Marcus RichardsCar accidents are very common nowadays. For example, in 2017, California reported a car accident every three minutes, and about twenty accidents every hour. This makes it a bit hard for a Santa Rosa car accident attorney to keep up with the cases.
Car accidents are no joke, and they can cause many fatal injuries. That’s why it is very important to know the most common injuries that result from car accidents.
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)
This type of injury is most related to car accidents. Every nine seconds, someone gets diagnosed with a brain injury in the U.S. Of course, not all of them are caused by car accidents, but there is a fair amount of them that are. Most of the people suffering from TBI get damaged for life, suffering different kinds of disabilities, while others pass away.
- Spinal Cord Injuries and Paralysis
There is a fair number of accidents that just leave a mark on your body or soul. But for some, these can be lethal. A spinal cord injury is no laughing matter. It is, indeed, caused by major crashes, but it is so serious that it leads to partial paralysis above or below the level of injury or total paralysis. There are above seventeen thousand new spinal cord injuries in the U.S., yearly.
- Fractures and/or Broken Bones
We can safely say that most of the accidents happening aren’t deadly, which is a good thing. Although a fracture or a broken bone is still a serious injury, it is not deadly. Most of these injuries require surgery or simply wearing a cast.
- Bruises and Cuts
Even though not as serious as fractures, the bruises and cuts can still leave a mark on your body. When you are involved in a car accident, everything that’s loose starts flying around you and can be very dangerous.
The objects that can harm you include mugs, telephones, glasses, purses, books, or anything that’s dash mounted. When you get into a collision and these items start going everywhere, they can easily cut you, hit you, or cause any other type of injury.
- Head Injuries
Probably the most common injuries in a car accident are the head ones. Even if you hit a speeding bump, you might hit your head harder than expected. Usually, when injuring your head, the damage can range from very minor to extremely severe, or even deadly, in some cases.
Most of these damages occur when a car stops or turns unexpectedly, causing the head to move in unnatural ways. Most head injuries include bruises or cuts, and depending on the severity of the collision, there can be even tearing of the brain tissue or blood vessels. Most of the injuries only cause concussions, but the more serious ones can leave permanent or long-lasting brain damage.
- Soft Tissue Injuries
These are the most common injuries caused by car accidents. They are defined as the damage caused to the connective tissue of the muscles, ligaments, or tendons. One example could be whiplash, which results in stretching of the head and neck muscles and ligaments whenever you encounter the sudden movement of a collision. Car crashes can also cause sprains or damage to the spine, which are related to mid and low back injuries.
- Chest Injuries
These are also very common when it comes to car injuries. They can range from painful bruises to broken ribs and internal ribcage injuries. Drivers think these types of damages happen when they interfere with the steering wheel in a collision, but dashboards and seatbelts can also cause them.
- Burns
There are some accidents that cause the car to catch on fire. Naturally, one’s instinct is to get out of the fire, but that doesn’t always go as planned, causing burns to your body to different degrees. If the burns are severe, they may require surgery and skin grafting.
- Disfiguring Facial Injuries and Scars
Facial scars and injuries are usually pretty common when it comes to car accidents. What you don’t see very often is facial disfigurement. Most of these injuries require surgical correction and can impact your life because they usually leave big noticeable scars.
- Limb Loss and Amputation
Depending on the impact, one’s leg, arm, finger, toe, or other appendages can be severed enough so that they require surgical amputation. Usually, this injury leaves permanent marks on the victim and can result in permanent disabling effects.
The Bottom Line
Car accidents often cause different types of injuries. Some are more severe than others, while others can be lethal. It’s important to always pay attention to the road so that you can be safe and avoid these unfortunate situations.
