Everything You Need To Know About Blunt Force Head Trauma

Bill Allen | December 7, 2023 | Brain Injuries

Everything You Need To Know About Blunt Force Head Trauma

Head trauma takes two forms: penetrating trauma and blunt trauma. The former is quite rare, as it occurs when an object pierces your skull and tears into your brain tissue, leading to severe brain injuries.

Blunt trauma, on the other hand, is much more common, as it happens whenever something strikes your head without opening a wound. These incidents can still cause serious or even fatal injuries, but since your skull remains intact, your brain remains protected from tearing.

How Does Blunt Force Head Trauma Happen?

Blunt trauma ensues in an impact between your head and an object. For example, you might get hit in the head by a falling or propelled object in a workplace accident. In other cases, your head might move toward and collide with a fixed object, such as your vehicle’s side window in a car accident or even the floor during a slip and fall accident.

Another form of blunt force head trauma occurs when you get hit by a blast wave from an explosion. Apart from any debris that strikes your head, the pressure from the explosion can squeeze your head and brain, causing blunt-force head injuries.

Possible Injuries Resulting From Blunt Force Head Trauma

You can suffer a range of injuries and blunt trauma symptoms after being hit in the head or having your head strike something else. Some common injuries are as follows:

Bruises

Bruises form when an impact ruptures blood vessels under the skin. The leaking blood and other fluids accumulate, developing the telltale discoloration. The trauma inflicted by a blunt object can bruise your head, and because your scalp has a large blood supply running through it, a single bruise can swell and form a bump or knot.

Bruises generally cause pain and soreness, but they thankfully heal within a few days without any complications or long-term effects.

Concussions

When a jolt to your brain causes it to swell, you suffer from a concussion. 

The swelling causes a range of blunt-force head trauma symptoms, such as:

  • Headaches
  • Confusion
  • Amnesia
  • Dizziness
  • Drowsiness
  • Slurred speech
  • Seeing stars
  • Ringing ears

The symptoms of a concussion will usually go away within two months following the injury, but be aware that in the meantime, your symptoms might change and evolve as the brain swells and recovers.

Bone Fractures

Like all bones, the skull and jaw can fracture if they are struck hard enough. 

The symptoms of a broken bone caused by blunt force trauma to your head might include the following:

  • Pain
  • Deformation of your skull or jaw
  • Bruises
  • Bleeding

Similar injuries can affect your teeth, loosening them or outright ejecting them from your jaw. Broken bones, as well as teeth, can heal within six to eight weeks, but doctors may need to stabilize the fractured area with plates and screws during that time frame.

Related Injuries

Whenever you hit your head, you can suffer other related injuries. For instance, a blow to the head can cause your neck to hyperextend as your head whips back and forth. The resulting stresses on your cervical spine can cause neck strain, herniated discs, or even a broken neck.

Getting Compensation For Blunt Force Trauma Symptoms

Blunt-force trauma can cause a range of symptoms. Given that the most serious of these affect you both physically and cognitively, you may suffer significant losses after a blunt-force head injury.

Your economic damages include the financial losses you incurred due to the injury, including those for medical treatment and missed work. Your non-economic losses involve the reduction in your quality of life due to your injury.

Thankfully, you can pursue compensation for the symptoms of your blunt force trauma and the resulting injuries if they occurred as a result of someone else’s negligent or intentional actions. If you prove liability, you can seek compensation for your economic and non-economic losses.

Contact Our Ocala Personal Injury Law Firm in North Central Florida

If you need legal assistance, contact the Ocala personal injury lawyers at Allen Law Firm, P.A. at your nearest location to schedule a free consultation today.

We have three convenient locations in North Central Florida:

Allen Law Firm, P.A. – Ocala Office
112 S Pine Ave
Ocala, FL 34471
(352) 351-3258

Allen Law Firm, P.A. – Downtown Gainesville
621 W University Ave
Gainesville, FL 32601
(866) 928-6292

Allen Law Firm, P.A. – Gainesville office
2550 SW 76th St #150
Gainesville, FL 32608
(877) 255-3652