Brigette Honaker  |  November 18, 2019

Category: Legal News

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First aid at car accident

Many types of injuries are commonly associated with motor vehicle accidents. Several factors may affect the likelihood of experiencing these injuries, including whether or not you were wearing a seatbelt, whether you were sitting straight in the seat or were turned to the side, whether the crash was high or low speed, and whether the car had airbags.

Types of injuries from car accidents generally fall into two broad categories. These categories are impact injuries and penetrating injuries.

Impact injuries include soft tissue damage, blunt force trauma, or other injuries caused when a part of the victim’s body collides with part of the interior of the car. Penetrating injuries include cuts, scrapes, and other wounds caused by sharp glass or loose objects inside the car.

The most common types of injuries from car accidents include soft tissue injuries, or damage to the connective tissues, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. One common type of soft tissue injury is whiplash, or the overstretching of the muscles and ligaments in the neck and upper back due to sudden movements caused by the collision. This may also result in muscle strains.

Head injuries are also a common form of car accident injury. The collision may result in the head being injured due to impact with the window or steering wheel. Collision impact may result in scrapes, bruising, or lacerations to the surface of the head, as well as deeper injuries including concussions or brain damage.

Injuries to the arms and legs are also common in motor vehicle accidents. Collisions to the side of the vehicle may result in victims’ arms and legs being thrown against the door. Collisions to the front or back of the vehicle may cause the victim’s knees or legs to hit the dashboard. These limb injuries may include bruising, sprains, or breaks.

Chest injuries may also occur, including broken ribs, bruises, and internal injuries. Drivers most often experience these types of injuries, due to their proximity to the steering wheel. In many car accidents, drivers will be thrown forward into the steering wheel, resulting in damage to their chest.

What if I’m wearing my seat belt?

If drivers are wearing their seat belt, it may protect them from hitting the steering wheel. Statistics support that fact as drivers who wear seatbelts are 50 percent less likely to suffer injuries than those who do not. However, the seatbelt may still result in severe bruising to the shoulder and upper chest.

Will all of my injuries show up immediately?

While some injuries are immediately apparent following a car accident, other injuries may take a while to develop and are considered delayed symptoms. Muscle injuries, cartilage injuries, and strains may not develop for several days after the accident, and traumatic brain injuries may also take a while to appear.

Even if you have no immediate symptoms following a car accident, it is best to seek medical attention to ensure that any injuries you may have sustained are diagnosed and promptly treated.

How common are car accident injuries?

In 2012, over 2.5 million Americans reportedly went to the emergency department for injuries following car accidents. Nearly 200,000 of these Americans reportedly ended up hospitalized for their injuries.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), car accident injuries are “costly but preventable.” According to the CDC, each car accident-related visit to an emergency room costs around $3,300. If someone is hospitalized following a car accident, it can reportedly cost around $57,000 over their lifetime.

In addition to dealing with the costs of medical treatment, many patients have to deal with the loss of income if they are rendered unable to work. The CDC notes that patients involved in car accidents in 2012 lost work which will cost an estimated $33 billion over their lifetimes.

The CDC recommends cutting down on car accident injuries by following traffic laws, driving sober, improving teen driver safety, and using safety measures such as seat belts, car seats, and booster seats.

“The best way to keep people safe and reduce medical costs is to prevent crashes from happening in the first place,” the CDC notes.

Unfortunately, this is not always possible. Following car accidents, consumers are left to deal with the financial and medical consequences of an accident. This situation can feel helpless, especially if the crash was caused by another person’s negligence. Although insurance payouts may help with the situation, some consumers may be shocked at how long they have to deal with the consequences of a car accident.

If you have suffered injuries in a car accident due to the negligence of another person, you may be entitled to compensation. Hiring a car accident injury attorney may be the first step towards filing a lawsuit and pursuing damages for your injuries, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and other costs associated with the accident.

If you or a loved one were injured due to the negligence of another party, and you have recoverable damages, you may have a viable personal injury lawsuit. Get a free evaluation of your potential case by filling out the form on this page now!

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