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As St. Louis personal injury lawyers, we see many personal injury cases involving car accidents. After all, practically everyone drives daily, increasing the likelihood of an accident occurring. Despite the fact that we engage in driving frequently enough that it has become second nature to most of us, it is still dangerous. Driving demands faith be placed in the people around you. We all travel around in multi-thousand-pound automobiles at high speeds and in close quarters to one another; it is understandable why the outcomes can be disastrous when someone is careless or makes a significant mistake. Based on our extensive expertise in handling accident claims, we have created a list of the top five vehicle accident injuries and information on how to treat them and what losses may be covered. Read on to find out more below.
Car accidents are the second leading cause of developing TBIs (traumatic brain injuries). Motor vehicle accidents account for around 20% of all TBIs in the United States. The forces brought on by abrupt acceleration or deceleration in a car accident are to blame for this. A person’s head may easily crash into the steering wheel, dashboard, or windshield due to an abrupt shift in speed or being forced to move back and forth violently, causing the brain to come into contact with the inside of the skull. In other situations, debris or other foreign objects may penetrate the skull, causing injury to the brain. Such an injury may have immediate results, such as loss of consciousness, or it may take some time before any symptoms become apparent.
Auto accidents that cause head injuries can have devastating effects. Diagnoses may include:
● Concussion
● Brain bruising, swelling, or bleeding
● Skull Fracture
● Diffuse axonal injury
● Traumatic brain injury
● And more
Emergency and follow-up care are essential following a head injury. Given that the brain is the body’s most vital organ, it makes sense that brain injuries could significantly impact how the body functions. They should therefore be treated exceptionally carefully, even if they appear small.
You should seek emergency care if you hit your head in a car accident (or even if you don’t, but the impact was considerable). If you get a TBI, your early care will be directed toward determining the severity of the injury and stabilizing any potentially fatal symptoms. The blood pressure, oxygen, and blood flow to the brain must all remain at acceptable levels, as determined by medical professionals. After a TBI patient has been stabilized, a brain scan is always the next step because the doctors want to look closely at what is happening inside the brain.
A TBI patient may still have a prolonged recovery process even after they have been stabilized and any potential complications have been managed. Brain injuries and their effects frequently result in symptoms that make it difficult for the victims to perform even the most fundamental duties or activities. Patients with TBI often experience particular challenges at work, in class, when trying to understand instructions, or when interacting with others. Many TBI patients receive rehabilitative care to assist them in relearning specific duties to help victims adjust to everyday life and relearn how to perform basic abilities.
Car accidents frequently result in back and neck injuries. The spine’s delicate structures can be drastically hurt by sudden acceleration or deceleration. The spine’s flexibility makes it susceptible to damage from abrupt movements that force it to move extensively.
Following an automobile accident, common back and neck injuries include:
● Whiplash, otherwise known as a sudden jolt of the neck,
● Cervical fracture
● Back or neck pain
● Herniated disc
● Broken vertebrae
● Other spinal disc injuries
An injury to the back or neck can result in chronic discomfort for the rest of one’s life and/or a disability. In addition, these injuries might make it difficult for a person to work or perform other household chores since they can be so incapacitating. A back or neck injury sustained in an automobile accident will be compensated for by a settlement that includes the cost of any permanent disability, including loss of earning potential or income. Back and neck conditions can be treated with any combination of painkillers, stability using a brace or collar, muscle relaxants, cortisone injections, chiropractic treatment, physical therapy, and/or surgery.
Among the most severe injuries possibly sustained from a car crash is spinal cord damage. This is because every bodily component can only move when the spinal cord functions correctly. Therefore, damage to the spinal cord has the potential to result in a significant loss of feeling, paralysis, and function; this can be quite debilitating.
These injuries develop when displaced bone fragments, disc fragments, or tears or bruising in ligaments come into contact with the spinal cord. When this happens, the nerve cells that transfer messages to and from the brain and body are harmed. Because spinal cord injuries frequently necessitate surgery, assistive equipment, and continuing rehabilitation, they are likely one of the most expensive auto accident injuries to treat
Even if you receive emergency care for a spinal cord injury, you may still need to take drugs, have operations, and go to rehabilitation therapy for years. In addition, you may have persistent impairment that prevents you from working or even performing daily tasks if your spinal cord injury cannot fully heal. These costs of a spinal injury can be considerable and significantly impact your life and the lives of your family members.
