Jeff Varcadipane
April 11, 2024
Many types of car accidents, including rear-end accidents, head-on collisions, and roll-over accidents, result in severe injuries and fatalities. Sometimes, a minor collision can cause life-altering and hidden injuries.
Signs of an external injury, like a broken arm, are immediately visible. However, symptoms of particular injuries are delayed and appear days or weeks after the injury. A flu-like symptom like fever is an indicator of a severe injury.
Even if an accident occurred during a cold season, you shouldn’t ignore flu-like symptoms like a runny nose. You may be entitled to compensation if you sustained an injury in a car accident due to someone else’s fault.
More importantly, working with a New Jersey car accident attorney enhances your chances of obtaining a fair settlement value for your losses. If you are experiencing flu-like symptoms after a car accident don’t hesitate to seek help.
Car Accident Injuries With Flu-Like Symptoms
After a car accident, people sustain various injuries with similar symptoms, like a flu infection with symptoms such as muscle and body aches, headaches, vomiting & diarrhea, runny nose, and fever.
Some victims may be confused about the need to consult a health provider since most cases of flu infections go away without medical interventions.
Here are a few car accident injuries with flu-like symptoms:
Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injury occurs as a result of a violent blow or jolt to the head or body. A mild traumatic injury may affect your brain temporarily, with a severe injury resulting in torn tissues, bleeding, and physical damage to the brain.
Some symptoms of traumatic brain injury occur immediately after a car accident, with others appearing days or weeks after the injury.
A traumatic brain injury results in various physical and psychological effects on the victim
Here are a few symptoms of mild traumatic brain injury:
- Headache
- Nausea and vomiting
- Drowsiness and fatigue
- Difficulty with speech
- Loss of balance and dizziness
- Sensory issues such as ringing in the ears, blurred vision, and bad taste in the mouth
- Sensitivity to light and sound
- Loss of consciousness for a few seconds or minutes
- Concentration problems
- Feeling anxious or depressed
- Difficulty sleeping or sleeping more than usual
When to See a Doctor?
Always see a healthcare provider if you or a loved one has sustained a blow to their head or body and you’re concerned or have noticed behavioral changes. More importantly, seek immediate medical attention if you’ve observed signs of a traumatic brain injury after a blow or jolt to the head.
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Leak
A car accident can cause a spine or head injury, triggering a cerebrospinal fluid leak. The cerebrospinal fluid surrounds the spinal cord and the brain and provides a cushion that protects them from injury.
Three layers cushion the spinal cord and the brain. When there is a tear or a hole in the outermost layer, a CSF leak occurs. The dura is the outermost layer of meninges, which surrounds the brain.
The dura is likely to sustain an injury after a head injury or surgical procedure involving the brain, spine, or sinuses.
Headaches are the most common symptoms of CSF leaks.
CSF headaches usually:
- Improve when lying down
- Often starts or worsens while straining or coughing
- Become worse when standing up
- Cause pain at the back of the head
- It sometimes starts suddenly
Other symptoms of cerebrospinal fluid leak include:
- Dizziness
- Nausea or vomiting
- Ringing in the ears
- Changes in vision
- Shoulder or neck pain
- Changes in the ability to think clearly or behavior
- Hearing loss
- Clear or watery drainage from one side of the nose or ear
- Metallic taste in the mouth
When to See a Doctor?
Like many injuries, early diagnosis enhances your chances of recovering from a cerebrospinal fluid leak. You should, therefore, seek medical attention if you have symptoms of a CSF leak, a blow to the head, or a jolt to your body.
If a cerebrospinal fluid leak is left untreated, complications may occur. The possible complications include meningitis or tension pneumocephalus, which occurs when air enters the air surrounding the brain.
An untreated spinal CSF leak often leads to subdural hematomas, also referred to as bleeding on the surface of the brain.
Get Legal Assistance From an Experienced NJ Car Accident Attorney
Your quality of life is likely to worsen if you were in a collision and sustained a severe injury. You deserve representation from a legal professional like Varcadipane & Pinnisi, P.C., who has decades of experience representing car accident victims. Contact us online for a free consultation. We are ready to fight for maximum compensation.
Jeffrey W. Varcadipane
Jeffrey W. Varcadipane is a Certified Civil Trial Attorney by the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey and a Founding Partner of the Firm. He handles a variety of matters including civil and commercial litigation, appellate practice, real estate, and business law.
University: J.D. Fordham Law School
Bar Number: 29472005
Locations: New Jersey, New York, and Florida.
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