Head and brain injury claims

What is a serious head or brain injury?

The term serious injury is usually used to describe any injury that has had a significant impact on your daily life and will continue to impact your future. A serious injury also typically affects those around us because we need care and help to continue functioning as we did before we were injured.

If you're unsure whether you or your loved one has suffered a serious injury the below can help. If you have experienced any of the below then it's likely you've suffered a serious injury and need financial support to secure your future:

• Lengthy, ongoing or repeated hospital treatment
• Significant time off work, or if you're unable to return to work at all
• You're unable to return to work in the same role or hours
• You've received any care or support from loved ones, even when that care was given for free
• You're no longer able to continue your spare time activities and hobbies

If you'd like to speak to us about any of the above, or are unsure if you have a claim please contact us for free on . Our friendly legally trained advisors are here to listen and to help.

What is the National Accident Helpline?

We are the most experienced personal injury specialists in the UK, having helped more than two million to see if they have a chance of winning a compensation claim.

We have been operating since 1993, nearly a quarter of a century, and we have developed a nationwide network of specialist solicitors who partner with us to ensure you get the compensation you deserve.

If you, a friend or family member has sustained a head or brain injury, you can call us on . Our friendly expert team of advisors will assess your claim and can potentially put you in touch with solicitors who have experience in dealing with cases like yours. If you'd like to know about claiming or contacting us on behalf of a loved one, please visit our claiming compensation on someone else's behalf page here. 

If you'd like to learn more about who we are, our values and the staff that make up National Accident Helpline, then please watch the video below. We're proud of the people and values that make us the company we are.

What kinds of head and brain injury should I be aware of?

Broadly speaking there are a few different types of head injury, all with their own prognoses and treatments. They are:

Concussion

Concussions are a common way in which people sustain an injury. They occur when someone has a bump on the head, usually making them lose consciousness for a period of time. Sometimes they are not knocked out, however, but suffer other symptoms like confusion and dizziness.

Concussions can happen at any time, for example as the result of a fall at home, but also they are seen on the sports field, particularly in contact sports like rugby and American football, as well as accidents at work and collisions involving vehicles.

Common symptoms include:

• Loss of consciousness. This can be brief or over a longer period of time
• Ongoing headaches after the injury
• Confusion, including forgetfulness and feeling disorientated
• Loss of memory, particularly the ability to remember new things
• Sudden problems with balance and dizziness
• Finding it hard to speak clearly and slurring your words
• Problems with vision, including finding it hard to read a book or magazine

Concussions can be worse under certain conditions, including if the person suffering the concussion is elderly, if they have been drinking alcohol or taking drugs, or if they bleed easily, either through haemophilia or through taking anti-coagulant medication which stops blood clotting.

People who suffer a concussion will need to go to hospital - usually Accident and Emergency (A&E) - and may need to be monitored for up to two days. This is because the symptoms listed above could be signs of a more such as a subdural haematoma or subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Subdural haematoma

This a rather scary-sounding name for a condition in which blood pools between the surface of the brain and the skull. Its symptoms are very like that of a severe concussion, including feeling sick, having a headache and getting confused for no reason.

These symptoms can develop straight away, especially after a major head injury, or they can develop slowly in the weeks following a minor one. People experiencing these symptoms should get to A&E or call an ambulance as soon as possible, as this can be considered a serious injury.

Subarachnoid haemorrhage

Another scary name. This refers to an injury caused by bleeding on the surface of the brain. Fortunately, it isn't very common, but the NHS says it makes up around one in 20 strokes affecting people in the UK. There are usually no warning signals and symptoms can happen instantly.

The causes vary, but can be caused by exerting yourself like lifting something heavy or doing hard exercise, and the symptoms include feeling sick, blurred vision and a very bad, sudden headache.

Open-head injury

Unlike in the above examples, you can see straight away when someone has suffered an open-head injury, because the injured person will have either violently hit their head or an object has pierced their skull.

It is sometimes called a penetrating head injury and it can have a number of different causes, such as falls, workplace accidents and violent crime. The symptoms and treatments vary greatly, depending on how bad the injury is and where it is on the head.

Diffuse axonal injury

This is an injury in which the connections between cells in the brain get broken. It can occur when the head is jolted around in an accident such as a car accident. It can be described as a "shearing injury", as the brain moves back and forth inside the head. Sadly, it is a major cause of and can have serious consequences for those who survive a road traffic accident.

How can compensation help you?

We know that money can't wind the clock back or change the circumstances of your accident. It can't make people well again, but it can help you cope more easily with daily life after a major brain or head injury.

Our customers spend the compensation they win in a number of ways, for example to purchase new equipment to help in the home. It could pay for modified transport or professional care if it's required. It can also simply fill a gap in wages if you have had to take time off work.

Whatever your circumstances it's worth giving us a call onto chat through your situation and hear from our team about the chances of a successful claim. Your final settlement can reduce the impact of a major injury on your daily activities and can help you live your life to the fullest; a simple no-nonsense chat could be your first step towards it.

Your call and any data you give us is confidential and you are not obligated to make a claim even if you are entitled to. So give us a call today and chat with our friendly, expert team. It could be your ticket to the brighter future you deserve.

Rehabilitation, treatment and care

Once you've been discharged from hospital, you may need treatment such as physiotherapy to help with problems such as weakness or co-ordination because of your injury and occupational therapy to assess changes to your home to suit your needs.

We realise that head and brain injuries can be extremely difficult to cope with emotionally, and this type of injury can sometimes affect your mental wellbeing. If this is the case, you may have had to undergo psychological therapy such as cognitive behavioural therapy.

Your solicitor will take any rehabilitation and treatment costs into account when making your claim, and will do their best to make sure these expenses are covered.

In some cases, you may be able to receive an interim payment before your final amount to cover the immediate costs of your injury.