Car accidents can cause a wide range of long-lasting injuries. If you or someone you love suffers a traumatic head or neck injury, you may suffer a stroke. That stroke can then have a negative impact on your or a loved one’s ability to live a normal life moving forward.
What can you do in the wake of a car accident-based stroke? You or a personal representative can reach out to the car accident lawyers in Indiana to discuss your right to a civil claim. Vaughan & Vaughan can send experienced professionals to bring forward evidence of the relationship between a stroke and an accident on your behalf.
What Injuries Can Car Accidents Cause?
Car accidents can prove to be physically devastating to drivers, passengers, and even nearby pedestrians. The injuries that survivors can most often find themselves contending with:
- Concussions
- Spinal cord injuries
- Injuries to the face and nasal cavities
- Broken or fractured bones
- Whiplash
- Sprains and strains
- Bruising
- Loss of limbs
- Penetrating injuries
- Organ damage
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Heart attacks
The severity of these injuries can hinge on the nature of the accident in question and a victim’s pre-existing conditions. That said, victims contending with any combination of these injuries may demand that a liable party pay for their care. Parties interested in making such demands can work with an Indiana car accident lawyer to file a personal injury claim with a civil judge.
Can Traumatic Brain and Neck Injuries Result in a Stroke?
A combination of the aforementioned injuries, including traumatic brain injuries and injuries to the neck or spine, can cause an injured party to suffer a stroke. If any condition prevents blood from reaching a person’s brain for any amount of time, that blockage can see a person’s brain cells begin to die.
The longer a person goes without being able to treat the blockage in question, the more severe their post-stroke condition may be. Untreated strokes almost always prove fatal.
How Can You Identify Stroke Symptoms?
It can be difficult to recognize the symptoms of a stroke in the wake of a car accident, particularly if the injured party in question is already contending with severe physical damage. The American Stroke Association recommends referring to the F.A.S.T. acronym to determine whether someone is contending with unrelated injuries or is suffering from a stroke.
The F.A.S.T. acronym breaks down as follows:
- F – facial drooping
- A – arm weakness
- S – slurred speech or an inability to speak
- T – time to call 9-1-1
You should reach out to emergency responders if a person at the scene of a car accident shows signs of any of these symptoms. Do not wait for the symptoms to worsen or until you see the symptoms in combination with one another. The sooner you can get someone the essential emergency care they need, the more effectively you can prevent debilitating disabilities.
How Can You Prove that a Car Accident Caused Your Stroke?
If you want to prove that your or a loved one’s stroke stemmed from car accident-related injuries, you need to thoroughly investigate the nature of your accident. You must have the evidence to tie these two events together if you want to secure damages for your stroke.
It’s in your best interest to keep notes about your or a loved one’s health after an accident. Speak with medical professionals after a relevant party’s stroke and see if you or any attorney can tie the physical conditions that resulted in the stroke back to car accident-related injuries. Evidence of head trauma precluding a stroke can help you make your point before a judge.
Whiplash, too, and spinal injuries tend to impact the flow of blood to the brain. The presence of either condition in the days immediately preceding a stroke may serve as evidence that the injuries from a car accident resulted in a dangerous blockage.
Note that it can take several days or even weeks for the worst side effects of a car accident to reveal themselves. Even if it’s been a considerable amount of time since the car accident, you should discuss what connections may exist between a stroke and that accident before you file a personal injury claim. The more thorough you are, the more compensation you may receive.
Can You Include Your Stroke and Stroke-Related Losses in a Demand for Compensation?
So long as you can prove that there’s a connection between your stroke and a recent car accident, you can include any expenses tied to a stroke and its treatment in your request for damages. If you want to secure those damages, though, you need to submit a personal injury claim to an Indiana civil court before your accident’s statute of limitations expires.
The state outlines its statute of limitations on personal injury cases in Indiana Code section 34-11-2-4.
You can also turn to an Indiana car accident attorney to determine what the total economic impact of your stroke and stroke-related care may look like when you file your claim. Our team can calculate the value of your stroke-related economic and non-economic damages and how you can integrate those expenses into the sum total of your requested compensation.
You can count on the attorneys with Vaughan & Vaughan to advocate for your right to the most compensation possible after a dangerous car accident.
You Can Discuss Car Accident Losses With an Experienced Indiana Attorney
The injuries you and your loved ones walk away from a car accident with can haunt you for the rest of your life. If you or someone you love endures a stroke after a car accident, you may have the right to demand that a liable party help you fund the recovery process. Vaughan & Vaughan’s personal injury lawyers can guide you through the process of filing a claim.
You can contact us to discuss the claim filing process at any point before your statute of limitations expires. We’re available to schedule your first car accident case evaluation by phone or through Vaughan & Vaughan’s contact form. Get in touch today so we can discuss what car accident stroke damages you may deserve.
