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Common Injuries in Car Accidents

Written by AskTheLawyers.com™

Common Injuries in Car Accidents

Written by AskTheLawyers.com™

AskTheLawyers™

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In a collision with another vehicle, some injuries are more common than others, and have the potential to be severe. It’s important to seek medical attention immediately after a collision, even if you don’t feel hurt. Many types of injuries sustained in a car accident may not be felt until days or even weeks after the collision occurred, potentially weakening your case further down the road if no medical record exists or medical treatment wasn’t sought promptly after the accident.

Common injuries sustained in vehicle collisions include but are not limited to the following:

  • Whiplash
  • Scrapes and cuts
  • Broken ribs
  • Broken bones and/or fractures
  • Internal bleeding
  • Herniated discs
  • Knee trauma
  • Head, neck, or back trauma
  • Spinal cord injury
  • Brain injury
  • Loss of limbs
  • Disfigurement
  • Burns
  • Tissue trauma
  • Paralysis
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Death

It should be noted that traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury (SCI) are two of the most dangerous injuries which can occur in a collision and often lead to other injuries or further complications during treatment, potentially including conditions as severe as paralysis or even death.

Other common damages sustained in and after a vehicle collision include:

  • Property damage
  • Lost wages
  • Impairment of earning capacity
  • Life care costs
  • Vocational rehabilitation costs
  • Loss of consortium
  • Loss of companionship
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Pain and suffering
  • Wrongful death
  • Funeral expenses

The majority of these damages are considered economic damages, which essentially means that they involve the direct loss of monetary resources most often in the form of bills, damaged property, or rehabilitation costs.

Some of the most significant damages to car accident victims are considered non-economic damages.

Non-economic damages include the intangible damages to a person’s life due to the permanent changes which must be made in a person’s career or lifestyle based on the injuries sustained in an accident. This can include pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of companionship, and more. It’s important to remember that economic damages are not the only elements to consider when seeking compensation in a car accident. A parent’s sudden inability to ever pick up their child or throw a ball to them again due to injuries sustained in an accident is a loss of extraordinary value that should be considered when seeking compensation.

There are multiple sources from which you can seek compensation for your damages after a collision.

If you are hit by an uninsured or underinsured motorist, you may file against your own insurance company if you have Personal Injury Protection (PIP) or Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage included in your policy to pay your damages. If you do not have these protections or they are insufficient to cover your damages, you may also file a personal injury claim against the driver at fault for the collision. In fact, even if you were partially at fault for the collision, you may still be eligible for some level of compensation to help you pay the costs of your injuries and further damages as a result of a collision. To learn more about your rights after being injured in a vehicle collision and to discover what compensation you might be eligible for, seek legal counsel.

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