Car accidents, medical mistakes, ladder falls: these are just a few of the causes of serious head injuries. But one Ohio teen appears to have suffered a head injury for a more sinister reason: assault.

The 17-year-old’s father found him at their Chillicothe home on May 31. The boy was bleeding from the back of his head, and he was eventually flown to a Columbus hospital for treatment. The initial investigation suggested that the boy was struck with a blunt object.

Authorities received calls that someone was bleeding from the head and flagging down cars on the side of a road in Chillicothe When the police responded to the scene, no one was there. However, police later found a bloody soda bottle and the teen’s cell phone in the location where it is believed the assault occurred.

The boy says that all he remembers is falling in the woods and then waking up. But according to the police report, the head injury does not appear to be the result of a fall. A doctor in Adena indicated that the head injury resulted from blunt force.

A witness apparently told the father that a woman in a silver Jeep had dropped the boy off, but it was unclear whether that person was a suspect in the assault.

Following his brief stay in Columbus, the teen was taken to Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University. At the time of a local news report, police were still looking for answers as to what happened to the boy.

Our readers in Columbus know that serious head and brain injuries can have lifelong effects. Ohioans who have suffered such an injury should be aware of their rights as victims. There may be compensation available to help with the costs of recovery and any extended rehabilitation or treatment that may be necessary in what is already a trying situation.

Source: Chillicothe Gazette, “Chillicothe teen critical after assault,” Jona Ison, June 2, 2012