Car accident injury victims in this condition must get the maximum payment possible because SCI sufferers frequently struggle to support themselves and their families. People in SCI situations often benefit from ongoing access to medical care and financial stability, thanks to the compensation they receive. Patients may also be compensated for their medical expenses, lost wages and benefits, diminished quality of life, permanent disability, physical pain and suffering, mental distress, and other costs.
Face injuries in car accidents can happen when the victim’s face makes contact with the dashboard, airbag, windshield, side window, steering wheel, or broken glass. Bruises and scrapes are less significant facial injuries, whereas fractures, deep cuts/lacerations, tooth injuries, and jaw injuries are more severe injuries.
The following are the most typical facial injuries:
● Lacerations are common in even the smallest car accidents because of the skin’s vulnerability. When a piece of the car or a bone punctures or tears the skin, it causes a more severe laceration. For example, the bone may protrude through the skin or mouth, or a foreign item like glass may pierce it.
● Bruises are brought on by the rupturing or tearing of the tiny blood vessels under the skin. Even though they are frequently not significant wounds, they might hurt while healing.
● In serious vehicle accidents, the bones in the face frequently sustain damage and break. As a result, the bones that make up the face and skull are brittle, just like every other bone in the body. To fix this, it may only take some time or significant surgery.
● The lower mandible can become dislocated when one or both of the joints holding it to the skull’s base are torn away. This may cause excruciating discomfort. After being repositioned, it might mend on its own or need major surgery.
● The severity of face injuries determines how they should be treated. Simple first aid may be sufficient for some wounds, such as scrapes, but plastic surgery may be necessary for others. In addition, mouth guards, dental work, or dental reconstruction may be required for conditions affecting the teeth and jaw.
Even when no one is physically hurt, car accidents are frequently highly distressing for the people involved. Unsurprisingly, psychological issues rank among the more frequent injuries sustained by victims of car accidents. In fact, one need not experience physical harm to experience psychological harm. However, when major injuries are involved, emotional and mental trauma are often considerably more extensive.
The emotional consequences of an event are frequently disregarded, especially if there are physical problems to attend to. However, depending on the type and degree of the mental injury, it may affect a car accident victim just as negatively as physical injuries. If left untreated, it may even have a longer-lasting impact.
Whether there were injuries in a severe auto accident, victims may experience varying degrees of anxiety. This can range from feeling uncomfortable while driving to having severe panic attacks upon going back to the incident scene.
Possible psychological harms include:
Depression: When a patient has persistent physical discomfort and struggles with once-common chores, it can have a negative emotional impact. Because of this, people who are seriously hurt in vehicle accidents frequently go through severe depressive episodes.
PTSD: Post-traumatic stress disorder. Any traumatic trauma that involves violence or the prospect of harm may cause this condition. Car accidents fall under the “very stressful experience” category, even though most people don’t consider them until it happens to them or someone they know. Studies show that nearly 40% of vehicle accident victims get PTSD.
These injuries are typically treated with a combination of drugs, behavioral treatment, and cognitive therapy. These treatments are most effective when paired with care for physical injuries (since lingering pain can be a significant contributor). However, psychological injuries can become chronic and start to significantly interfere with a person’s daily life if they are not treated. Therefore, anyone experiencing emotional or psychological problems following an injury should get immediate, thorough therapy; maintaining good mental health is just as crucial as maintaining good physical health.
Do not hesitate to contact the experienced Missouri car accident attorneys at Goldblatt + Singer, the St. Louis Injury Law Firm, if you or someone you know has suffered injuries in an auto collision that occurred due to another’s negligence. We provide a free case examination with a skilled personal injury lawyer. Since we have handled countless auto accident cases, we are fully aware of the damage they may bring about. Therefore, we prioritize excellent representation over the volume of clients we assist.
We look forward to providing you and your family with the financial, emotional, and physical support necessary to heal properly. For a free consultation, call us at (314) 231-4100 or contact us online.