BOWLING GREEN CAR ACCIDENT LAWYER

CRASH-RELATED INJURIES

The severity and type of injuries sustained in a car crash depends on a series of factors, including:

• The number of vehicles involved;
• The speed at which the cars were traveling prior to the crash;
• The size of the vehicles;
• Whether the parties were wearing seat belts; and
• The age and general health of the occupants.

The type of accident a victim was involved in will also impact the kinds of injuries he or she may sustain. The most common types of crashes include:

• Rollovers;
• Rear-end collisions;
• T-bone crashes;
• Sideswipes; and
• Multi-vehicle collisions.

All of these types of accidents can have devastating consequences for passengers and drivers alike. However, certain accidents are more likely to cause specific injuries. For instance, victims who were t-boned are more likely to suffer from shoulder injuries, fractured ribs, head trauma, and hearing loss. Severe whiplash and spinal cord problems, on the other hand, are more indicative of being rear ended.

Although these factors have a significant impact on the severity of a person’s injury, there are some injuries that are especially common in car crashes, including:

• Whiplash: This injury is usually caused by a sudden impact forcing the head and neck to snap forward, which in turn stretches the muscles and ligaments in the upper back and neck. Whiplash injuries can range in severity, but often make it difficult to turn the head or even sit or stand comfortably. Some victims struggle with the effects of whiplash for years and may be required to undergo physical therapy or use prescription medications to manage the pain. Other common injuries to the neck include vocal cord paralysis, which is caused by nerve damage and makes it extremely difficult to breathe, swallow, or speak.

• Head Trauma: This is one of the most serious injuries that a car crash victim can sustain because the effects are often permanent. Head injuries are usually caused by a sudden blow to the skull from coming into contact with a dashboard, window, steering wheel, or another part of the car during impact. When an impact is sufficiently forceful, it can cause damage to the fluids and tissues inside the skull, which can lead to headaches, concussions, skull fractures, and traumatic brain injury. Many types of head injuries are treatable through surgery, while others can result in permanent memory loss, brain damage, and even comas.

• Spinal cord injuries: These types of injuries can also be extremely serious because the spinal cord plays a hugely important role in the brain’s ability to control the body’s muscles, heart, and lungs. The spinal cord is protected by vertebrae in the spine, so when these bones are fractured, dislocated, or compressed as a result of a forceful impact, the shards can pierce the tissues and nerves of the spinal cord. This can damage the spinal cord’s ability to intercept messages from the brain to the rest of the body, which can cause both a loss of movement and a loss of feeling below the point of injury. In other cases, herniated discs, although painful, do not cause additional damage to the spinal cord. Fortunately, herniated discs can usually be treated through physical therapy or surgery.

• Chest injuries: Chest injuries are especially common in rear-end and head-on collisions when the head and chest are often thrown forcefully against the steering wheel, dashboard, airbag, or windshield. As a result, fractured ribs, punctured lungs, internal bleeding, and cardiac arrest are not uncommon crash-related injuries.

• Superficial injuries: Bruising, abrasions, and lacerations are one of the most commonly sustained car crash-related injuries. Broken glass, shards of metal, and other crash debris can pose a serious risk to victims if they are cut. In fact, some lacerations may be so deep that they require stitches or sutures and will leave permanent scars. Underlying muscles could also be damaged in particularly severe cases, requiring surgery in order to repair them.

Physical injuries are not the only type of injury faced by car crash victims. For instance, many people who are involved in car crashes suffer from emotional distress, often for years. In severe cases, they may even require therapy and prescription medications for anxiety. Some of the most common symptoms of stress-related disorders include:

• Anxiety;
• Depression;
• Flashbacks;
• Stress;
• Insomnia or other types of sleep-related problems;
• Irritation and sudden mood swings; and
• Memory problems.

Fortunately, injured parties struggling from some or all of these symptoms can seek help from therapists and other medical professionals, although treatment is often expensive, making it doubly important for accident victims to collect compensation from negligent parties.

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