One of the most serious injuries you can suffer in a car accident is a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Every TBI is unique. It depends on how the injury happens—such as whether it is an open or closed head injury—along with the severity of that injury and its location in the brain. Different parts of the brain control different bodily functions, so one TBI could leave someone with cognitive impairments while another could affect the victim’s physical abilities.
But regardless of the specifics of your TBI, you may wonder when the symptoms will stop. Will your brain heal? Will things ever feel like they did before the accident?
Healing can be limited
It’s very difficult to predict the amount of healing that will occur after a TBI, even for experienced medical professionals. Some people experience a nearly complete recovery, while others have lifelong symptoms or disabilities.
One reason for this is that the brain heals by creating new neural pathways to work around any brain cells that were damaged or lost due to the injury. While your body can regenerate other cells, such as blood or skin cells, you are typically born with all of the brain cells you will ever have, and the ability to create new ones is extremely limited. This is why extensive brain damage may not heal unless the brain can find neural pathways to bypass it.
If you have long-term cognitive or physical issues due to a TBI, and you suffered that injury in a car accident caused by another driver, it’s important to know how to seek financial compensation for medical bills and other costs.
