Injury In A Car Accident
People get into car accidents each and every day, and unfortunately, get injured as a result. Below is a list of the most common injuries caused as a result of a car accident.
1. Amputations
Traumatic amputation injuries take place during a car accident when the body has sustained such severe damage that the arm, leg, or another part of the body has to be removed. This has serious consequences on the ability of the victim to complete tasks for daily living.
2. Bone Fractures & Breaks
Some of the most common injuries from car accidents are broken bones and fractures. Bones can easily break due to the stress put on your body from the car accident. Bone fractures are less severe, but can still cause pain and bring along medical bills.
Both can occur when the bones come under too much pressure from a sudden twist or impact. A broken bone takes many months to heal depending on the severity and location of the break. In some situations, a break will make it difficult to complete daily tasks or even prevent an individual from working. Extreme cases of broken bones from car accidents can even require surgery like pins and placement.
3. Back Injuries
Back injuries produce damage to the spinal cord causing serious damage to the nerves. Victims might experience reduced control in certain body parts like their hands, arms, legs, and feet or be completely paralyzed. A herniated disc will produce tingling sensations, muscle weakness, and regular arm and leg pain.
4. Neck Injuries & Whiplash
Whiplash is a very common auto accident injury in rear-end car accidents. It starts with nothing more than headaches, stiffness, and neck pain. But neck injuries tend to manifest in much more severe problems later on.
In fact, neck injuries and whiplash can produce chronic neck pain and long-lasting physical complications. Emotional distress is not uncommon for people with chronic pain. Such auto accident injuries are not only a burden on the individual’s ability to complete daily tasks but also on their finances because of medical treatments.
5. Meniscus Injuries
When cartilage is damaged in a car accident it can lead to a tear of the meniscus. Meniscus injuries can easily become lifelong injuries. This is a very common injury in car accidents because of the excessively forceful twisting or rotation of the knees and wrists.
6. Rotator Cuff
Rotator cuff tears and strains take place when the tendons that connect the muscles around the shoulder joint get torn. They can be torn off partially or completely. Not only do these take a very long time to heal but they can lead to long-term complications and interfere with tasks for daily living alongside the ability to work.
7. Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries take place when there is a blow to the head during a car accident. Traumatic brain injuries (or TBI) can be permanently devastating because the regions of the brain damaged in car accidents are the frontal lobes and the temporal lobes.
Damage to these areas of the brain can interfere with cognition, movement, and the ability to complete daily tasks let alone the ability to work. Long-term, TBI injuries can be incredibly expensive to treat. Similar to head injuries in sports, symptoms might not manifest immediately but could take a few months or years before they are noticeable.
8. Wrongful Death
Wrongful death takes place when recklessness or negligence on behalf of the other driver causes an unintended fatality. Compensation is designed to provide the victim’s family with something to ease their pain and suffering.
What Type of Car Accidents Are Most Common?
Car accidents can involve bicycles, pedestrians, other cars, motorcycles, trucks on the highway, and recently, Uber and Lyft vehicles. It is quite common to have injuries to the arms, legs, hands, and feet regardless of the type of accident. Accidents involving pedestrians typically result in severe injuries. Sadly speed is an all too common factor in most car accidents.
Accidents involving motorcycles will cause much more serious and numerous injuries compared to multi-vehicle collisions. In fact, motorcyclists will typically suffer from broken bones and ligament damage in almost every vehicle accident. The fatality rate for motorcyclists is much higher than any other type of collision.
Each of the following types of accidents can involve bicycles, cars, motorcycles, pedestrians, and trucks:
- Rear end collisions
- Single-vehicle car crashes
- Cross-traffic accidents, more commonly called T-Bone accidents
- Side-swiped merging cars
- Low-speed car accidents
How Common Are California Car Accidents?
Car accidents in California account for over 3,000 deaths annually, a figure that is much higher in Southern California. California has a higher number of car accidents than any other state because it has a higher number of people who drive a long distances on a regular basis.
What Should You Do if You Have Been Injured in a Car Accident?
If you were involved in a car accident it is important that you immediately seek medical attention and collect evidence. If you have a cell phone with camera capabilities, take pictures of the damage.
