Toronto Car Accident Lawyer Explains What Head Injury Victims Need To Know
People who sustain a concussion or multiple traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are more likely to be involved in a car accident, even years after they suffered a TBI, according to a recent, comprehensive study conducted by researchers from Toronto studying 20 years’ worth of accident data.
“I worry that sometimes a concussion requires more recovery time than most people realize,” Sunnybrook Research Institute scientist and lead author Donald Redelmeier, MD, said in a statement published by psychiatrist.com. “Rushing things might lead to another injury, including a life-threatening traffic crash.”
How common are crashes caused by people who previously had a concussion?
The recent study published in BMJ Open focused on 3 million Ontario ER patients over a 20-year period. Of the 425,158 who sustained a concussion and an additional 2.6 million control patients who sought ER care for other reasons, 200,603 were involved in a car accident within the next 10 years that required emergency medical care. Specifically, 1 out of 15 adults in the same sample group requires ER care following a traffic collision.
People who previously had a concussion also had a 49 percent higher risk of being involved in a car accident compared to those who did not, researchers found. Specifically, the concussion group averaged 10.58 crashes per 1,000 patient-years, compared with 6.18 per 1,000 in the control group, according to the study.
But perhaps the most striking finding involved concussion injury victims 30 days after first sustaining an injury. During that initial 30-day period, 5,000 people who had just sustained a concussion were involved in a car accident. That’s a sixfold increase in the average car accident risk, researchers reported.
And long term, researchers found “the elevated risk (of being involved in a car accident) persisted for years” for concussion injury victims, according to psychiatrist.com’s analysis of the BMJ Open study.
Why do concussions increase the likelihood of a car accident?
Researchers are still trying to determine exactly why concussion injury victims are more likely to be involved in a car crash. However, their initial findings suggest several reasons why TBI victims have an elevated risk of being involved in a car accident in the future, including:
- Slightly lower reaction times, especially for recent concussion injury victims.
- Fatigue or falling asleep at the wheel, which is a common side effect of sustaining a concussion.
- Emotional changes often caused by a concussion, which can cause some people to act more irritably and take their frustrations out on other drivers on the road.
- Cognitive changes in the brain that could impact someone’s ability to drive safely, even years after sustaining a concussion.
Which concussion injury victims are often later involved in car crashes?
Another surprising finding of the study is that people of all ages were more likely to be involved in a car accident if they had previously had a concussion. The psychiatrist.com’s analysis of the BMJ Open study noted:
“For example, a woman with a recent concussion had a higher annual crash rate than a man with no concussion. The pattern held even after excluding anyone who had a prior crash in the preceding decade.”
“The researchers also considered underlying medical conditions that can affect driving – from alcohol use to sleeplessness to depression. While many of these factors certainly revealed their own ties to higher crash risks, the concussion signal remained pronounced and statistically independent.”
In other words, it didn’t matter if the drivers were young or old, men or women. If they had a previous TBI, they were more likely to be involved in a car accident in the future.
When a car accident causes a concussion, the legal focus shifts to the victim
Much of the recent discussion around concussions and car accidents focuses on risk, liability, and how a prior brain injury may contribute to a crash. But in many of the cases our law firm handles, the concussion itself is the result of the collision, not the cause. When a driver, passenger, cyclist, or pedestrian sustains a concussion in a car accident, the legal and medical focus shifts away from fault analysis and toward the very real impact that head injury has on recovery, daily life, and long-term health.
For many car accident victims, a concussion is the most disruptive injury they suffer, even when there are no broken bones or visible trauma. Symptoms often unfold over time, making it harder for signs of damage to match the severity of the injury. That disconnect is where injury claims involving concussions often run into resistance from insurance companies.
Taking concussion injuries seriously after a crash
A concussion is not a minor setback, and for many car accident victims, it’s the injury that lingers long after the crash scene is cleared. When symptoms interfere with work, relationships, or everyday tasks, the impact is real, even if it doesn’t show up on an X-ray or MRI. Unfortunately, those are exactly the kinds of injuries insurance companies are most likely to dismiss or undervalue.
That’s why it’s important for injured victims to have legal representation that understands how concussions actually affect people over time. A well-supported claim accounts for delayed symptoms, ongoing treatment, and the long-term consequences that can follow a traumatic brain injury, even when the initial diagnosis is labeled as “mild.”
If you suffered a concussion in a car accident caused by someone else, you shouldn’t have to fight for recognition of your injury on your own. At Smitiuch Injury Law, our Toronto car accident lawyer can help you protect your rights, hold the at-fault party accountable, and pursue compensation that reflects the full scope of what you’re dealing with, not just the damage that was immediately visible after the crash.
Contact us and schedule a free consultation. We handle car accident claims throughout Ontario and have three offices conveniently located in Toronto, Brantford, and Simcoe.
“I suffered a horrendous accident, which left me with complete uncertainty of my future. Immediately, Smitiuch Injury Law stepped in. They facilitated all services I required, which included an occupational therapist, physiotherapy, and many other specialists as needed… I never had to worry about anything other than my adapting to my new normal. The experience and knowledge from Megan Johnston and Mike Smitiuch was above and beyond. They advised me every step of the way, and we were able to settle in a very timely fashion. Thank you very much to Smitiuch Injury Law and especially Megan. You made sure this lawsuit was something I didn’t need to worry about during my healing. Very grateful to all of you!!” – Monique F., ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
