Many Car Accident Injuries Require Medical Care

A car accident can transform a normal day into a prolonged ordeal if the crash causes injuries. According to calculations from the National Safety Council, in 2017, motor vehicle accidents inflicted serious injuries, such as brain damage, that required 4.57 million people to need medical care, which resulted in a $413.8 billion cost to society. Most car accident injuries fall into a few categories, and even minor injuries could produce high medical bills and force you to miss work. Contact a car accident lawyer to discuss your car accident injuries.

Neck Injuries

The sudden impacts of car accidents are known to produce whiplash. This is the term for neck injuries arising from the head whipping back and forth. The force stretches muscles and tendons. Inflammation stiffens the soft tissues, reduces range of motion and causes pain. A few days of rest might resolve minor whiplash injuries, but you might need ongoing care and therapy to repair more severe problems that produce tingling, numbness or headaches.

Soft tissue injuries might be hard to document medically because the damage often does not appear on X-rays. The insights of a car accident lawyer might help a person prepare a personal injury claim related to a neck injury.

Back Injuries

The vertebrae, discs, nerves, tendons, ligaments and muscles that surround the spine are also vulnerable to jolts, jerks and impacts caused by car crashes. Any injury that disturbs back tissues could result in debilitating pain. The shock of an accident might need to wear off before you fully feel the pain. This is why it is important to monitor yourself for symptoms in the hours and days after a crash. Sprains, bone fractures or nerve damage to any area of the spine could limit your movement and potentially cause long-term pain. Injury to the actual spinal cord might result in disability and require costly surgical intervention.

Broken Bones

Blunt forces often break bones, especially in the feet, hands, legs and arms. Rear-end collisions could force a driver’s hands or wrists against the steering wheel and break bones. A broken hand or arm will likely force a victim to miss work and suffer income loss that might be recoverable by a personal injury claim. Steering wheel injuries afflict people in the chest as well. This impact could break ribs or cause internal organ injuries, which would require hospitalization.

Head Injuries

Blows to the head are very common during vehicle crashes. They have a large potential to cause serious long-term problems, including brain damage. Concussions represent the bulk of these injuries. A concussion can even occur if your head does not come in contact with anything if it was tossed back and forth very harshly. Although most people recover from concussions, they still require medical evaluation, and those with the condition generally need to take time off from work or other important activities.

A person might not immediately realize that he or she has sustained a concussion. The signs of concussion include:

• Dizziness
• Blurred vision
• Headache
• Loss of consciousness
• Ear ringing

Severe concussions could cause persistent symptoms that reduce your quality of life and ability to work. Serious issues include difficulty focusing or memory loss. The care of a neurologist would be necessary for a car accident victim coping with a severe concussion.

A person’s head might also sustain scrapes, bruises or deep cuts after hitting a car window or steering wheel. Severe head injuries might call for surgery to release fluid buildup inside the skull. Although such treatment might halt tissue damage, it might not reverse brain damage that already occurred. A person left with neurological disabilities might benefit from the services of a car accident lawyer who could organize medical records, communicate with an insurance company and manage court filings if litigation becomes necessary to pursue a settlement.

A case evaluation at Rebenack Aronow & Mascolo L.L.P. could inform you about the potential of recovering financial damages after your accident. To schedule an appointment with a car accident lawyer, contact us or call (732) 247-3600 for the New Brunswick office or (908) 448-2560 for our Somerville office.