County Durham woman's brain injury missed for a year after crash

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 23 Oct, 08:38 · Archive

Emma Rowell spent a year with undiagnosed symptoms after a car crash before an advanced scan revealed 22 areas of brain damage.

Emma Rowell, a bookshop owner and former political campaigner from Barnard Castle, spent a year searching for answers after developing dizziness, memory loss and disorientation following a car crash in which she was a passenger in a stationary car. Initial hospital assessment found only cuts, bruises and pain in her shoulder and arm.

Ms Rowell said her symptoms worsened and affected her ability to run her bookshop and perform daily tasks. She described the experience as isolating, saying: 'I've lost the person I was.' Doctors repeatedly dismissed her symptoms, attributing them to perimenopause, a urinary tract infection or her personality. One doctor suggested she should simply get used to feeling as she did.

A turning point came when Ms Rowell completed an online survey by a consultant neurologist researching concussion. The neurologist suggested she may have sustained a brain injury. She contacted Coulthursts Solicitors, a specialist brain injury law firm, who arranged an advanced brain scan at the University of York. The scan revealed 22 areas of damage in her brain affecting memory, balance and planning. Philip Coulthurst, founder and managing director of Coulthursts, said Ms Rowell's story reflects a pattern he has observed for years.

How it is being reported

• County Durham woman describes how brain injury was missed for a year after crashCounty Durham woman Emma Rowell says doctors dismissed brain injury symptoms after a crash. An advanced scan found 22 areas of damage, highlighting hidden mTBI.The Northern Echo · 23 Oct, 08:00
• County Durham woman describes how brain injury was missed for a year after crashCounty Durham woman Emma Rowell says doctors dismissed brain injury symptoms after a crash. An advanced scan found 22 areas of damage, highlighting hidden mTBI.Darlington & Stockton Times · 23 Oct, 08:00

In this story: Emma Rowell · Barnard Castle · County Durham · University of York · Coulthursts Solicitors · Philip Coulthurst

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem