No one gets on the road thinking they’re going to get into a car accident, but these accidents happen every day in Tennessee — and they happen when we least expect them to. Maybe you were driving your child to school and a drunk driver sideswiped you. Maybe you were driving home from work and a driver distracted by his or her cellphone drove into the back of you.
Regardless of how your car crash happened, if you got hurt in the collision, there’s a high chance that you suffered from one of the following four most common car accident injuries.
1. Head injuries
Car accidents are one of the leading causes of head injuries. During a collision, it’s not uncommon for a driver’s or passenger’s head to hit the windshield, steering wheel, door window or some other part of the car. This can cause the tearing, ripping and bruising of brain tissues, which can result in a traumatic brain injury. Even if the head doesn’t hit anything, though, a brain injury can happen as a result of the jerking motions involved in a crash.
2. Neck injuries
As the head gets whipped around in a collision, the neck will also be vulnerable. The ligaments and muscles of the neck can get torn, resulting in whiplash injuries, broken vertebrae and even spinal cord damage.
3. Back injuries
Back injuries may also happen in a car crash. If the back gets crushed, struck or twisted, the vertebrae can break or fracture, and muscles and ligaments can tear and bruise, leaving victims with lifelong pain and disabilities. This can also lead to serious spinal cord injuries that result in temporary or permanent paralysis and loss of sensation.
4. Chest injuries
The chest region, if seriously injured, can result in tragic consequences. Damage to the organs, broken ribs, spinal cord damage, fractured vertebrae, collapsed lungs, cardiac arrest and organ injuries are some of the many problems that can result from a serious blow to the chest in a car accident.
Were you injured in a car accident?
The first thing to do after a car accident injury is to seek immediate medical attention. The second thing to do is to develop a strategy for how you’re going to pay for your medical bills. Regardless of whether you’re covered by health insurance, you may want to investigate whether another party — that was at fault for the crash — may be financially liable to pay for your medical costs.
