Injuries caused by being involved in a SC automobile accident attorney vary widely based on the specific situation, but some sorts of injuries are much more common than others. Factors that influence the types and severity of injuries suffered by people in a car crash include things like:
- The use of a seatbelt;
- The presence and type of airbags in the car;
- The area of the car where an impact occurred;
- The passenger’s body position within the vehicle, e.g., facing forward in the seat is safer than leaning or reaching over into the back of the vehicle; and .
- The speeds of the vehicles involved in the accident.
Car accident injuries fall into two basic categories: 1) penetrating injuries caused by broken glass or moving objects within the car, and 2) impact injuries caused by a person’s body moving around the inside of the car.
Soft Tissue Injuries
Soft issue injuries are the most common sort of injury that occurs during a car accident. These involve damage to things like tendons, ligaments, and muscles, and includes “whiplash” injuries, which are a soft tissue injury to the neck and upper back. Of the various sorts of soft tissue injuries, injuries to the mid-back and lower-back areas are among the most common.
Soft tissue injuries can be problematic from a medical and legal standpoint because they can be hard to prove: they do not typically show up on x-rays, and are not as graphically obvious as a scrape or a cut.
Head Injuries
Head injuries can be among the most severe injuries that commonly occur in an auto accident. They also can vary widely in their severity. Head injuries can range from a mild concussion to a brain aneurism and comas. These are as a category referred to traumatic brain injuries, and can have long lasting and very life altering results. Traumatic brain injuries have also become one of the hallmark wounds suffered by members of our armed forces in the recent Middle Eastern campaigns, due to the effects of an IED having a similar force profile to an extremely severe auto accident.
Various types of skull fractures and injuries to the eyes and facial bones are also associated with head injuries. If you wear glasses, it is even more important to make sure that you wear your seatbelt properly and have your seat adjusted correctly because inflating airbags have the unfortunate tendency to drive glasses into your face, causing often severe damage to some of the most delicate parts of your body.
Broken Bones
Broken bones are another common occurrence in auto accidents, usually caused by the extremities either flailing around inside the car, or crushing injuries when a car deforms upon impact and pins various body parts within the vehicle.
One of the most common bones people break in a car accident is, oddly enough, the collar bones. This is caused by the seatbelt stopping a person’s forward motion. Shoulder belts, by design, have to disperse a great deal of energy in an accident, which is done by the belt itself stretching from the force. (This is why a seatbelt that was being worn by a person during any sort of severe accident should be replaced; like airbags they are “used up” after the first time and will no longer work adequately afterwards). Most of the force that is not used up by the seatbelt ends up directed straight into your collar bone. Mechanically there is not really a better way to do this, so it is seen as acceptable collateral damage – it is better to hurt your shoulder than to hit the windshield.
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Contact an Experienced Greenville Auto Accident Lawyer Today
Being involved in a car accident is a horrible experience, not made any better by having to deal with the aftereffects. If you or a loved one has been in an automobile accident in or around Greenville, South Carolina The Dan Pruitt Injury Law Firm is here to help. Get an experienced auto accident attorney on your side. Contact our office today to set up a no-cost consultation.