you can receive the follow-up care you need and that your family’s finances aren’t unduly affected by an injury that wasn’t your fault.