Car accidents can happen any time you leave the safety of your driveway and brave the open road. Maybe you feel like you’re a safe driver, so you won’t cause a collision. However, just because you follow all of the traffic laws, that does not necessarily mean other drivers around you feel the same way.
In this article, we’ll talk about some of the worst injuries that car accidents can cause. By following the rules of the road, you can avoid many of them. You must hope the other drivers you encounter don’t make any serious mistakes, though. If they do, you might sustain one of these injuries despite your caution and responsible behavior as a motorist.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Between 250,000-450,000 Americans have spinal cord injuries and must deal with them every day. Some might sustain these injuries through work-related accidents. Others might incur a spinal cord injury if they play a recreational sport like football or hockey. Still others may have a debilitating spinal cord condition from a genetic defect.
Car accidents also cause many spinal cord injuries, though. When they happen, it’s usually from another vehicle hitting your car with serious force behind it. High-speed collisions on the highway can sometimes cause these injuries. Any time the force of another car hitting your vehicle contorts your back’s lumbar region, you can easily sustain severe spinal cord trauma.
Sometimes, you might have a surgical option to help recover from a spinal cord injury a car wreck caused. Other times, you might get an injection to help with the pain. Physical therapy and pain meds can help as well. It all depends on what the X-ray or MRI reveals about your back.
Brain Injuries
Brain injuries from car wrecks also cause lasting problems in many instances. You may sustain a TBI if you’re in a head-on car crash. A T-bone car wreck may do it as well. Sometimes, a rollover car accident might cause a brain injury.
If you sustain a concussion, you must see a doctor. They can examine you and run some tests. If they conclude that you have a minor concussion, you will usually recover in a relatively short time. If you have a more serious brain injury, though, it could take weeks or months till you are feeling like yourself again.
If your brain sustains enough damage in a car wreck, you might lapse into a coma. You may also never lose consciousness, but you will have notable personality changes after the accident. Some brain injuries cause a complete shift in your behavior.
Broken Bones
You can break bones in car accidents as well. You might break your leg or arm. The harder you hit another car, or the harder one hits your vehicle, the more likely you’ll sustain a fracture.
If you break a bone in a car accident, you can usually tell that pretty quickly. When the adrenaline wears off, you will notice the pain, and you may also see that the affected limb looks different than it normally does. If it is discolored or you notice your limb contorted at an unusual angle, you’ll know there’s little doubt you have at least one broken bone.
You must get to a hospital as quickly as possible following a car wreck where you break a bone. Once a doctor has a look at you, they can determine whether you’ll need surgery to repair the damage. Maybe they can just reset the bone, but often, you must wear a cast for a time as well.
Internal Injuries
Seatbelts save countless lives every year, but they have some drawbacks. For instance, while they will hold you in place if another car hits your vehicle, they can still grip your body very tightly to restrain you. That might save you from flying out of your seat, but that tight grip can sometimes damage your internal organs.
You might not immediately realize you have sustained internal injuries following a car wreck. You may see bruising or abrasions, but you probably won’t realize how badly you’ve hurt yourself till a doctor looks you over.
That’s why you should always go to the emergency room following a high-impact car wreck. Even if you feel okay at first, you might have sustained some severe injuries that don’t immediately reveal themselves. Only once a doctor examines you and runs the appropriate tests will you know you have walked away from the wreck unscathed.
