Car accidents cause a lot of damage when they occur. While the most obvious outcome of a car accident is the damage to the cars involved in the accident, car accidents can also inflict bodily harm to drivers and passengers. In fact, according to Driving Tests, over 2 million drivers in vehicle accidents get lasting injuries every year. Automobile crashes entail a lot of force exerted quickly as two vehicles meet. The magnitude and direction of the force can harm your body by bending and twisting it in ways it's not designed to, leading to injuries. That said, given that there's a decent chance of being hurt in a car accident, it's critical to understand the types of injuries that might arise if you are involved in a collision. Below are some of the most common car accident injuries.

Soft Tissue Injury

A soft tissue injury causes connective tissue damage in the body. It usually affects muscles, tendons, and ligaments. This is the most prevalent injury that occurs due to an automobile collision. Soft tissue injuries can manifest themselves in a variety of ways. For example, one soft tissue injury is whiplash, which is an injury to the neck and upper back. Whiplash occurs when body muscles or ligaments are strained due to abrupt head and neck motions during a collision. Soft tissue injuries in other body parts, such as the back, can be caused by the same pressures. Due to the impact on the spine, car accidents commonly result in mid-back and low-back muscular sprains and more serious back injuries.

Concussion

During a collision, you might easily strike your head on automobile parts, resulting in a concussion. You may have memory issues, such as forgetting events leading up to the accident or feeling like your brain isn't operating as swiftly as it usually does. Any brain injury must be treated as soon as possible. Treatment will not only help relieve the headaches you'll most likely experience, but it'll also help return your brain to a healthy condition.

Bruises and Contusions

Even small vehicle accidents might result in bruising. Although seat belts protect drivers and passengers from major injury, an accident can force a victim against their seat belt, which might leave the victim bruised for a few days. Bruises are seldom major injuries that need medical care and usually recover in a week or two.

Scrapes and Cuts

In a car crash, any loose items within the car become projectiles flung about the inside. Examples are cell phones, coffee cups, eyeglasses, handbags, novels, and dash-mounted GPS devices. If any of these objects collide with your body, they have the potential to cut your skin or inflict other damage. Most scrapes and wounds are small and may not need medical attention. More severe injuries may necessitate sutures. When airbags deploy in an accident, they can also inflict cuts and scratches.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

When the body is subjected to intense stress, such as a vehicle accident, emotional and mental problems such as PTSD can emerge. Symptoms might include being afraid to drive after an accident, having an aversion to specific noises or pictures linked with the incident, or even having sleeping issues due to worries or nightmares. Treatment is the best choice, as therapists can help you in dealing with PTSD and returning to your normal life.

Limb Loss

The force of an automobile collision might destroy a limb or cause such significant damage that the limb must be wholly or partially removed. Amputation demands lengthy and costly rehabilitation, prosthetics, and other assistive devices. It might severely limit your regular activities. Limb loss often leads to personal injury cases. An accident injury attorney can help obtain just compensation in such cases.

Traumatic Brain Injury

Vehicle collisions can cause traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBIs are notoriously difficult to detect and diagnose. Minor memory, brain, and bodily functioning issues might indicate more serious brain damage. A TBI is a type of head injury that results from bumps or blows to the head, with concussions causing the least amount of brain damage among head injury types. More severe head injuries might result in death or long-term complications.

Broken Bones

The force of a collision might cause your body to collide with other sections of the car, placing your bones under strain that they cannot bear, leading to fractures and broken bones. Broken bones are fairly frequent car accident injuries but rarely life-threatening. That said, some fractures may require surgery to fix the bone and implant hardware to aid healing. Depending on the fracture, you might need a month or two of rehabilitation, but if your treatment goes well, you should be back to normal in no time.

Car accident injuries are an unfortunate occurrence in our modern, fast-paced world. In addition to the pain they cause victims, they can lead to permanent disability. If you're a victim of a car accident, representation by an accident injury attorney can help you get compensation for your injuries. Do you need legal representation or advice for an accident injury case? Don't hesitate to give us a call at Gridley Ward & Hamilton to speak with an accident injury attorney today.