What Are the Long-Term Effects of a Head Injury to a Child?

The following blog article was updated in January 2022.

Unraveling the long-term effects of a child’s head injury, this article explores medical insights, developmental impacts, and legal avenues for support.

Any head injury as an adult is cause for concern, even seemingly minor ones. But what happens when that same injury happens to someone much younger, such as the effects of being dropped on your head as a baby? Understandably, parents want to know, What are the long-term effects of a head injury on their child?

Children with severe brain injuries may lose muscle control, speech, vision, hearing, or taste, depending on the damaged brain area. Personality or behavior changes, either temporary or long-term, may also result. These children require lifelong medical and rehabilitative care.

At Brett McCandlis Brown & Conner, our Washington traumatic brain injury attorneys have represented seriously injured people and their families for decades and have recovered more than $100 million for clients. We can evaluate how the injury happened, work with the medical evidence, and pursue compensation that accounts for both your child’s current needs and the long-term effects that may emerge as they grow. 

To better understand the risks to your child after a head injury, speak with the Washington traumatic brain injury attorneys at Brett McCandlis Brown & Conner PLLC.

Key Takeaways

• Children may experience attention problems and social functioning deficits following a head injury.
• The effects can be influenced by the child’s environment and the injury’s severity.
• Pediatric brain injuries differ from adult ones due to ongoing brain development.
• Falling from bed can cause skull fractures, brain injury, and broken bones in infants. Campaigns should raise awareness of these risks among parents and caregivers.
• Brain injuries are a leading cause of death and disability in children.
• Early diagnosis and specialized care are crucial for managing potential long-term effects.

Can a Baby Falling Off a Bed or Being Dropped Cause Brain Damage?

Infants and toddlers are especially vulnerable to head trauma because their skulls are thinner, their neck muscles are weaker, and their heads are proportionally larger compared to their bodies. A baby who is dropped or who falls off a bed, changing table, or couch can sustain injuries ranging from a minor bump to a skull fracture or traumatic brain injury.

According to research published in the Journal of Safety Research, children under the age of two are at the highest risk for fall-related traumatic brain injuries, and being dropped by a caregiver accounts for a significant portion of TBI-related emergency department visits in this age group. Falls from even a short height can result in a skull fracture, epidural hematoma, or subdural hematoma in an infant.

Parent injury guide

What Are You Seeing After Your Child’s Head Injury?

Some symptoms appear right away. Others can show up hours, days, months, or even years later as a child grows and faces new learning or social demands.

Emergency Warning Signs Baby or Toddler Changes School or Learning Issues Behavior or Personality Changes Long-Term Concerns

Emergency warning signs should be treated seriously.

After any head impact, seek emergency medical attention if your child has symptoms such as loss of consciousness, seizure, unequal pupils, worsening vomiting, unusual drowsiness, or fluid or blood from the nose or ears.

• Watch closely for 48 to 72 hours after the impact.
• Write down when each symptom started and whether it is getting worse.
• Keep all ER, urgent care, imaging, and discharge paperwork.

Worried the injury may affect your child’s future? A legal review can help parents understand records, liability, future care needs, and next steps.

Ask About My Child’s Injury

Protect your child’s claim

Have You Saved the Records That May Matter Later?

Pediatric brain injuries can be difficult to prove because symptoms may change as the child grows. A clear record can help connect the injury, treatment, school changes, and long-term needs.

Documentation progress 0/9

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Saved ER, urgent care, pediatrician, imaging, and discharge records Documented how the injury happened, where it happened, and who was present Saved photos or video of the scene, hazard, vehicle, fall area, or injury Kept a symptom journal for sleep, vomiting, headaches, balance, mood, and appetite changes Tracked behavior changes, regression, irritability, attention problems, or social issues Saved school notes, teacher emails, IEP/504 records, grades, or testing results Collected specialist records from neurology, neuropsychology, therapy, or rehabilitation Saved bills, insurance letters, missed work records, travel costs, and care expenses Avoided signing broad releases or accepting payment before future needs are understood

Start with medical records, a symptom journal, scene evidence, and school or behavior notes.

Long-term impact tracker

Which Long-Term Effect Are You Most Worried About?

A child’s brain is still developing, so the full effect of a head injury may not be clear until later developmental stages.

Learning and attention Focus, memory, reading, reasoning, problem-solving, or school performance. Behavior and personality Irritability, regression, impulsivity, anxiety, depression, or mood changes. Physical or sensory changes Balance, walking, speech, vision, hearing, taste, headaches, or fatigue. Future care needs Specialists, therapy, school supports, rehabilitation, and lifelong care planning.

