Open Head Injury and Closed Head Injury
Open head injury and closed head injury are the same as they are very serious and possibly fatal injuries to the head. There are differences of the two which are important to understand, in addition to the way they are treated. Head injuries can be fatal when the blow to the brain is too severe. This is because when the brain takes a blow it can begin to swell. This pressure on the brain can kill someone. Any type of blow to the head can be considered an open head injury or a closed head injury depending on the damage to the skull. An open head injury occurs when the skull is fractured or penetrated by a strong force breaking the skull. This can happen with any object like a bullet. An open injury means the head and the skull is broken open. When the skull has a fracture this can cause infection to occur to the wound itself and to the brain. Violence such as shootings, stab wounds, and motor vehicle accidents are usually the cause of open head injuries. Closed head injury occurs when a person takes a serious blow to the head but the skull does not break open. The injury will not be on the outside of the head and may not be evident the person has a head injury. These can be more dangerous than open head injury because the person may not be bleeding. When this occurs it is common for the brain to swell and it can be bleeding inside of the head. Doctors will actually penetrate a hole into the skull and allow for the pressure to be relieved and the blood to drain. Without this type of treatment a person will die. There are many differences between an open head injury and a closed head injury. These are very different injuries that can have the same results. The problem with the closed head injury is that it is not a visible injury and it may not be evident to people the person has injured their brain. That is how death can occur, especially if the person is not capable of verbally communicating their injury.
If you or someone you love has been injured, consult a cerebral palsy attorney, auto accident attorney, or mesothelioma attorney.
