After a traumatic event, you should seek medical attention immediately even if you are not sure whether you have sustained a serious head injury. While you wait for a professional to evaluate your condition, Mayo Clinic notes you should:
- Avoid falling asleep
- Monitor the injured person’s breathing and prepare to administer CPR
- Apply pressure to any open wounds to stop the bleeding
- Keep the injured person still
Seemingly minor trauma can turn deadly in a matter of seconds. Continue reading to learn more about administering emergency first aid for head injuries and traumatic brain injuries. Depending on the facts and circumstances of your injuries, you may be entitled to compensation.
Defining What Constitutes a Head Injury or Traumatic Brain Injury
Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a head injury is defined as any trauma to the scalp, skull, or brain. This can be a minor bump on the head or a serious injury to the brain. Even a rapid shaking of the head can cause a head injury even if there is no actual impact with the head.
Examples of head injuries and traumatic brain injuries can include:
- Concussions
- Hematomas
- Brain bleeds
- Skull fractures
- Scalp wounds
Some head injuries are immediately apparent while others take a few hours, days or longer to become obvious. Other types of head injuries are even harder to discover. Prompt medical attention could make a huge difference to your healing and quality of life.
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What Should You Do If You Have a Head Injury?
At the accident scene, the most important thing is to stay calm. Panicking about your condition could cause an elevation in your blood pressure, increasing any internal bleeding. You should also:
- Call 911. If you can do this yourself, great. If not, have someone do it for you. This could be a bystander, co-worker, or friend.
- Apply pressure to the wound. If you have an open wound, apply pressure to stop the bleeding. The head is full of tiny blood vessels that can make a small wound seem life-threatening. Still, you should not take any chances, and you should not apply pressure to a suspected skull fracture.
- Stay awake. If you are disoriented, cannot speak, or cannot recall certain details, try to stay awake until you are evaluated by a professional. If you fall asleep, doctors will have a harder time evaluating your condition or you could lapse into a coma.
Do not make any assumptions about your condition. Doing so could have life-threatening consequences.
What Should You Do If Someone Else Has an Apparent or Suspected Head Injury?
Your first priority is to call 911 or take the injured person to the emergency room. If you are at the accident scene:
- Keep the injured person awake
- Apply pressure to any open wounds
- Prevent further harm from befalling the victim
- Keep the injured person immobilized
If you are no longer at the accident scene, you should take the injured person to see a doctor. Share everything you know about the situation with the attending healthcare provider. They will need every detail to ensure that the injured person gets appropriate care. You should share this information when seeking medical aid.
When someone goes to the hospital for a head injury, their healthcare team needs to act fast. However, if they don’t have a patient’s health profile on hand, they cannot make informed decisions. Whether you or a loved one is seeking medical care, you should share the injured party’s:
- Age
- Pre-existing health conditions
- Current medications
- Accident details
You should also share how long ago the injury happened.
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You Have Legal Options if You Suffered a Head Injury
Mayo Clinic reports that many head injuries are the result of falls, sporting events, and motor vehicle accidents. In these situations, another party could be responsible for the injured person’s losses.
Our team takes pride in helping those who have suffered head injuries due to negligence. We have been representing these claimants since 1988. We can help you:
- Carefully investigate the cause of your injuries. We will perform a careful investigation of your accident, gather and secure evidence, obtain all medical records regarding your condition and prognosis and hire all necessary experts to prove fault and the full extent of your injuries.
- File a claim or lawsuit on your behalf. Once we have performed a full investigation of your claim, we will ensure that your claim is filed in a timely manner and if necessary bring a lawsuit on your behalf. If we are unable to negotiate a fair settlement in your case, we will prepare and present your case before a jury in Court.
You only have a limited period to seek compensation following a head injury in New York. By contacting our team, you can take the first step toward pursuing damages and protect your rights. Don’t delay however. If you fail to file your claim before the applicable deadline, you may be prevented from recovering the compensation you deserve.
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We Have Secured Compensation for Head Injury Victims in the Past
Our team completely understands how frightening a head injury can be. Sometimes, the legal process can be more challenging than the injury itself. You don’t have to worry about litigating your case alone. We can use our years of experience to secure fair and reasonable compensation for you.
Here are a Few Examples of Our Previous Successes:
- We secured a $6.3 million court award for a woman who was struck by a police motor scooter. She suffered brain swelling and multiple skull fractures.
- We recovered $6.2 million for a client who suffered brain injuries after being struck by a van.
- We won $1 million for our 60-year-old client who suffered a head injury after tripping on a building’s rain mat.
Call Dansker & Aspromonte LLP Associates to Learn More
Emergency first aid for head injuries and traumatic brain injuries is crucial after an accident. Considering your legal options is also important. If you or a loved one suffered a head injury due to negligence, our team can seek compensation on your behalf. Dial (212) 732-2929 to begin a free consultation.
Call or text (212) 732-2929 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form