If you have injuries that start to manifest a few days or weeks after the accident, take pictures of the area. Even pictures of a swollen neck can be used by medical professionals to help diagnose and treat something like whiplash which could subsequently help you get the settlement you deserve.
After you have collected the evidence, call an injury attorney. You want a car accident lawyer to help you out as soon as possible. And the sooner you have a lawyer on your side, the sooner you can get back to treating your injuries and moving on with life while the accident attorneys handle the more complicated aspects of your case.
Make sure you see a doctor immediately. In some situations, courts may deny your request for compensation on the basis that you did not complete your personal responsibility in going to a doctor.
If you could have treated any injuries quickly and effectively by going to a doctor immediately but chose to wait your health and settlement may suffer. For example, if you wait six months the physical issue has potentially worsened hurting your legal case. So go to a doctor immediately.
Finally, call your insurance agency. Let them know what happened so that they can start putting together the necessary claims and working with your lawyer.
What Compensation Can You Get After a Car Accident?
After a car accident, you are entitled to compensation for things like:
- Injury
- Damage
- Negligence
- Pain and suffering
- Missed work & inconveniences
In most car accident cases the amount of compensation people receive is limited by the insurance policy limits of the other people involved. If the other driver acted in a reckless or negligent fashion, you may be entitled to compensation.
But you are still limited by however much that individual has under their policy. If you are involved in an accident with a semi-truck, most trucks have covered policies upwards of a million dollars.
California has a minimum liability requirement of $15,000 in coverage so if you hit an uninsured motorist or someone with the bare minimum coverage that places a limit on how much the insurance company is willing to provide. The amount of compensation to which you are entitled is contingent upon a handful of factors.
1. Medical Bills
Medical bills are the foundation for determining how much to award in damages. Without a high number of medical bills, chances are you will not receive a large award for pain and suffering.
2. Severity of Injuries
Whiplash can be temporary or permanent leading to missed time at work, the inability to drive, or restrictions on daily activities. Traumatic brain injuries can be permanently life-changing events that not only affect the victim but the victim’s family. In those cases, the settlement can be worth multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the severity of the accident.
3. Recovery
The amount of time it will take for you to recover also plays a significant role. If the recovery will take or has already taken two years, you have suffered a great deal of physical and emotional chronic pain. This is considered more significant than someone who recovered in just three months. Generally speaking, the longer the length of your recovery, the higher your total compensation.
4. Vehicle Damage
In cases involving cars and motorcycles, the damage to your motor vehicle will be taken into account. The more severe the damage to the vehicle, the more compensation you will likely receive. California state law stipulates that one can reasonably infer that a more severe accident will cause greater damage not just to the vehicle but to the person involved by way of injuries and suffering.
Why Get a Personal Injury Attorney if You Have Been in a Car Accident
If you have been involved in a car accident it is important to work with a car accident lawyer because your injuries could last much longer than you think. You may not feel excessive pain right now but injuries can compound with time if left untreated and you might face recurring pain or long-term damage.
It is important to be cognizant of the statute of limitations. Each state has different requirements based on the type of incident. You only have a limited amount of time to receive compensation for your injuries and reimbursement for any medical bills. If you wait too long to take action you won’t get anything.
When you work with us we will help you to get the compensation to which you are entitled. We work hard with other legal professionals in the area to help you settle outside of court. When you settle outside of court you have a higher chance of fair compensation.
Settling outside of Court also means access to your compensation faster. Don’t worry about the hassle of working with large insurance companies, we handle all of that for you.
Why Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer if You Have Been in a Car Accident
After a car accident, you have so many questions and such little time to act. This is why it is essential you speak with a personal injury lawyer near you as soon as possible. Getting the information you need can make all the difference in whether you are able to get compensation for your car accident.
At The Law Offices of Daniel Kim, we take pride in helping our clients understand the whole legal process, start to finish, in order to help you get the compensation you deserve and the peace of mind to continue your life while we fight for you. Our Orange County Car Accident Lawyers will talk with you about your case and help guide you through the process and understand:
- If you have a claim
- How much you may be entitled to
- What to do next
- What you can expect
- How long your case will take
- And answer any questions you may have along the way
Contact The Law Offices of Daniel Kim today for a free case evaluation. We will assign you the most qualified California Personal Injury Lawyer for your case based on their experience, and your needs.