The Most Common Car Accident Injuries You Should Seek Compensation For
A car accident can be one of the most traumatizing events in your life. When it’s over, you can’t help but wonder what you should do next.
For example, you may wonder if your injuries are worth seeking compensation for. Should you pursue a claim for your injuries and treatment? Or should you just chalk it up to “things happen” and move on?
Fortunately, you don’t have to figure it out on your own. Keep reading to discover our breakdown of the most common car accident injuries you for which you should consider seeking compensation.
Soft Tissue Injuries
One of the most common auto injuries is soft tissue damage. This refers to any injury that harms the connective tissues within your body.
What kind of connective tissues are we talking about? This generally refers to tendons, ligaments, and muscles. Whiplash is a type of neck injury that is also a soft tissue injury because it affects your muscles and ligaments.
Such injuries can affect your quality of life and interfere with your daily activities, requiring some basic medical treatment. Because of this, it is worth seeking compensation if you’ve experienced such an injury.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
You might think that traumatic brain injury (TBI) is something that only happens on a football field. However, car accidents are some of the primary causes of this kind of head and brain injury.
There are different levels of TBI, and some are more severe than others.
However, any brain function disruption has the potential to be a long-term problem and, quite possibly, a permanent problem.
If you have suffered a TBI due to a car accident, you definitely want to seek the proper compensation, as oftentimes there are future medical expenses that need to be accounted for.
Neck and Back Injuries
Neck and back injuries are some of the most common automobile injuries. We already touched on the most well-known car accident injury: whiplash.
Whiplash is not the only potential injury for those who survive a car accident. It’s possible for you to suffer from long-lasting back injuries that may completely change your level of mobility.
Neck injuries, too, are very common and very dangerous. Because of the connection to your spine, it’s possible for whiplash to lead to cervical spine fractures and other serious injuries. Even if the other car is traveling as slow as 15 miles per hour, it’s possible for you to experience severe whiplash.
If you’ve experienced neck and back injuries such as whiplash, herniated discs, or spinal injury, it’s worth your time and effort to seek the compensation you deserve.
Cuts and Scrapes
By now, you’ve probably figured out that many of these injury categories are very broad. One of the broadest possible categories is cuts and scrapes.
Part of why this category is so common and so broad is due to the large potential for injuries inside your car. Take a look around the next time you drive; almost everything can turn to shrapnel in the event of a car crash.
Items of different weights and speeds may produce different levels of injury. Some of these will be simple scrapes that will quickly heal on their own. Others may be deep cuts that require immediate medical intervention.
Whether you should seek compensation for cuts and scrapes comes down to the overall severity of your injuries.
Severe Burns
We don’t always think of severe burns when we think of car crash injuries. However, such burns are entirely possible when you’re in an accident.
That’s because your car is filled with gasoline and other liquids that are highly flammable. It’s also possible for you to experience major burns after you come in contact with a heated surface or a blast of hot steam.
A burn can seriously disfigure your body and require extensive and ongoing medical treatment. If you have experienced severe burns due to a car accident, be sure to seek appropriate compensation as soon as you can.
Chest Injuries
Chest and abdominal injuries are quite common during car accidents. That’s mostly due to where your body is positioned at the time of the crash.
For example, it’s possible to crash into a steering wheel and receive a broken rib or a major internal injury. Even forceful impact with a seatbelt, or having the airbag hit your body, can cause contusions or other problematic chest injuries.
As with cuts and scrapes, your chest injuries may range from extremely mild to majorly life-threatening. If you receive extensive injuries, and especially if they require extensive medical care, then you need to aggressively pursue appropriate compensation.
Arm and Leg Injuries
Did your parents ever warn you about sticking your arm out of the vehicle while you drive? It turns out this was sound advice. That’s because arm and leg injuries are very common occurrences in car accidents.
During a car accident, your limbs are going to be thrown hard into the car. If you have an arm out and the car rolls, it’s entirely possible for you to seriously injure that arm.
Even if all of your limbs are fully inside the vehicle, you’re in more danger than you might imagine. Your legs will likely slam into the dashboard, or the center console in a t-bone collision. When the crash is over, you may have a serious strain or even a broken leg.
As with the chest injuries, you should assess how extensive your injuries are to determine whether it is worth it to seek compensation.
Fractures and Broken Bones
Speaking of breaking bones, this is our final category, which is also a broad one.
Depending on the car accident, every bone in your body is at risk during a crash. This may be something you’d expect, like a broken arm or cracked rib. Or it may be something truly unexpected, like a broken pelvis.
Some breaks will be cleaner and easier to mend than others. Nonetheless, a break of any kind is reason enough to pursue compensation.
Car Accident Injuries: Time To Get What You Deserve
Now you know about the most common car accident injuries that you should seek compensation for. Do you know who you need in your corner during a compensation claim?
We specialized in auto accident laws in and around Nashville. To see how we can help you get the compensation you deserve, contact us today.