Common Car Accident Injuries

September 9, 2021 | Uncategorized

You Could Be Entitled to Compensation for Your St. Louis Car Accident Claim

Car accidents often lead to serious injuries. These injuries can be debilitating and may take weeks or even months to heal. Some may never heal completely, even with extensive and ongoing medical treatment. Many car accident victims will have to learn how to navigate a much different future than they expected as they cope with new disabilities, chronic pain, and continuous care.

Although nothing can ever truly compensate a car accident victim for the physical pain and emotional trauma of their injuries, victims are entitled to seek financial recovery when their injuries resulted from an accident that was caused by someone else’s negligent or wrongful conduct. Under Missouri personal injury laws, you could be entitled to compensation for your current and future medical bills, current and future lost income, lost earning potential, pain and suffering, and other damages.

Continue reading to learn more about common car accident injuries or reach out to The Dixon Injury Firm directly to schedule a free, confidential consultation with one of our St. Louis car accident lawyers today. We can meet with you to discuss your case, including your injuries and how they have affected your life, and begin immediately working to gather evidence in support of your claim.

Reach us online or by phone at (314) 208-2808 to get started. We are available to take your call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Neck & Back Injuries

The force of a car accident often causes vehicle occupants to suffer serious neck and back injuries, such as whiplash or strained muscles. When two vehicles collide, or when a vehicle collides with a fixed object, the sudden acceleration/deceleration can cause a person’s body and head to move suddenly forward and/or backward, putting excessive strain on the neck and back.

Often, car accident-related neck and back injuries lead to a number of complications, including but not limited to:

Acute pain
Chronic/ongoing pain
Limited mobility
Loss of function
Slipped or herniated discs
Difficulty sleeping
Numbness

Neck and back injuries can also affect the spine and may include a variety of spinal cord injuries or even a spinal fracture. Such injuries are generally catastrophic and may render victims partially or totally paralyzed.

Spinal Cord Injuries

Motor vehicle accidents are one of the leading causes of spinal cord injuries. Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) are incredibly serious and often have lasting effects. Depending on the location and severity of the injury, SCI victims may experience partial or total loss of sensation, function, and/or movement. They may also be left grappling with excruciating chronic pain and new disabilities that can affect just about every aspect of their lives, as well as the lives of their loved ones.

Treatment for spinal cord injuries varies depending on the type of injury and its severity, but may include the following:

Emergency care to minimize effects, such as shock prevention and immobilization
Surgery, including surgery intended to remove debris, stabilize the spine, or repair a fractured vertebrae
Pain management, including the use of intravenous (IV) fluids and medications
Experimental treatments, such as controlled hypothermia to reduce inflammation
Physical rehabilitation therapy to strengthen muscle function, regain fine motor skills, and learn adaptive techniques

These and other necessary treatments can easily exceed hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars over the course of an SCI victim’s lifetime. Additionally, an SCI victim may require costly medical devices, such as a wheelchair, which could also require necessary modifications to a home (e.g. the installation of wheelchair ramps). If the victim is unable to return to work or cannot work at all, the high costs of treatment and ongoing care can quickly become an immense source of stress.

Our St. Louis car accident lawyers have recovered more than $50 million on behalf of injured Missourians. If you or a loved one sustained a spinal cord injury in a car accident, we can help you understand your legal options and work to maximize your recovery.

Call us today at (314) 208-2808 to get started with a no-cost, no-obligation consultation.

Car Accidents

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Head & Brain Injuries

Injuries to the head and brain are also very common in car accidents. Some of the most common include:

