Research by the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry has found that people who suffer a head injury and go to hospital have an increased risk of death from a variety of causes for at least 13 years after the initial injury.

The research, which tracked more than 2,000 people, found that approximately 40% of those studied who had been admitted to hospital following a head injury had died within 13 years of the event - nearly double the amount in the other control groups, including people admitted to hospital in the same year for other injuries.

Access Legal from Shoosmiths associate and personal injury specialist Philip Baldwin said: "We've known for a long time that even mild head injuries can have serious consequences for accident victims and their families.

"However, this research appears to show that the risks following even a mild head injury can continue for much longer than was originally thought."

"Accident claims as a result of head injuries often involve complicated issues of law and medicine. It's important than anybody who's suffered a head injury or an acquired brain injury as a result of an accident seeks advice from a lawyer who specialises in this type of injury."

The research also highlighted the fact that at one year after a head injury, deaths among younger adults who'd suffered a head injury were more than six times higher than in the control groups. The research paper calls for further investigation to understand exactly how head injury affects mortality, particularly in younger adults after mild head injury.

It can sometimes be difficult to recognise symptoms of mild traumatic brain injury, especially in children and young people. Subtle symptoms can conceal serious long term effects, and so immediate medical care is important to help diagnose and treat traumatic head injury.

Common symptoms of mild traumatic brain injury include confusion, dizziness, temporary loss of consciousness, temporary loss of memory, blurred vision, altered sense of smell or taste, and difficulty concentrating.

Whilst further research is welcomed to help us properly understand the links between mild head injury and mortality, it's important that people continue to focus on preventing head injuries in the first place. Employers, in particular, have a crucial role to play in reducing accidents at work involving head injury. They have a legal responsibility to ensure that workplaces are safe and that they have proper systems in place to ensure that employees are given the right equipment to prevent avoidable accidents.

For more general advice, visit our personal injury solicitors page.

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