Motor vehicle accidents are one of the top three injury-caused deaths across all age groups in the United States, and one of the top ten causes of non-fatal injuries. This tragic reality is so well known that the CDC tracks the data in an extensive and dedicated bank of rolling reported statistics. Sadly, many car accident injuries and results could be prevented if people consistently followed the rules of the road, paid full attention to the task of driving, and took proper safety precautions.

If you are one of the 2,497,657 people who were injured in an automobile accident in the United States in 2021, help is available. Read on for more information about car accident injuries, and the resources available if you or your loved ones have suffered any of these damages or others.

Injury Categories Common to Car Accidents

Whiplash: Whiplash injuries are a specific movement-based injury to the spinal column in the neck, caused by a rapid forward and backward movement that rocks the head and neck. Whiplash injury is most commonly caused by car accidents but can also be caused by sports accidents, slip and fall accidents, and more.

Soft Tissue Injuries: Typically identifiable by pain, bruising, and/or swelling, but the following are common types of this category of injury which include damage to muscles, ligaments, and tendons.

• Joint Trauma: In a soft tissue context, damage to muscles, ligaments or tendons that surround or support a joint, causing pain and potential loss of mobility. Common in wrists, ankles and more in car accidents.
• Contusions: A type of hematoma, meaning a collection of blood outside a blood vessel, a contusion occurs when an injured blood vessel leaks blood into the surrounding area. The most common form is bruising – an extremely common car accident injury.
• Strains: Small tears of the muscles
• Sprains: Overstretching or small tears of ligaments and tendons near joints.

Spinal Cord Injuries: These injuries can be extremely serious, with symptoms that are often far-reaching in their impact throughout the systems of the body, sometimes with irreversible consequences.

• Intervertebral Disc Injuries: Slipped, herniated and prolapsed discs are all varieties of disc injuries that can cause pain and other debilitating damage. Treatment varies widely depending on the severity of the injury.
• Neck Injury: Accident trauma is the most common cause of these neck injuries.
• Back Injury: Car accidents are one of the most common causes of back injury as well.
• Paralysis: A devastating injury defined by the loss of muscle function in part o the body caused by spinal trauma.

Head Injuries: Also called skull injuries, skull fractures or cranial injuries. Head injuries can be open (injury penetrates to the brain) or closed (the skull is not punctured ). Head injuries are some of the most common causes of death in adults.

• Traumatic Brain Injuries: A type of head injury, typically caused by a blow to the head, resulting in a wide array of physical and psychological effects.

Broken Bones: While some of these injuries are exactly what you picture based on the name, there are actually a number of ways that impact damage can affect bones. Transverse breaks, stress fractures, oblique breaks and displacement, compound fracture, bending the bone to a stress point called greenstick (common in children or babies), and comminuted breaks are all types of damage sustained by the bones. Treatments include casts, splints, and in some cases surgery.

Internal Injuries: Very commonly caused by auto accidents, and an extremely serious consequence of impact trauma. Bleeding in the body or damage to organs can express a variety of symptoms and complications depend on the severity and location of the injury.

Amputations and Dismemberment: Loss of limb by medical necessity (amputation) or by accident (dismemberment) can be extremely devastating and life-altering consequences of motor vehicle accidents.

Wrongful Death: A term that legally defines the death of a person due to the wrongful act of another person, including but not limited to, negligence and carelessness, as in the case of a car or truck wreck.

Car Accident Injuries Critical Takeaways

There is a lot of information and trauma to absorb and process after a serious injurious accident. Here at Thompson Law, we have worked with thousands of clients to navigate these circumstances, so we understand this can be extremely overwhelming. Despite the challenges presented after your accident, there are a few actions that are essential to take.

1. Seek Medical Attention: After an accident, nothing is more important than your health and healing. Be sure to seek medical care and examination after suffering a serious accident. Your adrenaline and shock may be masking dangerous pain and trauma. A doctor’s assessment right away can mean the difference between full recovery and lifelong damage.
2. Complete Your Full Course of Treatment: After you have been prescribed a course of treatment, be sure to follow it completely and carefully. Gaps in treatment compromise your healing process and also compromise your settlement potential. The at-fault insurance company can argue that your injuries are unjustified or less severe if you do not show a complete and timely execution of your prescribed treatments.
3. Call an Experienced Car Accident Injury Attorney: Thompson Law will provide assistance and legal guidance. By managing your claim, gathering all aspects of your medical and property damages, supporting you through the negotiations process with at-fault parties, and more, we relieve you of the burden of these tasks, so you can focus on your healing and recovery.

If you have suffered car accident injuries, the most important thing you can do is seek treatment. After the shock and adrenaline rush of an accident, you may not feel the pain of an injury right away. Do yourself the kindness of getting medically checked out after your accident. Your doctor may find that your injury is minor and will subside with time and rest or may find a more severe issue requiring in depth treatment.

If this is the case, the sooner you get a diagnosis and prescribed plan for your car accident injuries, the better. Your doctor and other medical professionals will help you get on a more effective and faster path to recovery if there is no delay or gap in your treatment.

In tandem with your journey to medical recovery with the help of your doctor, work with an experienced accident attorney to get on the path to recovering your losses and receiving your just compensation for your car accident injuries. Thompson Law’s staff has hundreds of years of combined industry experience, and the team has won over $1.8 billion dollars in past settlements. After your accident, you need Thompson Law on your side to help you fight the insurance companies and at-fault parties for every penny you deserve. If you have been injured in a car accident and need help, call today.

Texas law limits the time you have to file a claim for car accident injuries, so don’t delay. Reach out to Thompson Law here and get connected with one of our expert legal representatives right away. We have experienced and compassionate professionals on standby 24/7/365 ready to take your call, hear your story, and get to work helping you. Call Thompson Law today in Dallas at 214-444-4444, in Fort Worth at 817-444-4444, in North Dallas at 972-444-4444, or in the DFW Mid-Cities at 469-444-4444.  Call the 4’s!  Thompson Law is here 4 you.

Learn more about DFW’s premier accident & injury attorney, Ryan L. Thompson, and how he can help with car accident injuries.