Some people get into car accidents and only experience minor vehicle damage and injuries. Others aren’t so lucky, ending up with serious injuries that take weeks or months of recovery. Many more have lifelong repercussions from those injuries that change their lives forever.
In Florida, a serious injury is anything that interferes with your day-to-day activities. Losing central body function, being disfigured or permanently scarred, or becoming partially or totally disabled for 90 days or more are all severe injuries.
You hear about minor injuries like cuts, scrapes, bruises, and whiplash all the time. According to Tucker Law, PA, few people realize the impacts of more serious car accident injuries and the symptoms, treatments, and recovery needed after a crash.
Here’s what you should know about the most devastating injuries in car accidents.
The Difference Between Impact and Penetrating Injuries
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All car accident injuries, no matter the severity, are often grouped into two broad categories. The first are penetrating injuries, which result from an object entering a victim’s body. Shattered glass from one of the car’s windows can lead to penetrating body injuries. Any items in the vehicle at the time of impact may also impale the driver or passengers.
The other kind of injury is an impact injury, which is caused by a part of the body colliding with a part of the vehicle. For example, an accident victim’s head could collide with the steering wheel, causing a head injury. Either one of these injury types can be incredibly serious.
The Most Serious Injuries from Major Car Crashes
If you or a loved one are in a serious car accident, injuries such as traumatic brain injuries, limb loss, spinal cord injuries, and chest injuries can change your life in seconds.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
In a major car crash, traumatic brain injuries result in brain damage from hitting the head or when the skull is fractured. This is unfortunately common with victims of high-speed crashes when they strike their head on the steering column, side windows, or windshield.
A sudden blow to the head often results in closed head injuries like concussions but can lead to permanent brain damage. It’s painful for the victims, and they may not survive. This is why it’s imperative to seek immediate medical treatment, as life-saving surgery may be required.
Additionally, head injuries may change a car accident victim’s emotions and personality. The injury can affect a specific lobe of the brain or damage the entire structure. Even with quick medical intervention, the effects of the injury may be something they will deal with for the rest of their lives.
Limb Loss or Amputation
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Another big injury in serious car accidents is when limbs are smashed into the car. Legs can strike the dashboard for the front passenger or get crushed under the steering wheel for the driver. Even those riding in the backseat can break their legs on the front seats.
But in extreme cases, injuries may result in the need to amputate the appendage, whether it’s a leg, arm, hand, foot, finger, or toe. Sometimes, the sheer force of the accident can tear limbs from those involved in the crash. It’s grisly, but with fast-acting emergency medical care providers, victims still get to live another day.
Of course, it’s not easy to look at the sunny side of things immediately after an accident that has resulted in the loss of one or more limbs. The mental anguish and trauma that will follow will be just as difficult to recover from as trying to learn how to live with a missing appendage. When limbs have been lost, the psychiatric care that is needed to help victims with support should never be overlooked.
Serious Spinal Cord Injuries
Back injuries are common in most car accidents. Your body is being propelled with great force. It’s only natural for you to feel sore afterward. You may even have a herniated disc. While those injuries will need help for healing and recovery, they are far less serious than something happening to your spinal cord.
The spinal cord is linked to the central nervous system and serves as your brain’s communication hub. It transmits the signals to your body from the brain and vice versa. It does so in such an efficient way that you likely don’t ever think about it unless you can no longer move a part of your body.
Spinal cord health is imperative for cognitive and physical function. After a car accident, your spinal cord could be affected. When you have damage to your spine, you may not have the strength or ability to detect sensation. Injuries to the spinal cord are ranked by levels of severity. If it is a complete injury, then the victim can’t control any physical movement below the injury site.
Loss of mobility, weakening sensations, difficulty breathing, muscle spasms, and paralysis are common results of spinal cord injuries. If you have injured your spinal cord in a crash, you may require a lifetime of medical assistance and need to adjust your home to accommodate this change.
Chest Injuries
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While seatbelts are helpful, if you sit close to the steering wheel, you could still hurt your chest in a crash. This often results in broken ribs, which can wind up puncturing your internal organs such as your heart, lungs, or spleen. It’s the reason why medical experts always urge accident victims to get an X-ray and a full examination after the crash. You may just find out you’re one of the lucky ones to walk away unscathed.
However, if you have sustained a serious injury, it’s important that you speak with an attorney. You will want to be sure that you are given a proper and fair financial settlement for your damages.
