Even crashes that look minor from the outside can cause brain injuries that quietly reshape how you think, feel, and live. Kelley Wolff Injury Attorneys represent Austin drivers, passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians whose TBIs were dismissed as “just a concussion” by adjusters — and we know how to prove the lasting cost of that damage.

What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?

A TBI is any disruption of normal brain function caused by a bump, blow, jolt, or penetrating injury to the head. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that motor vehicle crashes remain one of the top causes of TBI-related hospitalizations nationwide.

TBIs are generally classified into three levels:

• Mild TBI (concussion): Little or no loss of consciousness, but real cognitive, emotional, and physical effects.
• Moderate TBI: Confusion or unconsciousness lasting from minutes to hours, with measurable neurological deficits on examination.
• Severe TBI: Prolonged unconsciousness, coma, or permanent impairment requiring lifelong support.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, even mild TBI symptoms can persist for weeks, months, or longer — something insurance carriers routinely minimize when evaluating a claim.

How Austin Car Accidents Cause TBIs

Austin’s mix of high-speed corridors and crowded surface streets creates ideal conditions for brain injuries. A sudden change in velocity — even one where your head never strikes anything — can cause the brain to collide with the inside of the skull. Crash scenarios that frequently produce TBIs in the Austin area include:

• Rear-end collisions on I-35, MoPac (Loop 1), and US-183, where whiplash forces the brain to shift violently inside the skull
• Head-on collisions on rural stretches of US-290, SH 71, and farm-to-market roads, where combined speeds create catastrophic deceleration
• T-bone crashes at busy intersections downtown, in the Domain, and along Lamar, especially when a driver’s head strikes the side window
• Rollovers, where repeated impacts produce diffuse axonal injury throughout the brain
• Crashes caused by distracted or impaired drivers, where there is no braking before impact

Airbag deployments, side curtain strikes, and unrestrained objects flying through the cabin can all contribute to brain trauma even in collisions classified as “survivable.”

Symptoms of a TBI After a Car Accident

Some TBI symptoms appear right away. Many do not. After an Austin crash, watch for the following over the days and weeks that follow:

Physical symptoms

• Persistent or worsening headache
• Nausea, vomiting, or dizziness
• Sensitivity to light or sound
• Blurred vision or ringing in the ears
• Unusual fatigue, drowsiness, or sleep disturbances

Cognitive and emotional symptoms

• Memory lapses or trouble concentrating
• Confusion or a persistent “foggy” feeling
• Mood swings, irritability, anxiety, or depression
• Trouble finding words or following conversations

The Mayo Clinic advises that anyone experiencing these symptoms after a head impact should be evaluated promptly — both for their health and to establish the medical record that will protect a future injury claim.

Long-Term Effects of a TBI

A brain injury does not end when the swelling subsides. Even a single mild TBI can produce lasting changes, and severe or repeated injuries sharply increase the risk of permanent disability. The Brain Injury Association of America describes TBI not as a single event but as the beginning of a lifelong disease process.

Long-term consequences we have seen in our clients include:

• Permanent cognitive deficits affecting work, school, and decision-making
• Personality changes that strain marriages, friendships, and family life
• Chronic headaches, sleep disorders, and post-traumatic seizures
• Increased risk of depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders
• Higher long-term risk of dementia and degenerative brain disease

For Texans living with the lasting effects of brain injury, the Texas Health and Human Services TBI program offers rehabilitation referrals, advocacy, and ongoing support resources worth knowing about.

Compensation for TBI Victims in Texas

A serious TBI is one of the highest-value claims in personal injury law — and one of the most aggressively contested by insurance carriers. At Kelley Wolff Injury Attorneys, we pursue every category of damages Texas allows. Our car accident compensation page covers the full breakdown, but TBI cases typically include:

• Past and future medical expenses — emergency care, neurology, advanced imaging, neurosurgery, rehabilitation, occupational and speech therapy, and in-home care
• Lost wages and lost earning capacity — including the gap between what you earned before the injury and what you can realistically earn going forward
• Pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life
• Long-term care, assistive technology, and home modifications
• Loss of consortium for spouses when the injury fundamentally changes the relationship
• Wrongful death damages if a TBI proves fatal — see our wrongful death page for more

In cases involving drunk driving, hit-and-run conduct, or other gross negligence, punitive damages may also be available under Texas law.

How We Build a TBI Claim

TBI cases are won or lost on the strength of the medical and expert evidence. Our approach includes:

• Securing the APD or Texas DPS crash report, 911 audio, and any available intersection, dashcam, or business surveillance footage
• Coordinating with neurologists, neuropsychologists, vocational experts, and life-care planners to document the full scope of cognitive, emotional, and economic damage
• Ordering advanced imaging such as DTI MRI or PET scans when standard CT and MRI miss the injury
• Building a life-care plan that projects decades of future treatment, support services, and lost earnings
• Pushing back hard against insurance company tactics that frame a TBI as “just a concussion” or write it off as a pre-existing condition

Read more about the litigation process on our filing a lawsuit page, or return to the full list of car accident injury types we handle.

Texas Statute of Limitations for TBI Claims

Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003, you generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. Different deadlines apply to minors and to claims against governmental units — for example, a City of Austin, Travis County, or Capital Metro vehicle — which can require formal written notice within months of the incident. Do not wait. TBI claims need months of medical documentation, expert review, and life-care planning before meaningful settlement negotiations can even begin.