Pedestrians Must Take Penetrative Brain Injuries Seriously

New Haven regularly ranks high on walkability indexes. This makes sense, as the city has thousands of miles of sidewalks, trails and other places to enjoy a stroll. Still, August 2019 was a disastrous month for area pedestrians. According to news reports, five pedestrians died in collisions with motor vehicles that month.

Cars outweigh average walkers by thousands of pounds. They also move considerably faster. If a negligent driver hits you with his or her vehicle, you may sustain a variety of serious injuries. Unfortunately, penetrative brain injuries are not exactly rare in pedestrian-car accidents.

The Nature of Penetrative Brain Injuries 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a penetrating brain injury is a type of traumatic brain injury. This injury occurs when an outside object penetrates the brain. This object may be a foreign one, such as a piece of metal from a car, or a bone fragment from the skull. Either can occur during a pedestrian-vehicle crash.

Medical Complications From Penetrative Injuries 

Penetrative brain injuries share many symptoms with other types of TBIs. For example, if you sustain one, you may experience nausea, vision problems, paralysis or confusion. Still, there are often medical complications that accompany penetrative injuries. With or without you have surgery, you may develop an infection. Furthermore, you may be at increased risk for brain swelling, bruising or bleeds following a penetrative injury.

Recovering From an Accident 

Any automobile accident can be both traumatic and stressful. If a vehicle hits you when you are on foot, though, you may suffer extreme emotional trauma. Even worse, a penetrative brain injury may make coping with depression or post-traumatic stress disorder more difficult. As such, following an accident that resulted in a brain injury, you may need both medical and mental-health assistance.

With some luck and a bit of caution, you may never find yourself in the middle of a pedestrian-car crash. Still, if you do, you may sustain a penetrative brain injury. By understanding the seriousness of this type of injury, you can better plan both for recovering completely and for pursuing just compensation from whoever caused the collision.