Common Car Accident Injuries
Car accident injuries can change people’s lives instantly. While minor injuries eventually heal, some accident victims in Virginia suffer catastrophic injuries that need long-term medical assistance. Serious injuries can also leave mental and emotional scars that impact victims and their families.
Known as The Car Crash Experts, Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers are here to support you or your loved one after a Virginia crash. According to the Virginia DMV’s 2024 Traffic Crash Facts, there were over 900 fatalities and 64,086 injuries from car accidents in Virginia in 2024—a reminder of how serious these cases can be and why victims deserve meaningful compensation.
Our car accident attorneys will fight for the maximum settlement you are entitled to.
Effects of Car Accident Injuries
Car accidents can be truly devastating, often leading to serious injuries that bring about physical and/or chronic pain, financial strain, and emotional stress. When collisions happen at high speeds, victims frequently suffer from penetrating and impact injuries that need medical attention. Common types of car accident injuries include:
- Broken bones
- Scrapes and cuts
- Sprains
- Minor head injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Burns
- Organ damage
- Psychological injuries
The Virginia Department of Transportation reported 129,244 motor vehicle crashes in 2024, averaging one crash every 4.1 minutes. Common causes of car accidents included in the report are speeding and alcohol use.
Musculoskeletal Injuries
Musculoskeletal injuries involve damage to bones, joints, ligaments, and muscles caused by accidents. These fractures, strains, soft tissue injuries, and sprains can restrict mobility and potentially lead to chronic pain if untreated.
Broken Bones
A broken bone often leaves victims with limited mobility or significant pain during recovery, and can prevent you from returning to work or enjoying your favorite activities.
Accident victims break bones when the collision force causes them to hit the airbag, car parts, or loose items. Some people are ejected from vehicles and break bones after hitting the pavement or objects. Commonly broken bones from a car accident include:
- Ribs
- Vertebrae
- Clavicle
- Pelvic bone
- Fibula
- Femur
- Cranial bones
- Facial bones
- Sternum
Neck Injuries
Neck and chest injuries are prevalent after a crash. Because vehicles are usually moving at the time of the accident, it causes the body to be thrust forcefully in one direction while being restrained. This movement can cause significant damage and painful injuries to the neck.
Common neck injuries following a car crash include:
- Whiplash
- Neck sprains
- Pinched nerves
- Stiffness
- Neck compression
- Neck muscle spasms
Whiplash
The Mayo Clinic describes whiplash as a common neck injury caused by a forceful back-and-forth motion. If you were rear-ended or T-boned by another car, you might experience pain, stiffness, tenderness, or limited range of motion in your neck in the days after the accident. It’s also possible to have blurred vision, irritability, and ringing in the ears. These are typical symptoms of whiplash that show up soon after the crash.
However, there are long-term effects of whiplash that can linger and flare up long after the car accident, including:
- Chronic pain in your neck, shoulders, and back
- Headaches
- Sleep issues
- Dizziness
- Jaw pain
- Memory problems
- Chronic tinnitus, or ringing in the ear
- Trouble concentrating
People involved in a car crash should immediately seek medical attention. Even if you feel fine, the symptoms of whiplash often show up in the days following the accident. Prompt medical care can help you manage the pain and effects of whiplash and is essential for diagnosis and care.
Joint Injuries
Some car accident victims suffer from joint injuries that cause pain, inflammation, dislocation, and temporary arthritis. Different types of joint injuries are:
- Dislocated joints
- Joint fractures
- Joint sprains and strains
- Post-traumatic arthritis
- Sacroiliac joint injury
- Rotator cuff injury
- Anterior cruciate ligament tears
Rotator Cuff Tears
A rotator cuff tear affects the shoulder joint. The rotator cuff is a group of tendons and muscles that allows you to lift your arm above your head, rotate your arm, and move it up and down. This type of injury is excruciating and debilitating because you use your shoulder for many more daily movements than you may realize.
Car accident victims can suffer a partial tear, which does not completely tear the rotator cuff muscles in the shoulder. However, a total rotator cuff tear fully severs the shoulder muscle in two. It will take time for this type of severe rotator cuff tear to heal and regain full shoulder motion.
Head & Brain Injuries
Head injuries, including traumatic brain injuries, are serious and require immediate attention after a car accident. Accidents can cause your head to move violently, possibly striking something in the car and even causing your brain to hit the inside of your skull. These head or traumatic brain injuries can lead to impaired thinking, mobility issues, memory problems, and psychological effects like changes in behavior and mood.
Head Injuries
When you hit your head against something or the force of the crash causes your brain to hit the inside of your skull, you can suffer a range of symptoms that affect your cognitive function. In severe cases, these injuries can permanently change your life.
Common head injuries from car accidents include:
- Contusion
- Skull fracture
- Diffuse axonal injury
- Hematomas
- Penetrating head wound
- Coup-contrecoup, where a head injury results in damage to both the side of the trauma and the opposite side
Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries can result from the impact of a crash, ranging from mild injuries that you can recover from in a few days to severe injuries that can cause long-term effects or even death, especially if you do not receive medical treatment.
Getting medical care after a brain injury is crucial, and medical professionals can assess the severity of your injury after an accident to determine the best course of treatment.
