March 22, 2022 | Car Accidents
A car accident can cause wide-ranging injuries. Even a relatively minor car accident can leave you with a severe injury, and serious car accidents are often life-threatening. If another driver’s negligence causes you injuries, an experienced car accident attorney can help you.
What Are Common Injuries from Car Accidents?
Some car accident injuries are particularly common, including:
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Spinal cord injuries
- Broken bones
- Internal injuries
- Whiplash
These injuries require immediate medical attention and can lead to lasting impairments and effects.
#1. Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are unpredictable and can cause physical and emotional damage.
Consider these statistics regarding TBIs:
- In one recent year, about 166 people in the United States died each day from TBIs and injuries related to TBIs, leading to 60,611 TBI fatalities that year.
- More than 223,000 people needed hospital care for TBIs.
- Many additional people are treated in emergency rooms for TBI-related injuries each year.
- TBIs are a primary cause of death and disability in the United States.
TBIs are typically the result of a jolt, blow, or bump to the head, and these are all common in car crashes. In the time it takes to sustain a TBI in a car accident, your life can change dramatically.
TBIs can have many adverse effects, including cognitive, physical, and behavioral impairments. The symptoms of a TBI can prevent you from working, succeeding in school, or even maintaining your personal relationships. Even if a doctor tells you that your TBI is “mild,” you still might experience costly, lasting, and debilitating effects.
#2. Spinal Cord Injuries
Our brains and spinal cords work in close unison to control our bodily movements and functioning. Spinal cord injuries are excruciating and can also seriously limit your range of motion and overall coordination, and car accidents are a frequent cause. A severed or otherwise irrevocably damaged spinal cord will cause permanent, life-altering paralysis. You will require assistance with daily living, mobility aids, and much more.
Even a relatively minor spinal cord injury can lead to chronic pain and debilitating losses in the range of motion. Making things more complicated, serious spinal cord injuries are closely associated with severe secondary medical concerns and health complications.
#3. Broken Bones
The impact of a car accident can easily lead to a broken bone or two, and these injuries are just as painful as they are slow to heal. When a broken bone fails to heal correctly, which can happen with more complicated breaks, it can lead to chronic pain and significant loss of mobility and range of motion.
Every fracture requires medical treatment to ensure proper healing, and some need emergency surgery. For example, a compound fracture needs surgery right away to prevent infections. Some people need surgery to insert pins, rods, or other hardware so the bone can heal straight. The medical costs of broken bone treatment can be high, and you might not work for weeks or months while your injury heals.
#4. Internal Injuries
Internal injuries, such as internal bleeding, can be especially bedeviling because they can be challenging to identify from the outset but can quickly become life-threatening. The threat of internal injuries is an excellent reason why seeking medical attention after a car accident is always in your best interest. You don’t know how serious your injury is until a medical professional evaluates you. Waiting to get medical help can put you at serious or fatal health risks.
#5. Whiplash
Whiplash is a soft tissue injury resulting from the head whipping back and forth on the neck (hence the name), and these injuries can lead to long-term health effects. However, even a relatively mild case of whiplash can hurt terribly, heal slowly, lead to intermittent pain, and hinder your range of motion. On the other hand, a more severe case can lead to chronic pain and debilitating loss of your range of motion.
Seeking Fair Compensation
If another driver leaves you injured, an experienced St. Louis car accident attorney will assertively advocate for a claim settlement that addresses your losses (or legal damages) in their entirety. Without fair compensation, reaching your post-accident health goals will be that much more difficult. The payment categories covered in car accident claims include your physical, financial, and emotional losses.
Your Medical Bills
One of the major financial losses is your medical expenses, which can begin with a bang and heat up from there. Even a minor car accident can lead to considerable medical expenses, and the costs of the accident may grow exponentially. If your injuries require ongoing medical attention, lead to secondary health concerns, or involve complications, you will be looking at ongoing expenses that can feel overwhelming.
Your Lost Income
The lost income associated with your injuries is another substantial financial loss, but an emotional component can also play a part. While you’re recovering from your physical injuries-and your medical bills are mounting-you will likely be off the job, decreasing your earnings. However, if the accident affects your career, you can lose more than just money. We tend to invest a good deal of ourselves in our careers, and if someone else’s negligence curtails your forward progress, the emotional losses you suffer can be profound.
Your Pain and Suffering
In addition to your physical injuries, financial losses, and physical pain, there is also your emotional pain and suffering to consider. Many victims of severe car accidents suffer PTSD-like symptoms that hinder their recovery and can be life-altering.
Common emotional effects include:
- Increased anxiety
- Withdrawal
- Depression
- Sleep disturbances
- Accident flashbacks
- Hopelessness
- Flashes of anger
- Extreme fatigue
These symptoms and others like them tend to take hold and spiral out of control, which is frightening and leaves you in a vulnerable position in terms of pursuing your fullest recovery. This emotional pain and suffering can even push your support system away-just when you’ve never needed a support system more. Your emotional losses must receive the attention they deserve in your car accident claim.
Call a Car Accident Attorney if You Suffered Injuries
Chis Dixon, Personal Injury Lawyer
If another driver’s negligence seriously injures you in a car accident, first get medical attention, and then contact a car accident lawyer. When you are already dealing with doctors and other professionals, you might not be excited about meeting with an attorney to discuss what happened. However, an attorney will make the situation less stressful – not more.
When you have a car accident lawyer handling your claim, all you need to focus on is your injuries. The above injuries can disrupt your life, and adjusting can be difficult. You can keep your attention on your treatment and physical recovery, and you will not have to worry about doing or saying the wrong thing during an insurance claim.
If you fully recover, your attorney can seek damages for all the losses you incurred from your injury. If you still need treatment or have permanent injuries, your attorney can seek compensation for all your future losses as part of your claim.