Learning and attention problems may appear later.

Some children do not show obvious problems until school demands increase. Watch for changes in attention, memory, abstract thinking, reading, multi-step instructions, or problem-solving.

• Save teacher emails, report cards, testing results, and school-support documents.
• Ask doctors whether neuropsychological testing may help explain the changes.
• Track when the issue first appeared and how it affects daily life.

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Future care and legal help

What Is the Biggest Concern for Your Family Right Now?

A child head injury claim may involve medical care, school support, future treatment, parent time away from work, insurance pressure, and long-term developmental needs.

We need medical or specialist guidance School or behavior problems are appearing Insurance is calling or asking for records We are worried about lifelong care

Specialist records can shape the entire case.

Pediatric neurology, neuropsychology, rehabilitation, therapy, and follow-up records can help show diagnosis, prognosis, treatment needs, and how the injury may affect the child over time.

Review Medical Records

$29M Birth injury case involving negligence of medical providers

$1.75M Closed head injury in a rollover accident

$1.4M Boy who was savagely attacked by a dog

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Meet your legal team

Meet Your Washington Child Head Injury Attorneys

Child brain injury claims require careful medical review, long-term planning, school and developmental documentation, and a clear explanation of how the injury may affect the child’s future.

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David Brown

Helps families evaluate liability, medical proof, insurance issues, and long-term recovery needs after serious injuries.

Paula McCandlis

Supports injured clients and families through evidence collection, claim preparation, insurance negotiations, and legal strategy.

Matt Conner

Works with families facing child injury claims, medical questions, long-term damages, insurance disputes, and litigation concerns.

Client reviews

See What Clients Say About Washington Injury Law

Reviews can help families feel more confident before contacting the firm about a child head injury claim.

What Can Cause Childhood Brain Injuries?

A child can suffer a brain injury in many types of preventable accidents. From a personal injury perspective, the important question is whether another person, business, property owner, or other party caused or contributed to the injury through negligent conduct.

Common causes include:

• Car accidents. A child can suffer a brain injury when another driver speeds, drives distracted, runs a traffic signal, follows too closely, drives impaired, or otherwise causes a collision. 
• Pedestrian accidents. Children can suffer severe brain injuries when struck by a vehicle while crossing the street, walking through a parking lot, or traveling near a school or neighborhood. A driver who fails to yield, watch for pedestrians, or slow down when conditions require it may be responsible for the resulting injuries.
• Bicycle accidents. A child riding a bicycle has little protection from the force of a vehicle collision. Brain injuries may result when a driver fails to yield, passes unsafely, opens a vehicle door into a cyclist’s path, or otherwise drives carelessly around a child on a bicycle.
• Commercial truck accidents. A collision with a semi-truck can expose a child to extreme forces that cause severe or permanent brain injuries. Liability may extend beyond the truck driver to the trucking company, maintenance provider, cargo company, or another business whose negligence contributed to the crash. 
• Dog bites and attacks. A dog attack can cause a child to fall, strike their head, or suffer direct trauma during the attack. 

The mechanism of injury matters because it helps identify who may be legally responsible and what evidence needs to be preserved. If another party’s carelessness contributed to your child’s brain injury, a Washington child injury lawyer can investigate what happened and determine which individuals, businesses, insurers, or other parties may be responsible.

What Are Warning Signs After a Baby or Toddler Hits Their Head?

Parents and caregivers should monitor a child closely for at least 48 to 72 hours after any head impact. Seek emergency medical attention if the child shows any of the following:

• Loss of consciousness, even briefly,
• A seizure or convulsion,
• Unequal pupil size,
• Persistent or worsening vomiting,
• Clear fluid or blood draining from the nose or ears,
• A bulging soft spot (fontanelle) in infants,
• Unusual drowsiness or difficulty waking the child, and
• Refusal to eat or nurse.

Even if the child appears fine initially, some symptoms of brain injury in toddlers can be delayed by hours or days. A child who seems to recover from a fall but then becomes increasingly irritable, stops reaching developmental milestones, or shows changes in sleep patterns should be evaluated by a pediatric neurologist.

Why Do Toddler Head Injuries Deserve Extra Caution?

Unlike older children and adults, toddlers cannot describe their symptoms. They cannot tell you they have a headache, feel dizzy, or are having trouble seeing. This makes it critical for parents to watch behavior closely rather than relying on verbal complaints.

