Concussions and Brain Injury After a Pennsylvania Accident

Seek emergency care immediately if any of these appear

A headache that keeps getting worse, repeated vomiting, a seizure, one pupil larger than the other, slurred speech, weakness or numbness on one side, unusual drowsiness or difficulty waking, or increasing confusion. These can signal bleeding in or around the brain and are a 911 situation, not a wait-and-see situation.

The rest of this page concerns milder injuries. It is general information and not a substitute for being evaluated by a clinician.

You do not have to hit your head

A concussion is caused by the brain moving inside the skull. A rapid acceleration and deceleration — the whip of a rear-end collision, a fall that lands hard on the tailbone — can produce one without any impact to the head at all.

You also do not have to lose consciousness. Most concussions involve no loss of consciousness whatsoever, which is precisely why so many go unrecognized at the scene and in the emergency department.

Symptoms that show up later

Concussion symptoms frequently emerge hours or days after the event, once adrenaline recedes and normal demands resume. Common ones: persistent headache, sensitivity to light or noise, difficulty in crowded or busy environments, trouble with screens, disrupted sleep, dizziness or balance problems, unusual fatigue, difficulty finding words, trouble holding a thought, and irritability or a change in temperament.

That last category is worth attention. Personality and mood changes are often noticed first by a spouse, a parent or a coworker rather than by the injured person. If someone close to you says you have not seemed like yourself, take it seriously and mention it to your doctor.

Why a normal CT scan does not rule it out

A CT scan in the emergency room is looking for bleeding and skull fracture — the things that require immediate intervention. It is very good at that. A mild traumatic brain injury is a functional problem, not usually a structural one, and it typically does not appear on standard imaging.

So 'your scan was clean' means something important — it means you are not in immediate danger. It does not mean nothing happened.

Why this matters for an insurance claim

Insurers argue exactly what the imaging says: normal scan, no objective injury, therefore minimal value. Answering that argument requires a different kind of proof — contemporaneous records showing symptoms reported early and consistently, formal neuropsychological testing where appropriate, and accounts from people who knew you before and can describe what changed.

There is also a specific Pennsylvania wrinkle. If you carry limited tort, you generally cannot recover for pain and suffering unless the injury qualifies as serious. Cognitive and behavioral impairment can meet that threshold — but only if it is documented. An injury that was never described to a doctor is very difficult to argue about two years later.

What helps

Tell every provider about every symptom, including the ones that feel embarrassing or unrelated. Keep a short daily note — a few lines about headaches, sleep, mood and what you could not do that day. Ask about a referral to a concussion clinic or a neuropsychologist if symptoms persist beyond a couple of weeks. Follow the return-to-work and return-to-activity guidance you are given rather than pushing through. And tell someone close to you what to watch for.

Talk it through with someone local. If you have questions about your own situation, the attorneys at Joyce, Carmody & Moran can review what happened and explain your options — no cost for the first conversation, and no obligation. We are based in Pittston and handle injury matters throughout Luzerne County.