Contrecoup brain injury may occur when your moving head suddenly hits a stationary object, causing internal bleeding, swelling, and bruising. This injury is part of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and can also involve the other two conditions, such as coup and coup-contrecoup injury. Follow this article to learn about the differences.
Differences of Coup, Contrecoup, and Coup-Contrecoup Injury
The names of coup, contrecoup, and coup-contrecoup injuries are similar. It can be confusing for those who are not familiar with them. So, here are the concise explanations of the differences in these three injuries.
1. Coup Injury
This injury occurs right underneath the point of an impact. Usually, coup injury happens when a moving object strikes the head, resulting in surface bruises, contusions, swelling, and hemorrhages. The injury might occur on your forehead or around the top of your head.
For instance, you hit your head on the windshield during a car accident. Even though the head stops once it hits, the brain can keep moving. Therefore, the center of the impact is where the brain receives injury. After that, the brain will revert to its original position because it has only made contact at the front of the skull.
2. Contrecoup Injury
Contrecoup brain injury happens when the moving head strikes a stationary object. The injury occurs directly on the opposite side of the area from the impact. Unfortunately, these injuries are often overlooked or misdiagnosed because of the location.
It may even pose long-term consequences for the victims if identifying the injuries is not done immediately. For example, if your head hits the steering wheel in a car accident, the sudden acceleration will move the head backward. Due to this, the brain will hit the back of the skull even though the point of impact is on the front.
3. Coup-Contrecoup Injury
As you might guess from the name, this injury is a combination of coup and contrecoup injury. The brain hits the front and back of the skull. This injury may occur in any accident when a victim receives an enormous impact that causes the head to move forward and backward quickly.
Coup-contrecoup injury is considered an immensely serious injury that can lead to brain swelling, hematomas, and issues with the flow of cerebrospinal fluid.
What Causes Contrecoup Brain Injury?
Commonly, the causes of these injuries are similar, involving strong forces like high-speed cars and rollover accidents. The effect of these forces is imminent due to the speed and dynamics of the accident. So, the faster and more aggressive the accident, the higher the chance of getting a brain injury.
Other accidents that may cause the injuries are:
- Slip and fall;
- Sports activities (boxing, football, and hockey);
- Traffic collisions;
- Workplace accidents (industrial plant and construction accidents);
- Offshore and maritime accidents;
- Near a blast or an explosion.
When you are involved in all those activities, it is imperative to be cautious of the kind of injury that may entail. Use the available protective gears to protect your skull and brain, albeit externally. Despite that, the injuries that may occur from the accidents at least won’t be as life-threatening.
Symptoms of Contrecoup Brain Injury
Depending on the severity of the injury, the victim may experience various symptoms. Not too severe injuries will result in mild symptoms, but severe injuries can have a life-long impact. According to Arnold & Itkin, here are the prevalent symptoms associated with this brain injury.
- Mild symptoms: memory loss, depression, difficulty focusing, and noise and light sensitivity;
- Moderate symptoms: impairment to the cognitive, language, functional, motor, and sensory abilities resulting in regulatory disruption, change in personality, and social difficulties;
- Severe symptoms: fall into a state with minimal response, including coma or vegetative state.
Unfortunately, the state of the brain injury will continue to develop and worsen over time. The victim can experience primary and secondary brain injury. The primary injury is the immediate damage, and the secondary injury is the further damage that happens as the brain tissue responds to the initial accident’s trauma.
Treatments for Contrecoup Brain Injury
Administering a wide range of prognoses and treatments can be done based on the severity of the injury. Notably, some individuals can fully recover from a brain injury, while others won’t be able to regain their cognitive and physical abilities. Unlike other body parts, the brain can’t grow new nerves to replace the lost ones.
Therefore, the victims may suffer from permanent injury, so they need long-term rehabilitative care. Doctors will have to analyze the severity of primary and secondary injuries to decide which treatment would be the best option.
The treatments for contrecoup brain injury include medication, surgery, medically induced coma, along with physical and cognitive rehabilitation. Unfortunately, the cost of the treatments can go up to millions of dollars. There is also no guarantee that the victims’ life will return to normal.
So, you can file for a claim if you or a loved one is in the middle of suffering from any type of brain injury due to another’s negligence. After consulting with your attorney, you may be eligible for compensation to help cover the medical bills.
How to File for a Brain Injury Lawsuit?
You can contact a reputable and trusted law firm to get an experienced brain injury attorney. The attorney will help you navigate during the claim process and use their legal expertise to pursue your deserved compensation. However, you must act quickly because statutes of limitations deadlines apply for this case.
Here are the following ways an experienced brain injury attorney can help with your claim.
- First, the attorney will determine the parties at fault by examining the details of the accident to identify the people who are involved in causing the brain injury.
- Next, collecting strong evidence is necessary to prove the parties at fault liability that the brain injury is due to their negligent behavior.
- Then, the attorney will negotiate for the best settlement amount because the insurance companies sometimes may actively lower the compensation to keep their profits.
- Your chosen attorney must be a skilled trial advocate to represent you in court if necessary.
Did You Gain Knowledge of Contrecoup Brain Injury?
Suffering from contrecoup brain injury might be the most devastating experience in your life. Ask for the necessary help, like contacting a skilled lawyer to help yourself alleviate the physical, emotional, and financial burden.
