Signs of Brain Injury in Children

Brain injuries are serious and can result in devastating changes to a person’s life. However, it is not uncommon for a person to suffer a brain injury and remain unaware of the injury until their condition worsens or they are seen by a doctor. It can be particularly difficult to identify brain injuries in children, as their symptoms might differ slightly from those of an adult and they are often unable to communicate what they are experiencing. Children are particularly vulnerable to brain injuries, as they have not yet learned how to exercise safety precautions in different scenarios and their brains are constantly growing, achieving vitally important stages of development. Any injury to a child’s head should be taken seriously. Brain injuries unaddressed or undetected can result in severe consequences for the child’s health, life, and potential for fatality due to the injury.

If you suspect your child might have suffered a brain injury, here are some warning signs to be on the lookout for:

• Change in eating or nursing habits
• Unusually irritable
• Easily upset
• Crying with an inability to be consoled
• Change in ability to pay attention
• Change in sleeping habits
• Acting sad or depressed
• Unusually drowsy
• Reverting to former stages of development
• Impaired speech
• Reduced motor coordination
• Memory loss
• Loss of interest in favorite toys and activities
• Swollen scalp
• Headache
• Loss of consciousness for any period of time
• Vomiting
• Seizures

Even a mild brain injury can be serious, so if there is any question of whether your child might have suffered from one of these injuries they should receive medical care immediately. Waiting to seek medical attention can result in a worsening of the condition and more danger for the child. Additionally, waiting to seek treatment could negatively impact the viability of a personal injury claim should you choose to file one down the road.

Common causes of brain injuries in children:

• Falls from a bed, ladder, down the stairs, or in a bathtub
• Vehicle collisions, whether with another car, bicycle, scooter, etc.
• Violence including domestic abuse and shaken baby syndrome
• Sports injuries

According to the Mayo Clinic, children from the ages of 0-4 years old are included in the list of groups most likely to suffer from a traumatic brain injury (TBI). These types of injuries can affect a child’s development for the rest of their life, affecting everything from their social life and relationships to academic performance and employment opportunities. This is why it is important to enforce helmet-wearing whenever a child is using an outdoor moving toy and to ensure quality supervision when your child is playing in any situation where a fall or injury is more likely to occur.

Expenses related to a child’s brain injury can last long into the future.

Unfortunately, insurance companies rarely offer an amount of compensation sufficient to cover your child’s present and future injury-related expenses. Some of these expenses include past, present, and future medical bills, therapy, education services, impairment of learning/earning capacity, and more. Expenses from a child brain injury can last far into the future, and it is important that those expenses be considered and assigned a fair value when working toward a settlement. For this reason, it’s important to seek legal counsel after discovering that your child has suffered a brain injury. These attorneys have access to experts who can sit down with you to help map out your current and future expenses, as well as figuring out the best way to support your child in their recovery and return to normal life.