Concussion After a Car Accident in California

Your head never hit the window, the ER sent you home with a clean scan, and a few days later you are losing words mid-sentence and the lights at work feel too bright. This post explains why a concussion from a car accident often shows up late, why a normal CT scan does not settle anything, and what to document so the injury is taken seriously in a California claim.

You do not have to hit your head

Most people picture a concussion as a blow to the skull. The CDC describes it more broadly: a mild traumatic brain injury can be caused by "a bump, blow, or jolt to the head, or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move quickly back and forth."

That second half describes a lot of car crashes. A rear-end impact or a side hit can snap your head forward and back without it touching anything. If an adjuster asks "Did you hit your head?" and you say no, that answer does not mean you could not have a concussion. Expect it to be used as though it does.

Symptoms can arrive days later

According to the CDC, some concussion symptoms "may appear right away, while others may not appear for hours or days after the injury." Adrenaline at the scene makes this worse, which is why saying "I'm fine" at the scene causes so much trouble later.

The CDC groups the symptoms into four buckets:

• Physical: headaches, dizziness or balance problems, nausea or vomiting early on, vision problems, sensitivity to light or noise, feeling tired with no energy.
• Thinking and memory: trouble thinking clearly, feeling slowed down, foggy or groggy, attention or concentration problems, memory problems.
• Emotional: irritability, sadness, feeling more emotional, anxiety or nervousness.
• Sleep: sleeping more than usual, sleeping less, trouble falling asleep.

Notice how ordinary most of these sound. Being tired, short-tempered, and a little foggy after a crash is easy to blame on stress. That is exactly why people wait, and why the gap between the crash and the first doctor visit becomes the insurer's favorite argument.

Some signs are emergencies, not something to watch. The CDC says to call 911 or go to an emergency department right away for a headache that gets worse and does not go away, weakness, numbness, decreased coordination, seizures, repeated vomiting, slurred speech or unusual behavior, one pupil larger than the other, confusion or agitation, or being very drowsy or impossible to wake.

A clean CT scan is not a clean bill of health

This is the point insurers lean on hardest, so it is worth getting right. The CDC says plainly that a brain scan such as a CT "is not needed to spot a mild TBI or concussion, but may sometimes be used for patients at risk for bleeding on the brain."

In other words, the ER scan was most likely looking for bleeding, and a normal result means it did not find any. It does not mean your brain was not injured. A concussion is diagnosed from your history and your symptoms, which is why your own account, written down early and consistently, matters so much.

Expect the adjuster to say some version of "imaging was normal" anyway. When you hear it, ask yourself what question the scan was actually ordered to answer.

What the insurer will argue

Concussion claims draw a predictable set of arguments:

• "It was a minor crash." Vehicle damage measures what happened to the car, not what happened inside your skull.
• "You did not complain of a head injury at the scene." Symptoms that start later are consistent with what the CDC describes. The answer is a medical record that shows when they started.
• "Most people recover in a couple of weeks." The CDC does say most people with a concussion feel better within a couple of weeks. It also says recovery may be slower for older adults, children, and teens, and for people who have had a concussion before. CDC clinical guidance treats symptoms that have not gone away after 2 to 4 weeks as a reason for specialist referral, which tells you prolonged symptoms are a recognized outcome, not a red flag about your honesty.
• "You had headaches before." A prior condition does not erase a new injury that made things worse. See the pre-existing condition trick.
• "Let our doctor take a look." If you are asked to see a doctor the insurer picked, read what the IME doctor is really there for first.

What to document, starting this week

A concussion is an injury that mostly lives in your own experience. The evidence has to be built from that experience while it is fresh.

• Get evaluated, and say the word. Tell the doctor about every symptom, including the ones that feel minor or embarrassing, like losing your train of thought or crying more easily. If it is not in the chart, the insurer will treat it as if it never happened.
• Keep a short daily symptom log. Date, symptoms, what made them worse, what you could not do. Two or three lines a day is enough. The CDC's own recovery advice is to avoid activities that bring symptoms back or make them worse, so note when that happens.
• Get written work and driving instructions. The CDC tells concussion patients to ask their doctor for written instructions about when they can safely return to work, school, and activities like driving. That note also documents why you were off.
• Save what other people noticed. A spouse, coworker, or manager who saw you struggle is often more persuasive than your own description. Write down their names.
• Keep the paperwork that shows lost time. Pay stubs, missed shifts, emails asking for reduced hours, cancelled plans.
• Follow up if you are not improving. The CDC says to tell your doctor if you do not think you are getting better or your symptoms are getting worse. Gaps in treatment are read as recovery, whether or not you recovered.

What this means in California

• Two years, with one big exception. The personal injury statute of limitations under Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 is generally two years from the crash. If a city vehicle, public bus, or road condition is involved, a government claim is usually due within six months.
• Shared fault reduces, it does not bar. California follows pure comparative negligence. If you were partly at fault for the crash, your recovery is reduced by your share rather than eliminated.
• Future symptoms are compensable, but you have to prove them. California's jury instruction on pain and suffering, CACI No. 3905A, covers mental suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, physical impairment, inconvenience, anxiety, and emotional distress, which describes much of what a lingering concussion does. It also says that to recover for future harm you "must prove that [you are] reasonably certain to suffer that harm." For a concussion, that proof usually comes from treating providers who have followed your symptoms over time, which is another reason not to settle while you are still in the middle of recovery.
• There is no formula. The same instruction says "No fixed standard exists for deciding the amount of these noneconomic damages." An adjuster's number is a negotiating position, not a rule.

Practical next steps

If you have any of the symptoms above after a crash, get seen, tell the provider about the crash and every symptom, and start your log today. Do not give a recorded statement or accept a settlement until you have a sense of how your recovery is going, because nobody can put a fair value on a concussion until you know how long the symptoms will last. If you want someone to look at your situation, a consultation with our firm is free and there is no fee unless there is a recovery.