Many brain injuries affect just one part of the brain. However, if your head strikes a hard surface (or something strikes your head), you may suffer a brain injury in two different parts of your brain.
This is known as a “coup-contrecoup” brain injury. In English, that means “blow-counterblow.” It occurs when the initial blow (coup) is so strong that the brain moves inside the skull. That movement can cause a second blow (contrecoup) to another part or lobe of the brain. Typically, the second blow lands on the opposite side of the brain from the initial blow. This can happen, for example, if you’ve been struck by a car while walking, biking or on your motorcycle or tripping or slipping when there’s a hazardous condition on a property.
How a coup-contrecoup injury can affect a person
The most common parts of the brain to be impacted in a coup-contrecoup injury are the frontal lobe and the back (parietal) lobe. Since each of the brain’s lobes allows us to perform different functions that we need every day, an injury to two of them (any two) can cause significant hardship.
A coup-contrecoup injury to the frontal and parietal lobes can affect such wide-ranging things as:
- Judgment
- Decision making and problem solving
- Memory
- Language – including reading and writing
- Behavior
- Hand-eye coordination
- Ability to perceive pain and temperature
Deficits in these areas and others can prevent a person from working, driving, caring for their children and others, going to school and more. Like all brain injuries, there’s no guarantee of how soon and how much the brain will heal.
That means that if your injury was caused by a negligent or reckless party, it’s crucial to avoid agreeing to a quick settlement that may not take into consideration the long-term financial challenges that could be ahead of you. It’s also important to avoid taking to insurance companies or others representing the at-fault party if you’re still suffering memory issues. That could seriously harm your case. A good first step is to get experienced legal guidance to better protect your rights to justice and compensation.