Concussion awareness is on the rise in recent years and Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard is the latest high profile athlete to be associated with the injury. Bouchard’s diagnosis hasn’t been confirmed, but it seems likely that she suffered a concussion after slipping and falling on the floor of a physical therapy room during the United States Open, and a lawsuit is underway.
In other sports and leagues across North America “quiet rooms”, independent concussion “spotters”, and increased head-contact penalties have been introduced in an attempt to better identify, treat and prevent head injuries. “Shake it off” and “snap out of it” aren’t as accepted as they once were and we’re all learning just how devastating concussions can be.
As many Canadians learned while watching Sydney Crosby struggle through his almost year-long recovery, concussions can be deceptively traumatic, unpredictable, and can get much worse if ignored and a second head injury is suffered.
Marianne Bevis via CC BY-ND 2.0
It’s not just professional athletes who suffer concussions-victims of car accidents and slip and fall injuries often suffer some degree of concussion. In car accidents, concussions are usually caused by an impact to the head (windshield, dashboard, steering wheel, side door/window), but can also be caused by whiplash. Symptoms can present immediately or be delayed by hours or even days after the accident-once you’ve suffered a concussion, signs and symptoms can progress unpredictably.
It’s important to realize that you don’t need to lose consciousness to suffer a concussion. In fact, most concussions don’t cause a loss of consciousness. Concussion symptoms can include: headaches, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, depression and trouble sleeping. And as we saw with Sydney Crosby, they can sometimes take months to recover from.
At Azevedo & Nelson, we specialize in dealing with concussions suffered from car accidents or slip and fall accidents. If you’ve been in an accident or think you may have suffered a concussion, call us at 416-533-7133 for a free consultation with a lawyer.
