Common Car Accident Injuries
Car accident injuries can range from minor or moderate to serious, major or catastrophic. An injury sustained in a car accident could cause you to take time off work, lead to hospitalization or put you in continuing treatment or therapy for an extended period of time. Some car accident injuries are immediately apparent and others take a few hours or even a few days to become apparent. This is why it is critical that you get a complete physical check-up in the event of an accident.
There are many different types of injuries that may occur in a car accident depending on the nature, intensity and circumstances of the crash. Car accident injuries could affect various parts of your body. Head, neck and back injuries are the most common. However, car accidents also often have an impact on internal organs as well as upper and lower limbs. Here are some of the most common types of car accident injuries.
Head Injuries: Traumatic brain injury is an extremely serious injury that may result in a car accident. This is what is known as a catastrophic injury, which means that it could have lifelong impact on the injured victim. Brain injuries may lead to temporary and permanent impairment of the brain functions. Skull fractures, swelling of the brain, and nerve damage are all related to head or brain injury in car accident cases.
Neck Injuries: The most common type of neck injury suffered in auto accidents is “whiplash.” This injures the soft tissues in the neck and impairs neck and head movement. This could be a temporary issue. But for some, whiplash can become a permanent condition and affect all aspects of their lives. Whiplash often requires physical and rehabilitative therapy. Other common types of neck injuries that occur in car accidents include neck sprain, neck strain, pinched nerve and herniated discs.
Spinal Cord Injuries: These could result in different levels of paralysis and involve internal organs as well. Spinal cord injuries can be catastrophic especially when it leads to quadriplegia or paraplegia where victims suffer loss of motor function and lack of feeling or sensation. Spinal cord injuries could also adversely affect bowel and bladder functioning, sexual functioning, blood pressure and body temperature. Most victims suffer chronic or permanent pain. Spinal cord injury victims usually require long-term medical care and treatment and incur extremely high medical bills.
Back Injuries: In addition to serious spinal cord injuries, other back injuries could also occur in car accidents. Herniations or disc bulges, fractures, pinched nerves and other conditions could cause significant pain to victims and could call for extended treatment and therapy.
Broken bones or fractures: A large number of car accidents result in broken bones or serious fractures. Broken bones sustained in auto accidents are often more serious than a fracture sustained in a fall. Fractures sustained in car accidents are more likely to require surgery, possibly reconstructive surgery along with metal hardware to secure bones.
Internal Organs: Damage to internal organs is one of the more serious and potentially fatal consequences of being involved in a car accident. In an auto accident, internal organs such as kidneys, spleen, liver, lungs or the heart could be damages. Fractured ribs, which are a common occurrence in car accidents, could puncture the lungs or other internal organs. A ruptured spleen is also a frequent type of injury, which may require extensive hospitalization.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, please remember that you may seek compensation to cover medical expenses, loss of earnings, and other costs relating to hospitalization, medication, surgeries, and continuing treatment and therapy expenses. Please contact an experienced Washington car accident lawyer at The Bernard Law Group to find out more information about how you can pursue your legal rights.
IF YOU, OR A LOVED ONE, HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED IN A CAR ACCIDENT IN WASHINGTON – CALL TODAY FOR A FREE CONSULTATION!
