What is a Closed Head Injury?

Most personal injury lawyers do not handle closed head injury cases because they typically are harder cases to prove, more expensive, and medically more challenging than many other types of personal injuries.  Fortunately, Michigan Auto Law has more million dollar settlements and trial verdicts than any other Michigan personal injury law firm or attorney.  A closed head injury occurs when a person receives an impact to the head from an outside force, but the skull does not fracture or displace. A traumatic brain injury can occur as part of a closed head injury and may cause the brain to swell. When the brain swells, the brain has no place to expand. This can cause an increase in intracranial pressure (the pressure within the skull).

If the brain swells due to a closed head injury or traumatic brain injury and has no place to expand, this can cause brain tissues to compress, causing further brain injury. As the brain swells, it may expand through any available opening in the skull, including the eye sockets. When the brain expands through the eye sockets, it can compress and impair the functions of the eye nerves. For instance, if an eye nerve, Cranial Nerve III, is compressed, a person's pupil (the dark center part of the eye) will appear dilated (big). This is one reason why medical personnel may monitor a person's pupil size and intracranial pressure after a closed head injury or traumatic brain injury.

Someone may appear to function well after suffering a closed head injury. They can speak, write down messages and so forth, but because of the traumatic brain injury, they are unable to concentrate or pay attention. If they are doing a task and you interrupt them, or give them more than one thing to do at the same time, they won't be able to do the task. This is one sign that a closed head injury or traumatic brain injury has occurred.

There are four specific types of closed head injuries:
1) Concussion;
2) Contusion;
3) Hematomas; and
4) Hemorrhage.