Common Car Accident Injury Types
Most of those involved in car accidents are likely to suffer injuries. The type of injury sustained after an accident varies based on the type of accident. Your sitting position and what hit you also determine the type and extent of your injuries.
Common car accident injuries include:
Soft Tissue Injuries
Soft tissue injuries are the most common type of car accident injuries. They affect the muscles, ligaments, skin, and tendons in the form of bruising, avulsions, sprains, or strains. Symptoms accompanying soft tissue injuries include bleeding, tenderness, and numbness. There may also be an inability to move certain body parts and severe pain.
Seek immediate medical treatment after the car accident, regardless of your symptoms. Your pain may be delayed.
Neck and Chest Injuries
The neck and the chest are the most vulnerable body parts to injury and damage during an accident, especially for the driver. The steering wheel, seatbelt, and airbag could all cause neck and chest injuries.
A whiplash is the most common type of neck injury and mainly occurs in rear-end collisions. Whiplash injuries are caused by the sudden jerking of the head in an unnatural way. This sudden movement may damage the neck’s muscles, disks, and ligaments. It may also cause headaches, neck pain, and the inability to move the neck.
Symptoms of neck injuries include coughing blood, trouble breathing, and rapid heart rates. They could also cause high or low blood pressure.
Chest injuries range from collapsed lungs and broken ribs to damaged internal organs. These injuries are often severe and fatal.
Head injuries
Head injuries occur when a victim’s head bangs on objects inside or outside the car. These include the side window, steering wheel, windshield, trees, and even the ground. These injuries could be either open or closed head injuries. Open head injuries affect the inner parts of the head, like the skull, while closed injuries don’t touch the inside parts of the head.
Head injuries could also be in the form of concussions, leading to headaches, drowsiness, unconsciousness, or a comma. Head and brain injuries could be fatal, especially if left untreated.
Facial Injuries
Car accident victims often sustain facial injuries, including burns, cuts, tooth loss, bruises, bone fractures, and eye injuries. These injuries could necessitate surgery, skin grafting, or plastic surgery.
In addition to physical pain, facial disfigurement causes emotional scars. While it may be impossible to put a dollar amount on your pain, the money you can recover in a personal injury claim can help you seek proper medical care. An accident attorney in Atlanta can help you get the compensation you deserve.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
A traumatic brain injury is among the worst injuries you can sustain after a car collision. This is a type of head injury that occurs when the head or connected body parts receive a strong blow, jolt, or blow. It is also caused when an object penetrates the brain through the skull.
Brain injuries can have cognitive, behavioral, and physical effects. These include concentration problems, difficulty speaking, coordination problems, and disability.
Orthopedic injuries
Orthopedic injuries involve injuries to the bones and joints, mainly broken bones, back injuries, and knee injuries. These injuries also involve other serious injuries like broken spinal cord or collarbone.
You may have swelling, bruising, or numbness when suffering from an orthopedic injury. The injury may also inhibit your movement ability. X-rays are recommended to determine the nature and extent of your orthopedic injury.
Internal Injuries
Although you may lack a visible scar after an accident, this doesn’t mean you are out of the woods. Internal injuries may involve broken ribs, organ injury, pneumothorax, back injuries, or ruptured spleen. These injuries could also cause internal bleeding, pain, tenderness, bruising, limited movement, or blood in urine.
Emotional and Mental Injuries
In addition to physical injuries, automobile accidents may reduce your quality of life. For instance, if you sustain arm and leg injuries, it becomes challenging to move around. Additionally, spinal cord injuries could lead to permanent or temporary disabilities, which may deny you the life you once enjoyed.
A motor vehicle accident event could also cause post-traumatic stress disorder. Some car crash victims complain of seeing visions of the accident even years later.
