We can all think of injuries that are likely to result from a car crash, like trauma to the brain, broken bones, deep cuts, whiplash, and dislocated joints. However, one is unlikely to associate strokes with auto accidents, which are normally associated with long-term health issues like hypertension, family history, and lack of activity.

The truth is, head and neck injuries (traumatic brain injury, for example) can cause blood clots due to damage to your blood vessels. This can cause a ischemic stroke or hemorrhagic stroke, which cuts off the normal flow of blood to the brain. Please note that a stroke may not happen for weeks or months after an accident, so it’s essential to keep an eye out for symptoms like sudden weakness or numbness, loss of balance, and difficulty with speech. You should also seek medical attention as soon as possible after the accident to ensure that early signs of certain injuries and illnesses are spotted sooner rather than later.

Timely and on-going medical care also establishes evidence of the stroke and its correlation to the car accident. This can hard to prove if you have a stroke weeks or months after the event, and there is no record of symptoms and health issues that show a direct connection between the damage to your brain and the accident. Therefore, the claimant and their family members can lose the right to seek compensation for medical bills and other expenses caused by the stroke.

The majority of strokes are still caused by lifestyle choices and pre-existing health conditions. However, there is a definitive correlation between strokes and trauma to the head and neck. In a report by Science Daily, it was revealed that around 11 out of 100,000 people who were diagnosed with traumatic brain injury had a stroke within the first 4 weeks. If we look at the bigger picture, it’s estimated that around 2.5 to 2.8 million people suffer a form of brain injury every year in the U.S. Even if you narrow that down to a figure of 2 million, that means around 214 people have strokes after a head or neck injury on a yearly basis. So, this is clearly a serious issue that impacts many lives, and both doctors and patients must be vigilant for any signs of a stroke after a car accident.

A car accident comes with many negative consequences, including injuries to one or more parts of your body. But there are some injuries that are not apparent right away. A stroke, for example, is something that most people blame on age, high cholesterol, family history, and other pre-existing conditions. But it’s possible for people to suffer a stroke after being hurt in a car accident, as you can see from the following examples:

• A healthy male victim was involved in a car accident, and soon began to experience unusual symptoms like shoulder pain, constant headaches, and stiffness in the neck. He later began to have light sensitivity, frequent vomiting, and weakness on one side of his body. After being admitted to the emergency room an MRI showed that he had a hemorrhagic stroke. Sadly, the victim sustained irreversible brain damage as a result of the stroke.
• An infant was who just under one month old was admitted to the hospital after an auto accident. Even though she was properly restrained in and infant seat, she began to have seizures and other alarming symptoms. Three days following the accident, doctors identified a subdural hemorrhage, which normally happens before a stroke.
• The third victim was hurt in a car accident and suffered a carotid artery. This injury caused a blood clot that eventually resulted in a stroke. Due to the extent of health complications caused by the stroke, the victim was permanently disabled.

Monetary damages for accidents victims include numerous payments that have to do with the victim’s physical and mental suffering. In general, victims can seek medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage from a car accident claim. However, they may also have grounds to ask for pain and suffering, if they have significant emotional distress, long-term physical pain, and loss of enjoyment of life. If there is a trial because the case cannot be settled out of court, the jury may award punitive damages – additional payments to punish the defendant for exceptionally careless or dangerous conduct.

No matter which of these damages you are entitled to, the key is to fight for maximum compensation with help from an experienced car accident lawyer.

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