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Every car accident presents a unique set of circumstances. Victim injuries are also different in every case, but there are certain types of injuries that often occur. Common car wreck injuries include high trauma, quadriplegia, and head trauma. The frequent occurrence of those types of injuries is directly related to what happens during a serious car accident and how injuries are caused during a crash.
What Causes Auto Accident Injuries?
Car accidents can happen in a number of different ways, such as broadside accidents, which are also referred to as side impact or T-bone crashes; rear-end accidents; and head-on collisions. High rates of speed are often a factor, which means there is sudden deceleration and forceful impact affecting the driver and passengers in the vehicle. The rapid motion change alone can cause significant injuries, especially to the head and neck.
Injuries also occur from victims being hit with flying objects or colliding with stationary parts of the interior of the vehicle, including the steering wheel, windshield, doors, and dashboard. Direct impact injuries can affect virtually any part of the body, causing both internal and external injuries from blunt force or penetrating blows.
High Trauma
High trauma and major trauma are terms sometimes used by medical professionals to describe severe injuries. The terms refer to any injury that requires immediate medical treatment to prevent loss of life or limbs and can potentially cause prolonged disability or death.
Any type of car accident can cause high trauma, especially when high speed is involved. Broadside accidents frequently result in major trauma, because the impact is in such close proximity to the driver and passengers in the vehicle.
Examples of high-trauma injuries that can occur in car wrecks include:
- Penetrating injuries to any part of the body, especially head, neck, chest, or abdomen;
- Blunt force injuries to the head or neck;
- Severely fractured bones, including skull, ribs, arms, and legs;
- Joint dislocation, including shoulders, hips, knees, ankles, elbows, and wrists;
- Burns and smoke inhalation injuries from fire;
- Spinal cord injuries;
- Severe internal injuries from impact to the torso.
All of these injuries can be life-threatening. They require extensive medical treatment, often over a long period of time, and can also permanently affect the injured person’s life in significant ways.
When someone else caused the accident that resulted in the injuries, it is critical to have an experienced personal injury attorney fully assess the case. Calculating damages in these cases is extremely complex, as is compiling the evidence required to substantiate the claim and file a lawsuit, if that becomes necessary to secure full compensation.
Quadriplegia
In car accidents, spinal cord injuries frequently result from the force of the impact, a blunt force blow, or a penetrating wound to the neck or back. Injuries to the spinal cord can cause paralysis. The nature and extent of paralysis is often linked to the location of trauma in specific regions of the neck or back. Paralysis can also result from injuries to the head.
The term quadriplegia refers to partial or total paralysis or loss of use of both arms and legs and the torso. Medical professionals sometimes use the term tetraplegia in place of quadriplegia. The two terms are interchangeable. This form of paralysis is usually linked to damage to the spinal cord at the base of the skull or neck. Paraplegia describes refers to paralysis of the lower half of the body, including both legs. It is usually caused by damage to the spinal cord below the neck.
Both types of paralysis involve loss of both sensation and control. In addition, individuals suffering quadriplegia or paraplegia can also suffer from substantial medical problems with internal organs and other bodily functions, as well as chronic pain and serious mental and emotional effects.
These injuries are life-altering for an injured person and the victim’s family. If the injuries were suffered in a car wreck that was another person’s fault, the injured person may be entitled under Virginia law to recover damages from the at-fault individual. The calculation of damages in cases of quadriplegia and paraplegia is extremely complicated. Consulting with a knowledgeable personal injury attorney is essential to ensuring that the injured individual receives the full compensation he or she deserves.
Head Trauma
Auto accident injuries frequently involve head trauma, which is also often referred to as traumatic brain injury or TBI. The injury can be caused by flying objects, impact with part of the car interior, or simply from the abrupt motion of the impact. Damage can range widely, including a fractured skull, blunt force or penetration wound, intracerebral bleeding, and more.
Any brain injury is extremely serious and can be life-threatening, simply because of the nature and location of the injury. Head trauma is also dangerous due to the fact that the injured person may be totally unaware of the injury and symptoms immediately after the accident. Any time you are in an accident, it’s extremely important to be attentive to the signs and symptoms of TBI and to have medical professionals thoroughly examine you for possible head trauma.
When an individual suffers head trauma, there can be long-term and even life-long effects and impairment of important life functions. When the injury is received in an auto accident caused by another person, demonstrating the nature of brain injury and the impact on the victim and his or her life is a significant component in establishing damages and compensation. Accomplishing that task requires complex analysis. Retaining an experienced personal injury attorney to analyze the case and handle the claim is the only way to ensure receiving full compensation for a severe injury involving head trauma.
Talk With a Virginia Beach Personal Injury Attorney
In any case involving serious injuries caused by another person, it is critical to talk with a personal injury attorney before you talk with anyone from an insurance company. Discussing your case with an adjuster or making statements to an insurance representative could jeopardize your ability to recover full compensation. The insurance company’s goal and only concern is settling your claim for the lowest possible amount.
If you or a loved one suffered severe injuries in a car accident and someone else is at fault, experienced Virginia Beach personal injury attorney Jeff Brooke can help. The Jeff Brooke Team will protect your interests and rights and make sure that you receive the full financial compensation you deserve. Contact us by phone at (757) 552-6055 or by using our online contact form.
Jeff Brooke is a personal injury attorney devoted to helping individuals who have suffered serious and catastrophic injuries or lost a loved one as a result of someone else’s negligent and careless actions. The Jeff Brooke Team serves all of southeastern Virginia. The firm helps clients in the Greater Tidewater and Greater Hampton Roads areas, including in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Chesterfield. The Jeff Brooke Team also handles cases in northeastern North Carolina, including the Outer Banks.
