Traumatic Brain Injury in Richmond After a Crash: What to Know Now

This page explains traumatic brain injury Richmond cases in plain language. A traumatic brain injury is damage to the brain caused by a blow, jolt or penetrating injury to the head. Car and truck crashes can cause one, and symptoms may be slow to appear. Below you’ll find warning signs, the records that matter, and how Virginia’s time limits and fault rules can affect a claim.

What a Traumatic Brain Injury Is and Why It Can Be Hard to Spot Early

A traumatic brain injury happens when an outside force injures the brain. A concussion is a mild form of traumatic brain injury. Severe injuries can change work, family life and independence for a long time.

In a crash, the head can strike a steering wheel, a window or the pavement. The brain can also move hard inside the skull without a direct hit. That’s why a person can be hurt badly without a visible cut or bruise.

Early symptoms are easy to miss. Shock, adrenaline and pain from other injuries can hide them at the scene. Some symptoms may not appear until hours or days later, so a medical check is worth doing even when the person feels fine.

Care for a traumatic brain injury can span several stages. The Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center describes rehabilitation across emergency, acute and post-acute stages.

Warning Signs to Discuss With a Doctor After a Richmond-Area Crash

Headache, confusion, memory trouble and dizziness can all signal a brain injury after a crash. Other possible signs include sensitivity to light, mood changes and changes in sleep. Tell a medical provider about every symptom, and say when each one started.

This section is general information, not medical advice. A person with severe symptoms, such as repeated vomiting, a headache that keeps getting worse, a seizure, slurred speech or trouble waking up, needs emergency care right away.

Crash victims in Richmond, Henrico County and nearby areas often reach an emergency department first. Ask the care team to note the crash and any head impact in the chart. That note becomes part of the medical record a lawyer may later review.

Medical Evaluation, Records, and the Crash Report

Keeping up with medical care protects the injured person’s health first. Follow the provider’s plan, attend follow-up visits and report new or returning symptoms.

Records can also matter later. Keep a daily log of symptoms, appointments, missed work and tasks the injured person can no longer do. Save bills, discharge papers and any crash report number.

Virginia requires a driver involved in a crash with injury or death to stop and report it to police immediately (Va. Code §§ 46.2-371, 46.2-894). The driver must also stop as close to the scene as possible without blocking traffic. A conviction for leaving an injury crash is a Class 5 felony under Va. Code § 46.2-894.

Commercial truck crashes add another record. The two-year period discussed below is the deadline to file a lawsuit, not the deadline to report (Va. Code § 8.01-243).

How Fault Can Affect a Brain Injury Claim in Virginia

Fault can decide whether a brain injury claim can move forward. Virginia follows contributory negligence: if you are found even partly at fault, you may be barred from recovering, with limited exceptions (Contributory negligence bars recovery in Virginia). Talk to a lawyer about your facts.

Fault can also involve more than one party. In a commercial truck crash, that can mean more than one defendant.

Time Limits for a Brain Injury Lawsuit

Virginia generally allows two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit (Va. Code § 8.01-243(A)); the clock runs from the date of injury, not the date of discovery, with narrow exceptions. The rule is set out in Va. Code § 8.01-243.

That matters with brain injuries.

Some claims carry notice requirements that run out sooner than the two-year date. Do not assume the full period applies to every claim.

When a Crash Causes a Death: Wrongful Death Claims in Virginia

A Virginia wrongful death action is filed by the decedent’s personal representative within two years of the death (Va. Code §§ 8.01-50(C), 8.01-244(B)), on behalf of the family members the statute protects. The filing rules appear in Va. Code § 8.01-244 and Va. Code § 8.01-50.

Virginia wrongful death damages cover the family’s sorrow, mental anguish and loss of the decedent’s companionship, guidance and care; lost income and services; medical expenses from the injury; funeral expenses; and, for willful or wanton conduct, punitive damages (Va. Code § 8.01-52).

Families dealing with a brain injury death often need hospital records, bills and funeral receipts. Keeping them in one place makes the review easier.

How Correll Law Firm Serves Richmond and Henrico County

Correll Law Firm’s offices are in Winchester and Harrisonburg. The firm represents people from the Shenandoah Valley to Richmond and Henrico County, and clients in those areas are served from those offices.

The firm handles car accidents, truck and commercial vehicle accidents, catastrophic injuries such as traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury, and wrongful death. It focuses on people seriously hurt in car and commercial truck crashes.

For a traumatic brain injury Richmond family, questions about records, fault and deadlines often arrive all at once. Working through them early, with the facts in front of you, makes each step clearer.

Common questions