What Is the Most Common Injury in a Car Accident in California?

Car accidents happen every day throughout Southern California for many reasons, and sometimes these incidents have devastating effects on those involved. People suffer a wide range of injuries in car accidents, and these incidents are easily capable of inflicting multiple injuries at once. If you or a loved one recently experienced a car accident caused by another driver’s negligence or intentional misconduct, you have the right to file a claim against their auto insurance policy, and you would also have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit if your insurance claim doesn’t fully cover your damages.

When a car accident results in injuries, the victim needs to know the value of legal counsel they can trust as they work toward securing compensation for their losses. The right personal injury attorney can be a tremendous asset for an injured driver, helping them hold the at-fault driver accountable for their injuries and associated economic losses.

Most Common Car Accident Injuries

The most commonly reported injury from car accidents in the US is soft tissue damage. The body’s muscles, tendons, and ligaments are vulnerable to crash impact forces when a car accident occurs. Unfortunately, these injuries are often difficult to treat. While generally not life-threatening, they can potentially cause severe pain and pose additional challenges to victims due to their complex nature.

One of the most often cited soft tissue injuries from car accidents is whiplash, a condition characterized by damage to the soft tissues of the neck, shoulders, and upper back. When a crash causes the victim’s head to snap quickly back and forth, the shock of this movement can easily result in a severe soft tissue injury. Whiplash often causes persistent headaches, dizziness, swelling and tenderness in the upper back and shoulders, and severe neck pain that can be difficult to treat. Some people who suffer whiplash injuries will deal with adverse symptoms for months or even years after their accidents.

While soft tissue injuries are the most common injury in a car accident, these incidents are easily capable of inflicting various other types of injuries such as:

• Traumatic brain injuries. Crash impact forces can easily result in concussions; more serious accidents can result in skull fractures and more traumatic damage to the brain. Brain injuries are inherently complex and often result in long-term or permanent effects.
• Spinal cord injuries. Any injury to the spinal cord is permanent, and this type of injury may result in permanent paralysis, loss of sensation, and various other effects that will interfere with the victim’s life in several ways.
• Internal organ damage. A crash can easily harm the internal organs, sometimes without causing immediately noticeable symptoms. Nevertheless, the risk of internal injuries is one of the fundamental reasons drivers should seek medical care as soon as possible after experiencing accidents.
• Broken bones. The force of a car crash can easily cause traumatic fractures to the bones of the body. Some of these injuries will heal with time and appropriate treatment, but others can cause chronic pain and lasting effects.
• Facial injuries. During a crash, airbag deployment and other traumatic forces can easily cause disfiguring injuries to the face.

It’s common for drivers involved in severe accidents to sustain more than one injury. Some victims will be in critical condition immediately after their accidents and require emergency transportation to the nearest hospital for treatment. Others walk away from accidents seemingly unscathed, but they often feel much worse the following day.

Soft tissue injuries especially tend to appear minimal at first, only to flare up severely within a few hours of the accident. For example, a driver may only feel slight pain in their upper body after an accident, but the adrenaline in their system is likely dulling pain sensations for the time being. The following day, the adrenaline will have left their system, and they will feel the full effect of the injury.

Can I File a Lawsuit for Soft Tissue Injuries?

If another driver caused your recent accident and you suffered soft tissue injuries in the incident, you have the right to seek accountability for your medical expenses, other economic losses, and your pain and suffering. Even though it might seem relatively minor, a soft tissue injury can easily pose significant problems to the victim. For example, whiplash often entails severe and disruptive symptoms that can persist for weeks or even months after the accident. As a result, the victim may experience tremendous pain and be unable to work during this time. In addition, some soft tissue injuries will require surgical correction, and this type of surgery can leave the victim essentially immobilized following the procedure.

Soft tissue injuries also tend to cause long-term effects. Even after the initial injury heals, the affected soft tissues will be stressed and vulnerable to further harm. For example, many people who experience soft tissue injuries from car accidents face challenging recovery processes. As a result, some of them will struggle with long-term complications from these injuries.

An experienced personal injury lawyer can assist you in holding the driver who caused your recent accident accountable for your injuries and the associated losses. While an auto insurance claim is typically the first step toward recovery after a car accident, the at-fault driver’s insurance may not fully cover your damages. In this situation, you must proceed with a civil lawsuit against the at-fault driver to secure compensation for the damages their insurance can’t cover.

California’s personal injury laws allow a plaintiff to seek full compensation for any economic losses from a defendant’s actions. The plaintiff also has the right to seek compensation for their pain and suffering. When it comes to injuries that pose long-term symptoms and complications, the victim’s pain and suffering compensation is likely to be substantial. If you are struggling in the aftermath of an accident that caused severe soft tissue injuries, Perry Personal Injury Lawyers can help you recover a fair settlement from the at-fault driver. Contact us today to learn more about the legal services we provide and to schedule your consultation with our team.