These are the levels of brain injury severity:
- Mild brain injury: Dizziness, vomiting, memory loss, and brief or no loss of consciousness
- Moderate brain injury: Unconscious for up to 24 hours, contusions, signs of injuries visible in neuroimaging
- Severe brain injury: Coma, no sleep-wake cycle during the coma, damage visible on neuroimaging
Concussions
A concussion is a common type of traumatic brain injury resulting from a jolt or impact to the head that causes the brain to shift back and forth inside the skull. A concussion from a car accident might not be apparent right away, but common symptoms include:
- Vomiting
- Dizziness
- Headache
- Ringing in the ears
- Fatigue
- Balance issues
- Slurred speech
- Delayed responses to others
- Glazed appearance in the eyes
- Confusion and forgetfulness
- Inappropriate emotional responses
If you experience any of these symptoms after a car accident, seek medical care immediately. Although there is no specific cure for a concussion, it’s essential to have a doctor evaluate the severity of your brain injury and provide guidance for managing your symptoms and recovery.
Spinal & Nerve Injuries
Spinal cord injuries are one of the most severe and traumatic car accident injuries you can sustain after a crash. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke describes spinal cord injuries as damage to the nerves and cells in the spine responsible for sending signals from your brain to the rest of your body. When these cells are permanently damaged, it can impair your mobility, strength, feeling, and overall function.
The types of spinal cord injuries are determined based on the following areas of the spine affected:
- Cervical: Damage to the head and neck region
- Thoracic: Damage to the upper chest, middle back, and abdominal muscles
- Lumbar: Damage to the hips and legs
- Sacral: Damage to hips, buttocks, pelvic organs, and thighs
Doctors will categorize these types of injuries as complete or incomplete. Complete spinal cord injuries cause permanent damage, resulting in partial or complete paralysis. An incomplete spinal cord injury means that only a portion of the spinal cord was damaged, and the accident victim still has some ability to move and feel. Additionally, there are levels of severity based on the extent of the damage.
Nerve Damage
Nerves transmit messages from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body, enabling the brain to communicate with the body for movement and sensation. Peripheral nerves can be stretched, compressed, or severed in crashes, and if not addressed, they can cause permanent damage.
Typical symptoms of nerve damage are:
- Tingle or numbness in limbs
- Chronic pain
- Weakness or limited movement
Soft Tissue & Internal Injuries
The trauma and impact of a car accident can cause soft tissue and internal injuries. Beyond bruises and lacerations, accidents can also lead to burns and even internal injuries and trauma. Internal injuries may not appear immediately, which makes getting medical attention right after an accident even more important.
Burns
A car crash can cause fires from gasoline leaks, heat from the motor, and electrical issues. Burn injuries from accidents can be life-changing, sometimes severe enough to cause health problems like amputations and disfigurement.
Medical professionals classify burns by degrees, with higher degrees indicating more damage:
- First-degree burns: Burns to the outer layer of skin or epidermis
- Second-degree burns: Burns that penetrate through the epidermis to part of the dermis or inner layer of skin
- Third-degree burns: Burns that damage the epidermis, dermis, and possibly the muscles and bones underneath
Treatment and recovery from burn injuries can be long and complicated after a car accident. You may qualify to claim compensation for your medical bills, rehabilitation, and future medical care. Schedule a free consultation with Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers to learn more.
Heart Attacks
Although you might not connect heart attacks to car accidents, it’s more common than you might think. The shock and trauma of the event can cause enough stress to trigger a heart attack in some people. Blunt force trauma to the chest causes physical injuries, but may also cause a cardiac event in certain circumstances.
One cause of blunt cardiac injuries from a car accident is an impact with the steering wheel. The force can injure the heart and cause:
- Chest pain
- Silent arrhythmias
- Palpitations
- Atrial fibrillation
- Shortness of breath
- Deadly cardiac rupture
Call for emergency medical care immediately if you or a loved one experience any heart attack symptoms after a car accident.
Long-Term or Secondary Effects
In some accidents, victims may suffer more effects than immediately noticeable injuries, or their recovery might still involve some life changes. Accidents can sometimes cause injuries that leave visible scars, permanent impairments, or affect victims’ mental health.
Scarring and Disfigurement
Depending on an accident’s circumstances, like broken glass, facial injuries, or severe lacerations, victims can be left with lasting scars and even changes in their appearance.
Scarring and disfigurement can impact victims, causing:
- Emotional/psychological effects
- Physical limitations and sensitivity
Psychological Injuries
Accidents can cause more than physical injuries. They can also impact a victim’s mental health, and some injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries, may lead to psychological changes and issues. Crashes can trigger anxiety and depression afterward, and victims may develop post-traumatic stress disorder.
Car accidents can lead to psychological effects, including:
- Emotional distress
- Sleep disturbances
- Difficulty performing daily tasks
These mental health effects should be treated with the same seriousness as physical injuries and deserve equal attention during recovery.
How can an attorney help me after I’ve suffered a car accident injury?
Car accident victims deserve justice. Working with a Virginia Beach car accident lawyer means you have a skilled professional on your side to fight for your rights and the compensation you deserve.
Our experienced attorneys will handle the legal process so you can focus on recovering from your injuries and rebuilding your life after a car accident. We can help with the following:
- Gathering evidence, including witness statements
- Calculating the value of your medical bills and other damages
- Submitting your claim
- Dealing with the insurance companies
- Negotiating a fair settlement
- Taking your case to trial
If you were injured in a car accident, our team is ready to help. Contact us for your free case evaluation now and see how much your case may be worth.
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