Concussion After a Car Accident
A concussion is a brain injury. It does not require hitting your head, it does not require losing consciousness, and it does not show on a normal CT scan. All three facts are used against claimants who do not know them.
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You do not have to hit your head
A concussion is caused by the brain moving inside the skull. Rapid acceleration and deceleration produce that movement whether or not the head strikes anything, which is why concussion is common in rear-end collisions where nothing was struck.
The absence of a head strike or visible injury is routinely offered as evidence that no brain injury occurred. It is not.
Loss of consciousness is not required
Most concussions involve no loss of consciousness at all. The diagnostic picture is about altered function: confusion, feeling dazed, memory gaps around the event, disorientation.
People report that they were fine because they never blacked out, and that self-report ends up in the medical record as an absence of symptoms.
A normal CT scan does not rule it out
Emergency CT looks for bleeding and structural injury requiring immediate intervention. It is not designed to detect concussion, and a normal scan is the expected result.
This is the single most common misunderstanding in these claims. A claimant told their scan was clear frequently stops reporting symptoms, and the record then shows a resolved incident.
The symptoms that matter, and who notices them
Headache, dizziness, nausea, light and noise sensitivity, blurred vision. Then the cognitive and emotional ones: difficulty concentrating, losing the thread of conversation, forgetfulness, irritability, uncharacteristic emotional reactions, disrupted sleep.
The second group is frequently noticed by family and colleagues before the injured person recognizes it. An account from a spouse or a manager describing what changed is powerful evidence and is rarely gathered.
Post-concussion syndrome
Most concussions resolve within weeks. Where symptoms persist beyond the expected window, post-concussion syndrome may be diagnosed, and that changes the claim from a short-term injury to a potentially permanent one.
Establishing it needs specialist assessment and, frequently, neuropsychological testing that measures cognitive function objectively rather than relying on self-report.
What to do so the claim reflects the injury
Report every symptom at the first assessment, including the ones that feel unrelated or embarrassing. Follow up with a doctor even if the emergency department discharged you as clear.
Keep a brief daily note of symptoms and what they prevented, and ask family to record what they have noticed. Contemporaneous accounts are considerably stronger than a reconstruction offered a year later.
Summary
| Assumption | Reality | Consequence if unanswered |
|---|---|---|
| You must hit your head | Acceleration alone causes it | Causation disputed |
| You must lose consciousness | Most concussions do not involve it | Symptoms discounted |
| A clear CT rules it out | CT is not designed to detect it | Claimant stops reporting |
| Symptoms are obvious | Family often notices first | Nothing in the record |
| It resolves in days | Post-concussion syndrome can persist | Settled far too early |
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Frequently asked questions
Yes. A concussion is caused by the brain moving inside the skull, and rapid acceleration and deceleration produce that movement whether or not the head strikes anything. It is common in rear-end collisions where nothing was struck.
No. Emergency CT looks for bleeding and structural injury requiring immediate intervention and is not designed to detect concussion, so a normal scan is the expected result. Persistent symptoms should still be reported and recorded.
Headache, dizziness, nausea, light and noise sensitivity and blurred vision, and also the cognitive ones: concentration, memory, irritability, emotional changes and sleep disruption. Family and colleagues often notice the second group first.
A diagnosis where symptoms persist beyond the expected recovery window. It changes the claim from a short-term injury to a potentially permanent one, and usually needs specialist assessment and neuropsychological testing to establish.
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