Getting into a car accident can not-only be very scary for an adult, it can also have a jarring impact on a child that may lead to consequences into the future. One of the most apparent changes is a sudden fear of driving or riding in a car, a raised anxiety when in the car, or a need to ride securely in the back or in a specific position. This can happen to adults and children alike. But when there is an injury involved, there is a whole different set of circumstances that could have nothing to do with a vehicle.
Often the simplest of accidents, perhaps even one that didn’t result in damage, could result in a soft tissue injury such as whiplash or even banging the head, ending in a concussion. Whiplash is the violent thrashing of the head from impact stretching the neck muscles and tendons. The pain lasts for days, perhaps even weeks, but what is more important is what happens to the brain. It jostles in the head and can hit the sizes causing a concussion, just like a direct head injury.
Concussions seem to be healed simply enough through treatment, but studies are now coming out that show a concussion in children and adolescents from both car accidents and sports accidents can lead to dire consequences in the future including cognitive limitations and violent behavior.
Adolescent Head Injury and Cognitive Function
Concussions were considered a relatively minor injury until recently. New studies have shown that a serious concussion, though there is no hemorrhaging, can cause a physiological change in the brain’s synapses (junctions in the brain where neurons are exchanged). This can seriously effect organ function and cognitive function later in life.
Immediate signs of a concussion include:
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Irritability
- Mood changes
- Vomiting
- Changes in vision and hearing
- Difficulty following instructions.
Researchers at Elon University in North Carolina have found that young athletes and victims of car accidents who suffer a concussion may experience poor verbal memory.
“This study corroborates the effect of concussion on brain functioning in student-athletes,” study author Robert Gardner, said in a news release.
In the study, he examined 100 female and male college athletes who played football and soccer, both high contact sports. Among those who had sustained a concussion, the research team found multiple signs of decreased brain function or cognitive processing. Specifically, verbal memory was worse in those who suffered the head injury than those who did not.
The researchers concluded, however, that even more research is needed to determine the full extent of a concussion’s effects on cognition, particularly in the developing brains of children and teens. More than 20 states have already passed legislation to ensure the safety of young athletes, and educate players, parents and coaches about the dangers of concussions.
Adolescent Head Injury and Violence
In another far more extensive study conducted over eight-years and published in the journal Pediatrics, researchers from the University of Michigan School of Public Health assert that young people who have sustained a head injury during their lifetime are more likely to engage in violent behavior. They say that in the long-run, traumatic brain injury (TBI) may cause changes in cognition, language and emotion, including irritability, impulsiveness and violence.
Researchers analyzed outside data in the beginning of the study and it appeared that young people with a recent head injury were even more likely to display violent behavior. This inspired scientists to follow a group of ninth-graders from four schools in Flint, Michigan adolescence to young adulthood.
Through the course of the study, annual interviews were conducted for over a period of eight years. Within years five and six, participants were questioned if they had ever sustained a head injury. About 23% allegedly suffered from a head injury and showed more violent behavior throughout the investigation.
“These are not necessarily sports-playing injuries. They could be from a car accident or from previous violent behavior, but it does support some of the sports research that’s been going on with concussions,” said Sarah Stoddard, lead author and research assistant professor at the School of Public Health.
Authors also inspected the proximal relationship between a head injury and violent behavior. They concluded that an injury in year one leads to violent behavior by the eighth year. The association between head injuries and brain injuries and violence acts or behavior later is more explicate when a head injury was more recent.
The violence study was concluded after adjusting for factors such as previous violent behavior. Teens and young adults with head injuries that did not interfere with their ability to participate in the study also experienced considerable adverse developmental or behavioral effects, the study suggests.
Seattle Brain Injury Lawyer
Previous studies such as the one conducted by the University of Washington in 2010, made the direct correlation between head injuries and TBI to depression, suggesting that it could be a contributing factor in the instances of suicide amongst soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Though there has been no study as of yet connecting teen and adolescent suicide to head injuries, a causal connection may be established with further study.
If you or someone you know has suffered from a traumatic brain injury then some of the best advice they can get is to find experienced legal council that can properly negotiate with insurance companies and medical care providers to assure that you get the compensation you deserve. Call the brain injury attorneys at Phillips Webster for a free consultation on your legal options.
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