No one is immune to brain injuries. They affect individuals from all backgrounds and of all ages. While it is of course tragic when anyone suffers serious repercussions as a result of the injury, this is particularly true when it is a child who is suffering. Diagnosing the injury in a timely manner could have a bearing on the treatment received and correspondingly the outcome.
A study was recently conducted that looked into just how telling a headache alone is for children in indicating the severity of an injury, following a minor blunt trauma. This is important since it could help determine whether a computed tomography scan should be conducted. The results were published in the journal Pediatrics.
Children who had suffered a minor blunt head trauma were evaluated for the study. The children all had a Glasgow Coma Scale score of either 14 of 15. In the course of the study it was determined that none of close to 2500 who only displayed a headache as a symptom, had a brain injury defined as clinically important. CT scans performed on three out of 456 children uncovered a traumatic brain injury. That is less than 0.7 percent.
While in many situations children who suffer a brain injury recover without any lasting aftereffects, in other cases the life of the child is changed forever. These changes could manifest themselves in many ways including difficulties in concentrating and cognitive difficulties.
In situations such as these medical expenses can quickly grow and be difficult to cover. If negligence of another person is to blame for the injury a personal injury lawsuit may be appropriate.