Common Injuries From Car Accidents

Car crashes can cause a wide range of injuries from bumps and bruises to serious lacerations, broken bones, internal injuries, and traumatic head injuries. Some injuries that seem minor at first can have complications and long-term consequences.

car and truck about to collide

The car accident lawyers of Sam & Ash Injury Law take the time necessary to understand the full extent of your car accident injuries and document their impact on your life and ability to work. After suffering a car accident injury that has cost you money and time away from work, you may have the right to compensation from the driver who caused the accident. An experienced car accident attorney can help.

Contact the trusted Las Vegas car accident lawyers at Sam & Ash if you have suffered injuries and losses from a car crash caused by another driver’s carelessness or disregard for safety. We can begin work on your case immediately. Once we have your accident-related expenses and losses fully documented, we’ll demand What’s Right for you.

Do not let an insurance adjuster tell you what your car accident injury claim is worth. Their goal is to minimize any payment you receive. Talk to Las Vegas car accident attorneys who care about your recovery. We concentrate solely on helping accident victims overcome difficult situations and move forward. Contact Sam & Ash now.

Most Common Car Accident Injuries

Car accident injuries are usually blunt-force injuries. Speed increases the force of impact and therefore the severity of injuries. People in a Las Vegas car accident can be seriously injured by the impact of the crash and by the secondary impact of being slammed against the interior of their vehicles, the pavement, or the ground. Broken glass, shorn metal, and even cargo sent flying in a car accident can cause additional injuries.

Even with the protections offered by seat belts, airbags, and other vehicle safety features, motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of death among all age groups in the United States.

Some of the most common car accident injuries include:

  • Head and Brain Injuries — An injury that suddenly jolts or penetrates the head can lead to a traumatic brain injury. A TBI can range from a concussion that heals after several weeks to a disabling loss of cognitive and physical function that leads to premature death. A traumatic brain injury victim may need ongoing medical treatment, therapy, or lifelong nursing or personal assistance.
  • Neck Injuries (Whiplash) — Whiplash is an injury caused by a sudden impact that results in a quick back-and-forth movement that strains the soft tissue of the neck. Whiplash most commonly occurs in rear-end collisions, which are the most common type of car accident. In most cases, whiplash victims recover after a few weeks or months. However, whiplash victims may continue to suffer disabling pain a year or more after the initial injury.
  • Back Injury — A blow to the back or sudden twisting in a car accident can strain tendons, ligaments, or muscle, and cause lower back pain. If the impact of a crash compresses the spine it can lead to a ruptured or herniated disc, which can put pressure on nerves connected to the spinal cord and cause potentially debilitating pain.
  • Spinal Cord Injuries — If the spinal cord is damaged in a car accident, the victim can suffer partial or complete paralysis. Depending on the point of injury along the spinal cord, the accident victim may lose function in their legs (paraplegia) or their arms, legs, and internal organs (tetraplegia also known as quadriplegia).
  • Fractures — Broken bones are among the most common car crash injuries. Younger victims of simple fractures heal within weeks, but older adults’ bones do not heal as quickly. At any age, a car accident victim who suffers a complex fracture may have a lengthy recovery.
  • Internal Organ Injuries — Blows to the chest or abdomen in a car accident can damage the liver, heart, lungs, diaphragm, or bowels. Internal injuries often require surgery and lengthy recoveries. Excessive internal bleeding from damaged organs can lead to shock, which can be fatal if not promptly treated. Torn bowels can lead to potentially fatal infections.
  • Psychological Injury — The emotional trauma that may accompany injuries suffered in a car accident can disrupt your life. The prospect of a difficult recovery, chronic pain, or permanent disability can cause anxiety, depression, or additional issues that may require counseling or other therapy. Being injured, witnessing a death, or experiencing a life-threatening accident can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can impair a person’s ability to work and interact with others.
  • Facial Injuries & ScarsThe most common facial injury after a car accident is a nasal bone fracture (broken nose). Other common facial injuries include burn injuries, facial deformities, lacerations, eye injuries, and soft tissue injuries.

Car accidents often cause cuts and abrasions, which can lead to bleeding and disfiguring scars. Car fires are rare, but accident victims can suffer serious burn injuries by coming into contact with hot metal or steam or scalding liquid escaping a damaged radiator. A car fire can cause smoke inhalation and lung damage or fatal injuries if an accident victim is trapped in a vehicle and cannot escape.

Car accident injuries often require emergency medical care, hospitalization, surgery, and weeks or months of convalescence. Recovery may also require physical, vocational, or occupational rehabilitation and psychological counseling.

Car accident victims who suffer disabling injuries require ongoing care and assistance.

The Nevada Compare Care site produced and managed by the NV Center for Health Information Analysis says the average daily charge for inpatient stays at hospitals in Clark County (Las Vegas) in 2020 was $19,821.

What To Do If You Have One of These Common Car Accident Injuries

If you have been seriously injured in an accident caused by another party’s negligence or recklessness, you may seek compensation for your medical bills and other accident-related losses. At Sam & Ash Injury Law, our attorneys will help you pursue all the compensation available to you by law.

In general, car accident victims in Nevada may seek compensation for:

  • Medical costs related to injuries suffered or made worse by the crash
  • Lost wages
  • Future loss of income due to diminished earning capacity
  • Property damage, typically to a motor vehicle
  • Pain and suffering
  • Physical impairment/disfigurement
  • Emotional distress

emotionally distress woman

The types of compensation our attorneys seek on your behalf in a car accident claim will depend on the extent of your injuries and what impact the injuries will have on your life moving forward. In addition to gathering evidence of fault for the car accident, we obtain your medical records to demonstrate the full extent of your injuries as well as medical bills and other records detailing your expenses and economic losses.

In cases that involve permanent disability, we can consult professional life care planners to develop projections of future medical costs. A life care plan accounts for the patient’s prognosis and the routine medical evaluations, treatment, and medication necessary in the years ahead, as well as expenses for:

  • Medical and adaptive equipment
  • Aids for independent functioning
  • Occupational/vocational therapy
  • In-home/facility care
  • Transportation
  • Architectural modifications such as adding wheelchair ramps to home entrances and widened doorways
  • Surgical intervention.

Damages for noneconomic or intangible losses demanded in a claim are typically determined by multiplying economic damages by 1 to 5 according to the accident victim’s quality of life after the accident. Another approach is to calculate a “per diem” payment for each day of the individual’s pain and suffering. In the end, the amount is set by settlement negotiations or a jury’s decision.

We will compile a strong case to present to insurers along with your demands for full and fair compensation. If the insurer will not agree to a reasonable settlement, the attorneys at Sam & Ash will be ready to file a formal lawsuit on your behalf and fight for justice in court.

Legal Help for Las Vegas Car Accident Injury Victims

Contact an experienced car accident lawyer at Sam & Ash Injury Law in Las Vegas as soon as possible if you have sustained a serious injury in a Las Vegas area car accident and someone else was at fault. We have years of experience representing accident victims and pursuing just compensation that helps the injured person regain financial security.

Call us today or reach out online for a free, no-obligation review of car accident injuries. We will listen to you, discuss the compensation that may be sought on your behalf, and help you evaluate your legal options. We stand up for What’s Right for car accident victims. Contact us now.