After an accident, the severity and nature of your injuries can affect the amount of compensation you receive. A New Jersey car accident lawyer can help you assess just how much your case may be worth, which is why Peter Davis & Associates of New Jersey has elected to list some of the most common types of car accident injuries.
Types of Injuries
Depending on the cause, all car accident injuries can be separated into two categories: impact and penetrating injuries. Impact injuries typically result from forceful collisions with features of the car itself, and penetrating injuries usually result from objects in the car or glass from the windows becoming projectiles that break the skin.
Two other categories exist within each of these, and they are soft tissue and hard tissue injuries. Soft tissue injuries are the most common, as soft tissue refers to any part of the body that is not bone or teeth. Since soft tissue is less durable, there are many more ways in which they can be damaged. Hyperextension and tearing are two likely ways that a muscle or ligament will be damaged.
Lacerations
Scrapes and small cuts can be expected from almost any accident, but high speed collisions can turn innocuous objects like cell phones and bags into vicious projectiles that deal a lot of damage. Bleeding and infection resulting from these cuts are the biggest worries, but disfigurement in the form of scarring is another concern as well. Depending on which part of the body is affected, they may be inconvenient, debilitating, or lethal.
Injuries to Extremities
Your arms and legs are vulnerable to bruising, dislocating, and fractures. Drivers’ knees are particularly vulnerable to being smashed into the steering wheel, which is why many cars today are now outfitted with a driver’s side knee airbag. Seating arrangements can exacerbate these injuries as restricting movement may lead to more severe damage.
Torso Injuries
Chest injuries are extremely common among drivers in accidents, as the driving position restricts movement. Seatbelts and harnesses offer protection, but may also damage the wearer in an accident, occasionally doing serious harm. Broken ribs and organ trauma can also occur. Spinal injuries are rare but dangerous, and many people make things worse by attempting to move afterward. High speed impact is enough to cause all of these injuries, but objects may lodge themselves through the body in an accident causing anything from bleeding to organ failure.
Head Injuries
Whiplash, or the hyperextension of the neck muscles, is one of the most commonly known car accident injuries. Head injuries may be closed, meaning that they are contained entirely within the skull, regardless of severity of impact. These can often be harder to detect and symptoms may take a great deal of time to show up. Closed head injuries can also result in permanent brain damage, and early treatment and detection is critical.
Contact a Paterson Car Accident Lawyer
Peter Davis & Associates offers a variety of legal services for injury cases. If you’ve been hurt in car accident, contact the car accident lawyers of Peter N. Davis & Associates. Call today for a free consultation.