Concussions: A concussion occurs when an individual sustains a serious blow to the head or when the head makes impact with a fixed object. In car accidents, this can happen when a victim’s head hits the dashboard, side door/window, or is struck from behind. It can also occur when a victim is thrown from the vehicle and makes contact with the ground or another surface/object.
Contusions: Head/brain contusions often coincide with another head or brain injury, like a concussion. A contusion is simply the medical term for a bruise; therefore, a head/brain contusion is a bruise that forms on the head or brain. While most brain contusions will heal on their own, some require surgical removal.
Coup-Contrecoup Injuries: When the head moves violently due to a sudden impact, the brain can move forward and then backward within the skull. This results in two points of injury: the first where the initial impact occurred and the second on the opposing side where the brain collides with the inside of the skull. This is known as a coup-contrecoup injury, and it can lead to bleeding, swelling, and other serious complications.
Diffuse Axonal Injuries: Diffuse axonal injuries (DAIs) occur when a violent force causes the head to rotate or shake suddenly while the brain does not move as quickly. This can, in turn, cause microscopic tears in the connections and structures within the brain. Depending on the size and location of these tears, a DAI can be extremely catastrophic, leading to massive brain damage and even death.
Penetrating Injuries: A penetrating head or brain injury occurs when a foreign object passes through the skin, skull, and/or brain. In car accidents, this can happen when objects within the cabin of the vehicle move around or when car windows and windshields shatter. Penetrating head and brain injuries are some of the most serious of all head/brain injuries and can lead to death.

If you or someone you love suffered a head or brain injury in a car accident, you could be entitled to financial compensation for the resulting medical care costs, lost income, pain and suffering, and/or funeral expenses, among other damages. The Dixon Injury Firm can help you determine your rights and, if appropriate, help you seek fair financial compensation from the liable party.

Broken Bones & Soft Tissue Injuries

Broken bones and soft tissue injuries are also very common car accident injuries.

Common car accident-related broken bones/fractures include:

Broken arms or legs
Broken ribs
Broken hips
Broken necks or backs
Shattered or crushed bones
Compound fractures
Facial fractures
Broken wrists, hands, ankles, or feet

Common soft tissue injuries resulting from car accidents include:

Strained muscles
Sprained or torn tendons
Road rash
Burns
Damage to internal organs
Loss of limb/amputation
Serious cuts, scrapes, and abrasions

These types of injuries can be extremely painful and traumatizing. Often, victims will require extensive, ongoing treatment and may experience certain permanent effects from these types of injuries.

Trauma

Car accidents, especially those that result in injury, are traumatizing. In addition to bodily injuries, victims often suffer some degree of emotional distress after the accident. These types of injuries can be just as—if not more—harmful than physical injuries, with lasting effects that may alter various aspects of the victim’s life.

Examples of how trauma may manifest after a car accident include:

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Anxiety or new fear of driving/being in a car
Depression
Difficulty sleeping/insomnia
Sleep disturbances, including nightmares
Extreme stress
Changes in mood or behavior
Withdrawal
Obsessive and/or compulsive thoughts or behavior
New phobias

These and other examples of trauma can have a debilitating effect on the victim’s ability to work, travel, or maintain social connections with others.

Child Injuries

Sadly, car accidents are a leading cause of child injuries. Like adults, children can suffer a wide variety of injuries in an accident, ranging from relatively severe to very serious to fatal. For children, the effects of a devastating injury may be more serious, as they can impact a child victim’s growth and development, both physical and psychologically.

Additionally, pregnant mothers may suffer miscarriage after a serious car accident as a result of physical harm or even the trauma of the incident. If you are pregnant and you become involved in a motor vehicle accident, it is absolutely critical that you see a doctor who can evaluate if and how the crash may have affected your unborn child. Even if you do not believe yourself to be injured, always see a doctor in order to rule out or treat any harm to your baby.

Injured in an Accident? Contact Us Now for a Free Consultation

If you were injured in any way in a car accident and you believe someone else was at fault for the crash, reach out to The Dixon Injury Firm as soon as possible. In Missouri, you have five years to file a personal injury claim, but the sooner we can gather evidence and begin building your case the better.

Our St. Louis car accident attorneys understand the immense challenges that accompany serious car accident injuries. We are here to inform you of your legal rights and guide you through the process of filing your car accident claim. Our goal is to maximize your recovery so that you don’t have to worry about how you are going to be able to pay for critical treatment or make up for lost wages. Most importantly, we believe that you deserve justice and are ready to fight to hold negligent motorists accountable for the harm they cause.