Car accidents can easily cause really serious injuries. Basically, any body part can be injured. In order to give you the information that you need to be better prepared for what happens during car accidents, let’s discuss the most common injuries you might be faced with. This will help you to protect yourself and never underestimate how serious car crashes can be.

TBI – Traumatic Brain Injuries

Most traumatic brain injuries are caused by car accidents. The medical condition involves having the brain damaged by a piercing injury or blow to one’s head. Every single year, around 50,000 people die due to TBI. Another 85,000 end up with a long-term disability.

Paralysis and Spinal Cord Injuries

A car crash has a very strong impact and the torque on one’s body is very high. This can lead to long-term disability due to spinal cord injuries. When your spinal cord is damaged, you can end up with total or partial paralysis below the injury level.

Back Injuries

The spine and your body in general are not designed to be able to sustain really heavy impact. As a result, we often see back injuries appearing after car accidents. The big problem with them is that symptoms are often delayed so you might not even know you are injured. The disability and pain coming from the back injury are potentially long-lasting and serious.

Internal Injuries

The crash can force your body into another object, like the steering wheel. Also, your body can be hit by debris flying around after the collision. In such cases, internal organs can end up damaged. This would often lead to internal bleeding, which requires immediate medical treatment.

Burns

When the car catches fire during an accident or when your skin touches hot surfaces, fluids, chemicals, or steam, you can suffer burns. When you have severe burns, you might need skin grafting and even surgery.

Broken Bones and Fractures

This is one of the car accident injuries everyone is familiar with. We are talking about broken wrists, ankles, arms, ribs, and legs, which are all very common in crashes. There are even accident victims that end up with broken pelvises. As expected, the severity of the possible injuries ranges from something simple that only requires the use of a cast to very serious compound fractures that can only be fixed with surgery.

Whiplash and Neck Injuries

When we say whiplash, we mean all tendon, ligament, and muscle injuries that appear after the neck’s soft tissue is injured. Because the vehicle comes at a stop very fast, whiplash is very common. In fact, any accident happening at 15 miles per hour or more can potentially cause whiplash injuries. This is true even if you wear your seatbelt.

Knee Injuries

Your knees can easily be injured during a car crash since they can hit various parts of the vehicle. The wounds you would suffer range from multiple fractures to minor bruises. The knee’s cartilage, the meniscus, can easily tear when your need turns abruptly or is twisted following the car crash.