Additionally, the effects of a toddler head injury may not become fully apparent until the child reaches school age and faces cognitive demands like reading, problem-solving, and sustained attention. Delayed symptoms of a toddler head injury can include difficulty learning new skills, trouble following multi-step instructions, and behavioral regression.

What Does Medical Research on Long-Term Effects of a Head Injury to a Child Say?

According to physicians’ research at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, there’s a chance that your child could suffer lingering effects of a traumatic brain injury for around seven years. They believe that children with mild to moderate injury are twice as likely to develop attention problems. Children with severe brain injuries could be five times more likely to develop secondary attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

In this study, the physicians found that a child’s environment following a head injury also influences whether they develop any attention problems. Research showed a direct link to parenting and the home environment. They found some children with more severe head injuries suffered fewer effects from their injuries when in an optimal environment than a child with mild injuries who lives in a chaotic or disadvantaged home. Parents need to respond quickly, as the long-term effects might be minimized when they practice effective parenting skills.

Moderate and severe TBIs increase dementia risk by 2 to 4 times, especially when sustained in early or midlife, as studies link TBIs to late-life dementia.

Skills that affect social functioning, such as inhibition, information processing speed, and reasoning, often show the greatest long-term effects. However, it’s important to note that researchers found many children do well long-term after a head injury, and most of them do not have “across the board deficits.”

Remember, you may not see the effects of a head injury for quite a while. It may not be until the brain needs to call on those affected skills. For example, children may not show signs of brain damage until they need to use abstract thinking. Unfortunately, some medical providers treat this incorrectly and do not realize that the underlying problem is a head injury from years ago. They may treat your child’s condition as though it’s a learning disability or emotional problem.

Can a Childhood Head Injury Cause Problems Years Later?

Yes, childhood head injuries can cause problems years later. According to the article from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), traumatic brain injury (TBI) during childhood can lead to long-term health issues, including:

• Cognitive and Behavioral Changes: These may not be immediately recognized but can affect learning, self-regulation, and social participation.
• Health Complications: Childhood TBI is associated with conditions such as epilepsy, migraines, autonomic disturbances, vision and speech problems, intellectual disabilities, and mental health issues.
• Chronic Health Condition: TBI is increasingly viewed as a chronic condition since its effects may evolve over time, requiring ongoing monitoring, prevention, and management.
• Increased Risk for Neurological Diseases: Adults who had a childhood TBI have a higher risk of developing neurological conditions, cardiovascular diseases, and even early mortality.
• Educational and Social Impact: Individuals with childhood TBI tend to have lower educational attainment, more psychiatric conditions, and higher disability rates.
• Persistent Post-Concussive Symptoms: Even mild TBIs (concussions) can cause long-term cognitive, behavioral, and mental health issues, with some symptoms emerging years after the injury.

The study highlights the need for ongoing care, proactive rehabilitation, and early intervention to minimize long-term impacts. Continuous monitoring and proper healthcare services can help mitigate the effects of childhood TBI and improve long-term outcomes.

How Do Pediatric Brain Injuries Differ from Adult Injuries?

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) notes that pediatric brain injuries are different from adult ones because a child’s brain is still developing. That means any potential disabilities may not be immediately noticeable. ASHA points to a pediatric brain injury as being a chronic disease process versus a one-time event. Symptoms may change as your child ages, and then the extent of the damage will begin to unfold.

A child’s brain is considered to be less “set” than an adult, which could offer some hope that deficits and damaged tissue can be bypassed by other parts of the brain that can take over. However, it may go the opposite direction too. A brain injury at a young age can prevent a child from retaining information and the building blocks for learning.

Unfortunately, if the child is very young, they don’t have many building blocks. That puts them at a disadvantage when compared to others and could handicap their learning capabilities. That can lead to a child feeling discouraged and diminished because no one truly understands what is going on.

Why Can an Early Settlement Be Risky in a Pediatric Brain Injury Case?

Settling before doctors understand the likely long-term effects can leave future needs out of the claim.

Some issues that may take time to become clear include:

• Learning and cognitive problems. Difficulties with memory, attention, reasoning, or processing speed may become more noticeable as schoolwork becomes harder.
• Behavioral and emotional changes. Problems with impulse control, mood, social skills, or emotional regulation may develop or become more significant over time.
• Future treatment needs. A child may later require therapy, neurological care, rehabilitation, medication, or other ongoing treatment.
• Educational support. Tutoring, special education services, accommodations, or neuropsychological testing may become necessary as the child progresses through school.
• Reduced independence or earning ability. A severe injury can eventually affect whether the child can attend college, work, live independently, or manage everyday responsibilities as an adult.

