Published in Personal Injury by Chris Eskew on September 26, 2021.
When it comes to car accidents, even low-speed collisions have a chance of causing an injury.
While many victims may notice their symptoms immediately following the accident, other injuries may not become apparent until days, weeks, or months later.
Here are some of the most common car accident injuries that occur in collisions and the symptoms associated with them.
Soft Tissue Injuries
These types of injuries occur when the body’s muscles, ligaments, and tendons become damaged.
Soft tissue injuries are not only the most common type of car accident injuries but also range from mild to serious. The most common injuries in this category are bruises, strains, sprains, and whiplash.
Bruising
Every car accident, whether minor or major, has a chance of causing bruises. This is usually caused by body parts slamming into parts of the vehicle, such as the seatbelt or steering wheel.
Bruising can be painful and lasts anywhere from a few days to several weeks.
Strains or Sprains
Strains and sprains are common car accident injuries, especially in moderate to high-speed accidents.
The sudden motion of body parts can overstretch the muscles and ligaments, often leading to soreness and restricted movement.
Whiplash
Whiplash is the most common and dangerous form of soft tissue injury caused by auto collisions. Large impacts, even at moderate speeds, can cause the head to whip back and forth erratically.
This stretches all the soft tissues around the head, neck, and upper back, leading to chronic headaches, dizziness, and potentially cognitive impairment.
Internal Injuries
The impact of a collision, even if it doesn’t cause surface-level damage to your skin, can injure internal organs and bones. Although internal injuries aren’t always apparent, they are often serious enough to be life-threatening.
While broken bones are the most likely to occur, some crashes can lead to internal bleeding or worse.
Bleeding
Contrary to what many expect, internal bleeding isn’t always caused by an external cut or puncture. In fact, internal bleeding happens in high-speed collisions with a lot of blunt force trauma.
While symptoms may not present immediately, internal bleeding can be life-threatening and must be treated quickly.
Fractures
Broken bones are one of the most common car accident injuries. When you are in a car accident, there are several ways a fracture may occur.
For example, if your seatbelt stops you from hitting the windshield, it may break some of your ribs in the process due to the pressure on your chest.
While fractures aren’t always life-threatening, they may require surgery to heal properly.
Head Injuries
Any type of head injury, even if it seems minor at first, has a chance to develop into a lifelong complication.
Although physical impacts are more likely to cause a severe head injury, even sudden movements can damage the tissues inside the skull.
While most head injuries result in a concussion, others are serious enough to cause a traumatic brain injury.
Concussions
Typically caused by a blow to the head or rapid head movement, concussions are relatively common in high-impact accidents.
Immediately following a concussion, most people have trouble with their short-term memory. They are often unable to remember the events leading up to the accident and have a hard time staying conscious.
While these symptoms improve over time, they can have long-term consequences, such as chronic headaches and memory difficulties.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Also known as TBI, traumatic brain injuries are among the most serious. TBIs, more often than not, have life-long effects on brain function including cognition and emotional processing.
While many people who suffer from TBIs survive, they may have permanent mental difficulties.
Back Injuries
Back injuries, especially damage to the spine, are some of the most serious injuries that can occur during a car accident.
In many cases, a back injury results in some permanent loss of mobility. While this is sometimes due to torn ligaments or muscles, it is most often due to herniated or ruptured disks in the spine.
Disks are the soft cushions that sit between each of the vertebrae in your spine. In a collision, these disks can either slip out of place or compress your nerves, leading to severe back pain and limited mobility.
In many cases, the damage sustained by the disks needs to be healed through surgery and physical therapy. It isn’t uncommon for more severe spinal injuries to result in paralysis.
Injured in an Accident? Our Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help
If you or a loved one has sustained one of the injuries listed above in a car accident due to another person’s negligence, give us a call.
At Eskew Law, our Indiana personal injury attorneys are dedicated to helping our clients recover from their injuries. We will fiercely fight on your behalf, so you can focus on recovery. Contact us today to schedule.
