A car accident can frustrate every aspect of your life, but nothing compares to how it can affect your health and physical wellbeing. Injuries caused by a crash often depend on the impact. Some will leave minor bruises or migraines, while others lead to long hospital stays, lifelong disabilities, and even death.
If you’re battling an injury from an accident by a negligent party, state laws allow you to seek compensation for the damages. An attorney can help you calculate the settlement you’ll need depending on the bodily injuries and other losses you’ve suffered.
A car crash can create many types of injuries, but these are more common in cases that qualify for a claim. When calculating damages for this, remember to factor in future expenses and other ways the injury has affected you besides the hefty medical bills.
Brain Injury
A traumatic brain injury occurs when a sudden impact jolts the head or body or when something pierces the brain through the skull. Most brain injuries from car accidents happen after your body is forcefully pushed forward. The head hits parts of the vehicle, or debris from the crash pierces the skull.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to know the extent of such a traumatic injury until after several medical tests. What’s clear is that the effects of a brain injury go beyond hospital bills and rehabilitative care. You might have to take a break from work, or your loved one forced to quit and take care of you.
Brain injuries can have permanent effects on your memory, speech, sight, and other everyday functions. These losses can cause pain and suffering beyond the extent of the injury, so be sure to speak with your lawyer about the impact of your injuries beyond the hospital bills.
Spinal Injury
The spinal cord transports messages between the body’s nerves and the brain. Any spinal injury can sever these connections. Even a minor accident can inflict trauma to the spinal cord and related nerves. This may result in paralysis of all parts below the injured area.
The neurological impacts and disability the victim will likely suffer will require lifetime care, rehabilitation, medication, physical therapy, and more. Talk to your lawyer about all these factors when filing your claim, so your attorney can be sure to include all the damages you’re due.
Whiplash
When your neck moves back and forth rapidly during a crash, it can cause a whiplash injury. You may notice the following signs:
- Neck stiffness
- Pain that worsens with neck movement
- Fatigue
- Difficulty eating or yawning
- Headaches
A minor case of whiplash will go away with massage therapy and pain medication, but the most severe ones may lead to herniated discs, nerve damage, and joint dysfunction. That can lead to lasting pain and damage that can be costly to recover from.
Burns
Burns occur when the skin comes into contact with hot or corrosive substances. In a car wreck, burns result from exposure to fire, electricity, toxic chemicals, steam, and hot metals.
Burns are categorized as first, second, or third degree, depending on how many layers of skin are damaged. All three groups can leave severe injuries that’ll take time and massive medical bills to heal, not to mention the physical pain.
Even after healing the wound, you may still have to deal with the resulting disfigurement, which can take many therapy hours to live with. That can be a dire non-economic loss that’s difficult to calculate. Talk to your lawyer about determining what these damages are worth.
Broken Bones
You may have a broken bone if you’re experiencing swelling, extreme pain, bruising, and skin discoloration after a crash. Also known as fractures, these injuries are common among accident patients.
While human bones are strong enough to support our bodies, heavy loads or impacts can break them. Some circumstances that can lead to broken bones during a wreck include:
- Hitting the dashboard
- Failure to wear a seat belt and is ejected from the car
- Injuries caused by the seat belt during impact
- Sudden airbag deployment
Broken bones are painful, especially if not treated on time. To recover, you may also need X-ray tests, pain medication, and physical therapy.
Discuss Your Injuries with a Car Accident Attorney
These common accident injuries can be expensive to treat. Worse, some cause disabilities or lifetime conditions that require ongoing care. When you’ve suffered from a car accident, you shouldn’t have to pay for treatment and other costs out of pocket as well.
The car accident attorneys at Gibbs & Crivelli, Slingshot Law, are ready to review the accident and gather evidence to build a strong case for your compensation. Get in touch for a free consultation by calling our offices at 866-647-1311 or completing and submitting the contact form below.