New Haven Auto Accidents & Concussions in Children

If you were in a New Haven auto accident with your child, a head concussion (now classified as a traumatic brain injury) could very well be an injury your child has sustained. The signs and symptoms in adults are usually straightforward because an adult can describe and verbalize what they are feeling and experiencing.

In a child, the signs and symptoms are not always as straightforward because children can not always verbalize what they are feeling. According to the Yale Pediatric Concussion Clinic, non-verbal cues in children are:

• Appearing dazed
• Listlessness and tiring easily
• Irritability and crankiness
• Loss of balance and unsteady walking
• Crying excessively
• Change in eating or sleeping patterns
• Lack of interest in favorite toys

If your child was involved in a New Haven auto accident and these symptom are persistent after 1-2 days, follow up with your child’s pediatrician.

If the following symptoms occur after a head injury, seek emergency care immediately:

• Vomiting
• Loss of consciousness longer than 30 seconds
• A headache that gets worse over time
• Changes in behavior, such as irritability
• Changes in physical coordination, such as stumbling or clumsiness
• Confusion or disorientation, such as difficulty recognizing people or places
• Slurred speech or other changes in speech
• Seizures
• Vision or eye disturbances, such as pupils that are bigger than normal (dilated pupils) or pupils of unequal sizes
• Lasting or recurrent dizziness
• Obvious difficulty with mental function or physical coordination
• Symptoms that worsen over time
• Large head bumps or bruises on areas other than the forehead in children, especially in infants under 12 months of age

If you and your child were in an accident, contact the New Haven auto accident attorneys at The LoRicco Law Firm immediately. As passengers, children are generally not at fault in accidents.