Before accepting a settlement, the family should have as clear a picture as possible of the child’s prognosis and future needs. Once a claim is resolved, the family generally cannot return later for additional compensation simply because the injury turns out to be more serious than expected.

How Are the Future Costs of a Child’s Brain Injury Evaluated?

A serious brain injury can create expenses that continue long after the initial hospital stay. Because a child is still growing and developing, doctors may need time to understand what treatment, support, and assistance the child may need in the future.

Those future needs may include:

• Medical treatment. A child may need ongoing appointments with neurologists, rehabilitation doctors, or other specialists.
• Therapy. Physical, occupational, speech, behavioral, or psychological therapy may continue for months or years.
• Educational support. Some children need tutoring, special education services, classroom accommodations, or neuropsychological testing.
• Medical equipment and home changes. A severe injury may require mobility equipment, assistive technology, transportation modifications, or changes to the family home.
• Daily assistance. Children with significant disabilities may need help with personal care and everyday activities into adulthood.
• Reduced future earning ability. If the injury limits the child’s ability to work or live independently later in life, those long-term financial effects may also become part of the claim.

Determining these costs may require input from several professionals. Doctors can explain the child’s prognosis and expected treatment. Therapists and rehabilitation professionals can identify continuing support needs. In serious cases, a life care planner may estimate the cost of future care, while an economist can calculate how those expenses and any loss of future earning ability could affect the child over time.

The goal is to understand the full financial effect of the injury before the claim is resolved. For a young child, looking only at current medical bills may leave out some of the highest costs the family could face in the future.

How Can a Washington Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer Help?

While we can’t prevent a traumatic brain injury from happening, we can do the next best thing by helping give your child the best chance at recovery. You need a lawyer who understands pediatric brain injuries and what to look for. If you have not started treating with a specialist, we can direct you to some suggested medical professionals who can help.

Your child may need specialized care and treatment in the future. If someone else’s negligence is responsible for your child’s injuries, it’s crucial to hold them accountable. You should not worry about the future or how you will handle developmental problems on your own should they arise.

Don’t leave your injured child’s future to chance. 

Let the skilled attorneys at Brett McCandlis Brown & Conner PLLC assist you. We have decades of experience helping injured victims just like you and your family. We give every client the individualized attention they deserve, and we have a proven record of success in collecting compensation for our clients. Contact our office today to schedule an initial consultation to learn more about how we can assist you.

Our thoughts

How We Look at Child Head Injury Cases

From an attorney’s perspective, a child head injury case should not be judged only by the first doctor visit or the first few symptoms. The bigger question is how the injury may affect the child as they grow, return to school, and face new learning, behavior, or developmental demands.

In these cases, the most important work is often connecting the full timeline: how the injury happened, what symptoms appeared, what doctors documented, what parents noticed at home, what teachers observed at school, and what future care may be needed.

01

We look beyond the first symptoms

Some children seem okay right after a head injury, but problems with sleep, mood, balance, attention, memory, speech, or school performance may appear later.

02

We focus on the records

Medical records, imaging, discharge notes, symptom journals, school emails, therapy notes, and parent observations can help show how the injury affected the child over time.

03

We are careful with early settlement

A child’s future needs may not be clear right away. Future therapy, school support, specialist care, or long-term limitations should be understood before the claim is resolved.

For parents, the safest step is to keep a clear record from the beginning. Save medical paperwork, track symptoms, document behavior or school changes, and avoid making decisions before the long-term picture is clearer.

Ask About a Child Head Injury

FAQs

Can a childhood head injury cause problems years later?

Yes. Research shows that traumatic brain injuries sustained during childhood can lead to cognitive, behavioral, and emotional challenges that surface months or even years after the initial injury. Because a child’s brain is still developing, some effects may not become apparent until the brain is called upon to perform more complex tasks, such as abstract reasoning, long-term planning, or emotional regulation. Studies from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center indicate that children with even mild to moderate TBI are at elevated risk for secondary attention problems for up to seven years after the injury.

What are the signs of brain damage in a toddler after a fall?

After a toddler falls and hits their head, parents should watch for warning signs including: 

• Persistent vomiting, 
• Unusual drowsiness or difficulty waking the child, 
• Unequal pupil size, 
• Seizures,
• Clear fluid draining from the nose or ears, 
• A bulging soft spot in younger infants, 
• Loss of balance, 
• Excessive crying that cannot be soothed, and 
• Changes in eating or sleeping patterns. 

