Car Accident Injuries: What You Need to Know

Learn about the most com­mon car acci­dent injuries and how to seek med­ical attention. 

The Most Common Car Accident Injuries

Head Injuries

• Con­cus­sion: A con­cus­sion is a mild trau­mat­ic brain injury that can cause a range of symp­toms, includ­ing headache, dizzi­ness, nau­sea, and dif­fi­cul­ty concentrating.
• Brain Injury: A brain injury is a more seri­ous injury that can cause per­ma­nent dam­age to the brain. Symp­toms of a brain injury can include coma, paral­y­sis, and cog­ni­tive impairment.
• Skull Frac­ture: A skull frac­ture is a break in the bones of the skull. Symp­toms of a skull frac­ture can include bleed­ing, bruis­ing, and swelling on the head.

Neck Injuries

• Whiplash: Whiplash is an injury to the neck that is caused by the sud­den move­ment of the head dur­ing a col­li­sion. Symp­toms of whiplash can include pain, stiff­ness, and dif­fi­cul­ty mov­ing the neck.
• Spinal Cord Injury: A spinal cord injury is a seri­ous injury that can cause paral­y­sis. Symp­toms of a spinal cord injury can include numb­ness, tin­gling, and weak­ness in the arms and legs.

Back Injuries

• Mus­cle Strain: A mus­cle strain is an injury to a mus­cle that is caused by overuse or sud­den stretch­ing. Symp­toms of a mus­cle strain can include pain, swelling, and bruising.
• Spinal Disc Injury: A spinal disc injury is an injury to the cush­ion­ing between the ver­te­brae. Symp­toms of a spinal disc injury can include pain, numb­ness, tin­gling, and weak­ness in the back and legs.

Chest Injuries

• Bruis­ing: Bruis­ing is an injury to the skin that is caused by a blow or impact. Symp­toms of bruis­ing can include pain, swelling, and discoloration.
• Bro­ken Ribs: A bro­ken rib is an injury to a rib that is caused by a blow or impact. Symp­toms of a bro­ken rib can include pain, dif­fi­cul­ty breath­ing, and cough­ing up blood.
• Punc­tured Lung: A punc­tured lung is an injury to the lung that is caused by a bro­ken rib or oth­er object pen­e­trat­ing the lung. Symp­toms of a punc­tured lung can include short­ness of breath, chest pain, and cough­ing up blood.

Abdominal Injuries

• Bruis­ing: Bruis­ing is an injury to the skin that is caused by a blow or impact. Symp­toms of bruis­ing can include pain, swelling, and discoloration.
• Inter­nal Bleed­ing: Inter­nal bleed­ing is bleed­ing that occurs inside the body. Symp­toms of inter­nal bleed­ing can include pain, dizzi­ness, light­head­ed­ness, and rapid heartbeat.
• Organ Dam­age: Organ dam­age is dam­age to an organ that is caused by a blow or impact. Symp­toms of organ dam­age can vary depend­ing on the organ that is damaged.

Extremity Injuries

• Bro­ken Bones: A bro­ken bone is an injury to a bone that is caused by a blow or impact. Symp­toms of a bro­ken bone can include pain, swelling, and deformity.
• Sprains: A sprain is an injury to a lig­a­ment that is caused by a stretch or tear. Symp­toms of a sprain can include pain, swelling, and bruising.
• Cuts: A cut is an injury to the skin that is caused by a sharp object. Symp­toms of a cut can include pain, bleed­ing, and swelling.

It is impor­tant to seek med­ical atten­tion imme­di­ate­ly if you are involved in a car acci­dent, even if you do not think you are injured. Some injuries, such as con­cus­sions, may not be imme­di­ate­ly apparent.

If you have been injured in a car acci­dent, you may be enti­tled to com­pen­sa­tion for your med­ical expens­es, lost wages, and pain and suf­fer­ing. You should con­tact an expe­ri­enced per­son­al injury attor­ney to dis­cuss your case.