In the United States, there are about 6 million car accidents reported every year. Car accidents are the second-leading cause of traumatic brain injuries, making up over 17% of them annually. When an individual suffers a head injury during a car accident, they may experience memory loss. Memory loss can significantly impact your life, causing you to experience difficulty remembering names or events. Any memory loss following a head injury indicates that the injury is severe. These types of head injuries should be examined and treated as soon as possible.
We welcome you to reach out to AICA in Conyers to ensure that you receive a proper exam for any memory loss that you may experience following a head injury after your car accident.
Symptoms of Memory Loss
Head injuries are sometimes difficult to diagnose or treat since not all of them are easy to identify, like more common injuries, such as a broken bone, after your car accident. Head injuries are often diagnosed using imaging tests such as MRI and CT scans during your examination.
If the head injury is moderate to severe, there may be memory loss following the car accident. A traumatic brain injury can damage parts of the brain that handle remembering and learning. Typically a traumatic brain injury impacts short-term memory more often than long-term memory, but patients may experience issues with both. Patients with memory loss following a head injury often have issues remembering to do things in the future, such as keep appointments or call someone back.
In many instances, patients may have trouble remembering the car accident that caused their head injury. This type of memory loss is often referred to as anterograde amnesia. As a result of incorrect encoding in the brain, memories that are lost due to anterograde amnesia are never regained.
If you do experience any memory loss after your car accident, it is important to see a specialist as soon as possible to diagnose your head injury. Although head injuries are not always easy to identify, there are some common non-neurological and neurological symptoms of head trauma.
Non-neurological Symptoms of Head Trauma
The non-neurological symptoms of head trauma include neck pain, blurred vision, chronic headaches, a ringing sensation in the ears, dizziness, nausea, extreme fatigue, loss of smell or taste, and loss of balance. It is important to treat these symptoms as well as undergo a thorough examination to potentially diagnose any additional issues that may result from your head injury.
Neurological Symptoms of Head Trauma
The neurological symptoms of head trauma include confusion, delayed reaction time, difficulty remembering things, anxiety, inability to focus, and depression. These symptoms can start immediately after a head injury or they may become present over a period of time.
Treatment for Memory Loss
If you are experiencing symptoms of memory loss following your car accident, it is important to seek treatment from a qualified specialist as soon as possible. Your healthcare professional will perform an examination along with any necessary tests to diagnose your head injury and determine the treatment plan that is best for you. Head injuries typically require a multi-faceted approach. Initially, your car accident doctor may recommend that you give your brain some much-needed rest prior to beginning any therapy or medication. Starting treatment or returning to normal activities too soon can increase the confusion associated with memory loss as well as increase the time it takes to recover.
Treatment for memory loss may include practicing a variety of memory techniques. Your doctor may recommend that you play memory-assisting games or perform memory-assisting tasks as a part of your recovery to improve your ability to concentrate. Your level of concentration is often impacted by memory loss, so these games and tasks are an important part of your overall treatment plan.
Compensatory strategies are another way to treat memory loss and still get important things done while you’re recovering from your injury. This approach uses memory devices to make up for limited memory storage in the brain, such as notepads, address books, and grocery lists. When you write information down or enter it into a computer, you can strengthen the memory trace in your brain, and the information will be available to you in the event that you do still forget. Some common compensatory strategies to help work around memory loss include asking people to speak slower or repeat what they said so that you can understand, eliminating distractions prior to starting a task that you want to remember, giving yourself extra time to practice or repeat information that you need to remember, and using checklists to keep track of tasks that you’ve done or that you need to do. Over time, these strategies will become a habit, and they will help you overcome your memory loss.
Depending on the severity of the memory loss, your doctor may also recommend that you receive treatment from a recovery therapist who has extensive experience, specifically in handling memory loss as a result of a head injury. These specialized therapists will work with you to develop a tailored approach and help develop strategies to improve your memory and help with your recovery from the head injury. Again, it is important to seek medical treatment as soon as possible if you are experiencing memory loss after your car accident. After the injuries from the accident have been addressed, it is also important to speak with an attorney if you are filing a claim after your car accident.
The Impact of Memory Loss on Your Car Accident Claim
Memory loss after a car accident can impact your car accident claim in a variety of ways. There is the potential to have a hard time remembering the accident, which can make it difficult to prove that the accident was the other driver’s fault. Memory loss may also impact your ability to recall specific details regarding the aftermath of the car accident, such as injuries that you may have sustained. Issues remembering these details may make it more difficult to prove that your injuries were caused by the car accident.
If you’re unable to remember the car accident, the other driver involved may potentially use your memory loss to their advantage to suggest that the accident was your fault. Being unable to remember the accident may make this difficult to refute. Your memory loss can also impact your ability to remember the conversations that you had after the car accident with law enforcement or witnesses, which may make it more difficult to establish liability in your case.
Even if you are experiencing memory loss after your car accident, there are steps that you can take to ensure that you are not held back from filing a car accident claim. The most important thing to do is to seek medical attention as soon as possible after the accident. This is important not only for your claim but for your health as well. Memory loss is often a symptom of a more severe injury, so it is important to make sure that there are no additional injuries or, if there are additional injuries, to get those treated quickly. The doctor will also provide documentation regarding your injuries which will be important for your car accident claim.
It is also important to reach out to any witnesses who saw the car accident and obtain their contact information. If you are experiencing memory loss, witnesses can provide valuable testimony regarding the accident and may have helpful information that you do not remember. Your attorney will be able to help you gather and organize the evidence to build a convincing car accident claim as well as negotiate with your insurance provider on your behalf. Following this guidance will help your claim, even if you do not remember all of the details yourself.
Get Treated Today
To treat your memory loss after a car accident, it is important to seek medical attention as soon as possible after your injury. It is also important to make sure that you choose the right healthcare team for your treatment. At AICA Orthopedics, our specialists have the training and experience to identify, diagnose, and treat your memory loss after experiencing a head injury.
Visit AICA Orthopedics to learn more about how our team of doctors can help you receive a proper diagnosis and provide you with an effective treatment plan for your memory loss. Our specialists will talk you through all of your options for your injury, and our doctors will help you determine what treatment will work best for you. We also have physical therapists who work alongside our orthopedic surgeons and other specialists to ensure that you receive quality, comprehensive care as you recover. It is important to visit a doctor as soon as possible after experiencing memory loss to diagnose any head injuries to get started on treatment. Call or visit us online to get started at an AICA Orthopedics location near you.