Various injuries can be sustained in auto accidents. Depending on how bad the event was, these injuries can range from minor muscle sprains and strains to life-altering fractures and head damage. After an injury, the body frequently releases stress chemicals and adrenaline, which block pain signals. Because of this, many vehicle accident victims do not become aware of their injuries until several days after the collision.
Back and Spinal Cord Injuries:
Spinal cord injuries can change a victim’s life forever. The spongy bundle of cylindrical nervous tissue in your spine is protected by bones called vertebrae, but it can be damaged by severe trauma and even slight pressure. The sudden, unnatural movement of your neck during a crash can cause spinal strain or a herniated disk.
A herniated disc occurs when part of a rubbery cushion between your spinal bones (vertebrae) shifts and presses on nerves. Injuries to the neck and back can also hasten or exacerbate degenerative spinal conditions like spinal stenosis or osteoarthritis, which causes the gaps within the spine to constrict and pressure the nerves.
Head Injuries:
A blow to your head during a crash can bruise your brain, damaging internal tissues and blood vessels. The impact can also rebound and strike your skull again, causing a contrecoup lesion that causes bruising and tears in brain tissue. During accidents, car accident victims often sustain traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, when they are propelled against their vehicles’ dashboard, windshields, or windows. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness, dizziness, memory problems, headaches, balance issues, behavioral changes, etc.
Penetration head wounds occur when flying debris or loose objects within a vehicle’s cabin pierce the skin, sometimes causing deep cuts that require surgery to close. These wounds may be serious and result in permanent impairment. A car accident attorney can help you through the challenging and perplexing process of bringing a negligent motorist to justice. They’ll present the evidence they’ve acquired to the jury, call witnesses, and make a carefully organized argument as to why you must receive substantial compensation.
Burns:
The injuries that result from shattered glass and other objects thrown about during a crash can cause severe burns to the skin. These can range from first-degree burns to fourth-degree burns. Bruises and cuts can occur when the victim hits their head or any other body part on the car’s interior or exterior objects that strike it.
These injuries can be hard to link to a car accident, but medical professionals should carefully examine victims for them. Internal bleeding, a broken blood vessel or a deep cut can be difficult to see and may require specialized testing. These injuries can lead to complications, including fluid loss, pulmonary embolisms and clots that prevent blood from flowing properly.
Broken Bones:
Any region of the body might sustain shattered bones in a car collision. Drivers and passengers without seat belts can suffer fractures from slamming against their seats or the vehicle’s interior. The force involved in a crash can also break the skull, creating a condition called a hematoma, which requires medical treatment. Other types of fractures include transverse, oblique and comminuted fractures. Fractured ribs are common as well. Flying debris may puncture the lungs or other organs, leading to life-threatening internal bleeding.
The neck can sustain injuries like whiplash, causing cervical discomfort at speeds as low as 15 mph. Knee injuries like meniscus and cartilage tears are also possible.
Facial Injuries:
The head and face contain vital organs easily damaged in a car accident. Moreover, the skull comprises 14 bones, including single nasal and vomer bones and pairs of palatine, maxillae and zygomatic bones that create our senses of smell, taste and hearing. According to a medical study, 78 percent of facial injuries sustained in car accidents are soft tissue injuries, and 22 percent are bone fractures. Soft tissue injuries include abrasions, deep cuts and lacerations to the forehead, nose and mouth.
Facial fractures involve broken bones, such as a broken nose or cheekbones and sometimes include a fractured lower jaw. They occur when your face hits a vehicle’s dashboard, steering wheel or windshield during an accident or when shattered glass strikes your face.
Amputations:
Amputations are among the most severe types of injuries resulting from car accidents—amputations due to trauma account for around 45% of all limb losses annually in the US. Bracing your arms against the steering wheel or dashboard, you might sustain shoulder injuries in a collision. You could also fracture your wrist bones or sustain a broken rib.
You might even sustain lacerations from torn fabric or pieces of broken glass. A moderate concussion or skull fracture may result from hitting the steering wheel, dashboard, or glass with your head. It could also lead to a bleed under the skull, known as a hematoma, requiring immediate medical attention.