Because toddlers cannot verbally describe symptoms like headaches or dizziness, behavioral changes are often the most reliable indicator. Any symptom that worsens over the 48 to 72 hours after a fall warrants immediate medical evaluation.

Can a baby falling off a bed cause brain damage?

It is possible. Infants have thinner skulls, weaker neck muscles, and proportionally larger heads than older children, which makes them more vulnerable to brain injury from falls. A fall from a bed, couch, changing table, or caregiver’s arms can result in a concussion, skull fracture, or intracranial bleeding. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends seeking emergency medical attention for any infant who falls from a height greater than three feet, loses consciousness, vomits repeatedly, or shows changes in alertness or behavior after a fall.

What does childlike behavior after a brain injury look like?

Childlike behavior after a brain injury refers to behavioral regression where the injured person displays actions or emotional responses more typical of a younger developmental stage. This can include tantrums, difficulty understanding social cues, reverting to previously outgrown habits like bedwetting or thumb-sucking, trouble with self-care tasks they had mastered, and impulsive decision-making.

This occurs because brain injury can damage the frontal and temporal lobes, which are responsible for executive function, emotional regulation, and social judgment. These brain areas continue developing into a person’s mid-twenties, so childhood injuries can have lasting effects on mature behavior.

How long do the effects of a childhood head injury last?

The duration varies based on the severity of the injury, the age at which it occurred, and the treatment received. Some children recover fully within weeks or months, while others experience effects that persist for years or become permanent. Research suggests that children with moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries may experience attention, learning, and social functioning challenges for seven years or longer. In cases involving severe injury, lifelong medical and rehabilitative care may be necessary. Even concussions classified as mild can produce symptoms that last well beyond the typical recovery window.

Can a brain injury at birth affect a child’s development long-term?

Yes. Brain injuries that occur before, during, or shortly after birth can interfere with the formation of critical neural pathways. Depending on the severity and the area of the brain affected, birth-related brain injuries can lead to conditions including cerebral palsy, epilepsy, intellectual disabilities, speech delays, and learning difficulties. Some effects may not be recognized until the child enters school and faces cognitive demands that reveal the extent of the damage.

How is a pediatric brain injury different from an adult brain injury?

A child’s brain is still developing, which means the consequences of a brain injury are fundamentally different from those in an adult. While an adult’s brain injury typically produces immediate, recognizable symptoms, a pediatric brain injury may not reveal its full impact for years.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association recognizes pediatric brain injury as a chronic disease process rather than a single event, because symptoms can evolve and change as the child grows and faces new developmental demands. Additionally, while a developing brain has some capacity to reroute functions around damaged areas, the same plasticity that allows compensation can also mean that lost developmental building blocks are never recovered.

Q8: What should I do if I think a past head injury is still affecting my child?

Start by scheduling an evaluation with a pediatric neurologist or neuropsychologist who specializes in traumatic brain injury. Be specific about the original injury, including when and how it happened, what medical treatment was provided at the time, and what symptoms or behavioral changes you have observed since. Neuropsychological testing can identify cognitive and emotional deficits that may be connected to a past injury, even if years have passed. Document any changes in your child’s academic performance, behavior, sleep, or social interactions, as this information will help the specialist build a complete picture.

Early identification of lingering effects allows for targeted intervention, which can significantly improve outcomes.

Protect Your Child’s Future After a Brain Injury

A childhood brain injury can affect much more than your child’s health today. Learning problems, behavioral changes, future medical care, and limits on independence may become clearer as your child grows. When someone else caused the injury, the claim should account for those long-term consequences rather than focus only on the bills and symptoms you can see now.

At Brett McCandlis Brown & Conner, we can investigate how your child was injured, identify the responsible parties, work with medical and developmental evidence, and determine how future treatment and other losses should factor into the claim. We also handle negotiations with insurance companies and are prepared to take a case to trial when a reasonable settlement cannot be reached.

Contact our Washington child brain injury attorneys for a free consultation. We handle personal injury cases on a contingency-fee basis, so there are no upfront attorney fees.

Legal References Used to Inform This Page

To ensure the accuracy and clarity of this page, we referenced official legal and other resources during the content development process:​

• National Library of Medicine, “When Traumatic Brain Injuries in Children become Chronic Health Conditions.” (December 2022).
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, “Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury.”
• Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, “Studies Uncover Long-term Effects Of Traumatic Brain Injury.” (Feb. 2017).