In the blink of an eye, a brain injury can alter the course of your life. While broken bones and bruises are most often associated with motor vehicle crashes, one of the most common injuries also happens to be one of the most severe – traumatic brain injuries (TBI).
A TBI occurs when the brain is jolted against the skull, typically caused by an aggressive shaking, unnatural movement, or impact to the head against another object. Coup and contrecoup brain injuries are types of TBIs that can result in lifelong complications.
From mounting hospital bills to a future now laden with questions, a brain injury can change your life overnight. A car accident may have altered your future, but that does not always mean the financial burden and responsibility lies solely with you.
Keep reading as we explain the differences between coup and contrecoup brain injuries, and discover how the experienced car accident injury attorneys at Hoffman Law Firm—conveniently located near you—can assist if you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury from a vehicle accident.
What is a Coup-Contrecoup Brain Injury?
The brain is complex, as are the medical terms used to describe its injuries. Following a car accident where a victim displays symptoms of a traumatic brain injury, medical personnel will determine whether the injury is a coup, contrecoup, or coup-contrecoup injury.
What is a Coup Injury?
A coup (pronounced “coo”) brain injury occurs when the head comes into contact with an object or surface. The force of the impact causes the brain to collide with the skull’s inner surface, resulting in an injury to the brain tissue directly below the point of impact.
A motorist who hits their head on the steering wheel during a car accident, for example, may have what would be classified as a coup brain injury.
What is a Contrecoup Brain Injury?
A contrecoup brain injury describes an injury caused by the brain striking the opposite side of the skull from the initial point of impact.
An example of a contrecoup injury would be if a motorist were rear-ended, and the force of impact would push them into their seat and their head away from the steering wheel and into the headrest. In this scenario, the brain may hit the front of the skull rather than at the impact site, which would be at the back of the skull that hit the headrest.
Unfortunately, due to their location on the opposite side of the initial impact site, contrecoup injuries can often go overlooked or misdiagnosed, leading to potential long-term and life-altering consequences.
What is a Coup-Contrecoup Injury?
A coup-contrecoup injury combines these two injuries, resulting in the brain being injured at both the site of the trauma and at the opposite point of impact.
These injuries are the most common in high-speed accidents and also the most dangerous, seeing as multiple areas of the brain are damaged. This type of TBI can often go misdiagnosed, as one area will receive treatment while the other may be overlooked.
Those with coup-contrecoup injuries present a high risk of permanent brain damage as a result.
What are the Symptoms of a Coup-Contrecoup Brain Injury?
Coup-contrecoup injuries can affect any two areas of the brain, resulting in a variety of symptoms depending on the region affected.
Each brain hemisphere is divided into four regions or lobes: the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal. While most of our brain’s functions involve different lobes working together, certain functions can be attributed to specific areas, resulting in differing symptoms if damaged.
The frontal lobe is primarily responsible for higher cognitive skills, such as memory and behavior. If the frontal lobe suffers damage from a coup-contrecoup injury, it could result in memory loss, personality changes, and concentration issues, among others.
The area of the brain responsible for touch or interactions with your surroundings is the parietal lobe. Damage to this region may result in poor hand-eye coordination, abnormal perceptions of pain, and loss of direction.
Located towards the back of the brain is the occipital lobe, the region responsible for processing what we see. A coup-contrecoup injury to the occipital lobe may involve different types of blindness and visual distortion. This could include decreased or limited peripheral vision or partial blindness or even go so far as to cause visual hallucinations.
The final region of the brain, the temporal lobe, is responsible for processing auditory information or understanding what we hear. Damage to this region may include hearing loss, difficulties recognizing faces and objects, and attention problems, among others.
Car Accidents, Coup-Contrecoup, and Seeking Compensation
From high-impact sports to slip-and-fall accidents, there is always a risk of an incident to leave a serious impact on the brain. While both of these events can result in brain trauma, the most common cause of coup-contrecoup injuries is car accidents.
Due to the speed and force involved in these types of accidents, coup-contrecoup injuries are more likely to develop in these scenarios than for the victims of a slip and fall.
Suffering from a traumatic brain injury involves more than the financial burden to come – it also involves the physical injuries and mental anguish that come with a life now permanently altered in the blink of an eye.
While we cannot imagine what the future will hold for victims of a coup-contrecoup injury, our team of car accident attorneys at Hoffman Law Firm can fight for you in the present.
If your car accident injuries resulted from another’s negligent actions, you may be entitled to receive compensation in the form of economic and non-economic damages.
Compensation for a coup-contrecoup brain injury may include:
- Medical expenses
- Lost income
- Disability costs
- Lost earning potential
- Mental anguish and hardship
Let Hoffman Law Firm Fight for You in Your Car Accident Injury Claim
While our team at Hoffman Law Firm could never imagine the hardships following a coup-contrecoup injury, we can provide the legal knowledge and expertise to help you recover damages and lessen the emotional impact of dealing with a claim on your own.
Located in Charleston, SC, our team of car accident lawyers near you has extensive experience handling a wide variety of cases.
Plus, you only pay us if we win your case.
To meet with a member of our team, contact Hoffman Law Firm today.
