Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog
At Cardone Law Firm, our dedicated New Orleans attorneys frequently work with medical professionals, engineers, and private investigators to gather valuable information in order to accurately present a solid case in court and obtain compensation for our deserving clients.
Because recognize that car crashes can cause substantial physical, emotional, and mental pain, and we believe that awareness is the first step to safety. Should you be involved in a car accident, it is important to understand some of the most common injuries caused by car crashes so that you do not jump to any conclusions when it comes to receiving medical care.
Factors That Cause Injuries in a Car Crash
Studies show that there are a number of factors that determine what kind of injuries are sustained, and their severity, when you are involved in a car crash, including:
- Location of the body(ies) during the crash
- Proximity to the point of impact
- Whether or not seat belts are worn
- Angle in which the car is impacted, such as rear, side, front, etc.
- Direction the occupant is facing at the time of impacted
- The speed both vehicles are traveling
- Whether or not airbags are deployed
Like a fingerprint, each car crash is unique, causing—in general—two types of injuries arranged in broad categories known as impact injuries and penetrating injuries.
Impact injuries occur when the occupant’s body impacts an interior portion of the car, like the steering wheel. Penetrating injuries occur when debris such as broken glass, twisted metal, or other flying objects cut and scrape the occupants’.
Common Injuries That Occur In A Car Wreck
- Scrapes and Cuts
- Soft Tissue Injuries
- Broken Bones
- Broken arms and legs
- Broken and fractured wrists
- Broken ribs
- Hip fractures
- Skull fractures
- Spinal Injury
- Chest Injuries
- Head Injuries
- Emotional Injuries
The strength of the impact, and the resulting reverberation, causes much more than just structural damage to the car. When cars collide, pieces of glass or loose objects within the car become airborne, slashing and cutting any occupants that may be inside. Airbag deployment can also cause lacerations.
If you’re lucky, this is the minor extent of your injuries received. But it isn’t uncommon to see soft tissue damage accompanying scrapes and cuts.
During a car crash, when the muscles, ligaments, and tendons in your body abruptly and unnaturally shift, stretch, move, or stop, soft tissue injury is nearly always a guarantee.
One of the most common forms of soft tissue damage is called “whiplash”, which is when the head, neck, and back snap back and forth during a car crash. This causes injury and pain that lasts anywhere from a few days to a few months, depending on the severity.
While whiplash can be debilitating for some time, more extreme injuries can truly cause meaningful changes to your life and wellbeing.
Broken bones, even if only on your extremities (i.e. arms and legs), are dangerous as they may cause internal damage to organs that can be difficult first-responders to observe and treat. Broken bones and other forms of serious injuries generally occur in high-velocity car accidents or rollovers.
Some of the most common injuries in this area include:
These severe-types of injuries require immediate medical attention and can lead to multiple surgeries, long-term rehabilitation efforts, and a generally long time to heal.
Common chest injuries often result from the steering wheel impacting an occupant’s chest, or the seat belt tightening quickly around an occupant, which can be quite forceful for younger children.
What makes these types of injuries dangerous, is the potential for damage done to internal organs. A broken rib can puncture a lung – or in a truly brutal impact – a broken sternum can perforate the heart, causing internal bleeding. The importance of getting evaluated by a medical professional when chest injury is sustained during a car crash can be vital to survival.
A blow to the head can be life-threatening. Occupants can suffer from concussions or blood clots that can form in the brain after a traumatic hit.
Known as diffuse axonal injuries, these head injuries occur when the brain rattles within the skull violently. The shaking and strong rotation of the head can tear nerve tissue within the brain. While they may be considered a more severe form of a concussion, DAI are also known to render the victim unconscious and in a persistent vegetative state.
Additionally, head trauma can cause depression, irritability, or personality changes after an accident.
When it comes to car crashes, not all injuries are physical. Even if luck was on your side, and you managed to go unharmed, this still doesn’t negate the fact that you were in a traumatic event.
Serious car accidents can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. If you’ve survived a very traumatic situation, seeking therapy to restore your mental health is just as important as seeking a doctor for a broken arm.
Car accidents can change your life in the blink of an eye. The trustworthy New Orleans car wreck attorneys of Cardone Law Firm are here to provide strength you can depend on.
If you’ve been involved in a car wreck and suffered head or chest injuries, broken bones, soft tissue damage, scrapes and cuts, or emotional trauma, our personal injury attorneys in New Orleans are sufficiently trained to help get your life back on track.
At Cardone Law Firm, we will shoulder all of the burden of the courtroom while you recover. Phone Cardone today at 504-522-3333 and together we will fight for your rights and compensation.