Can You Have a Brain Injury After a Car Accident and Not Know It?

Yes, and it happens more often than most people expect. David Greene sees it constantly: someone walks away from a wreck, their shoulder is sore, their leg is sore, they get those areas checked out, and the head never comes up. Whiplash alone can cause a traumatic brain injury, and a lot of people carry one around for weeks without knowing it. Recently, David Greene joined Studio 10 to discuss what everyone should know about traumatic brain injuries.

Why Do People Miss a Brain Injury After a Wreck?

Because the pain shows up somewhere else first. A sore shoulder or a stiff leg is easy to point to and easy to treat. A brain injury doesn’t work that way. There’s no bruise to look at, no swelling anyone can see from across the room, so it gets pushed to the back of the line while people deal with the parts of their body that hurt in an obvious way. David says he’s talked to plenty of people who followed up on every other injury from a crash and never once mentioned their head to a doctor, even when something clearly felt off.

What Are the Warning Signs Worth Getting Checked Out?

Concussion symptoms, memory loss, sleep that suddenly doesn’t work right, a fuzzy or foggy feeling, ringing or buzzing that wasn’t there before. David is careful to say he’s not diagnosing anyone. But if something feels unusual after a wreck that was serious enough to shake you up, not a minor bump, that’s worth a doctor’s attention rather than something to wait out.

Can a Brain Injury Affect Someone Years Down the Road?

It can affect how someone thinks and processes information long after the crash itself. Greene points to a case his firm is currently handling involving an 18-wheeler crash. The young woman involved had been a straight-A student through high school and into college. Since the wreck, she’s struggled with her grades in a way she never did before, and her legal team believes the connection to her brain injury is real. Doctors in Mobile and Baldwin County run tests specifically to measure this kind of change, comparing where someone is now to where they were before the crash.

What if the Injury Is Severe Enough That My Loved One Can’t Handle Their Own Claim?

This is where it gets legally specific, not just medical. A family member can pursue the claim on the injured person’s behalf, but Alabama law is particular about who that has to be, and good intentions from a spouse or an adult child aren’t enough on their own. If your loved one can still communicate and direct their own decisions, they stay in charge of their case. If the injury takes that ability away, someone else has to be recognized with legal authority to act for them.

Often that means a conservator, appointed through the probate court in the county where the injured person lives. Getting one appointed involves filing a petition, and the court typically appoints an attorney called a guardian ad litem to represent the injured person’s interests during that process, along with requiring a physician’s evaluation. If a valid power of attorney already exists, one signed before the injury and while your loved one still had the capacity to sign it, that document may cover this without a separate court proceeding, depending on how broadly it was written. A power of attorney can’t be created after someone is already incapacitated, so it only helps if one was already in place. For an injured child, a parent typically brings the claim as what’s called a “next friend,” though a judge still has to sign off if the case settles.

None of this changes the underlying deadline. Alabama gives most personal injury claims two years from the date of the accident, and that clock doesn’t pause for a guardianship or conservatorship to get sorted out. That’s the main reason to start the legal groundwork early instead of waiting to see how someone’s recovery goes.

What Should You Do If You Suspect a Loved One Has a Brain Injury From a Crash?

Get them evaluated by a doctor who can speak to their symptoms and, if it comes to it, their capacity to make decisions. Greene & Phillips works with physicians who specialize in evaluating this exact type of injury and can help sort out what legal steps, if any, actually apply before anything moves forward with an insurance company.

How Do I Get in Touch With Greene & Phillips?

Call or come by the Mobile office at 51 N Florida St. Greene & Phillips offers a free consultation and works on contingency, meaning there’s no fee unless the firm recovers money for you.

Call or text (251) 478-1115 in Mobile or (205) 918-7800 in Birmingham, or reach us through our contact page.