Car accidents are traumatic events. Like any other traumatic event, it can send you into a state of shock soon afterward, regardless of whether the incident was a “minor fender bender” or a devastating crash. When you are involved in a car accident, your body generates adrenaline and endorphins. When this happens, your brain may trick you into thinking or even believing that you are “fine.” However, this may not necessarily be the case. Once the so-called excitement subsides, individuals start experiencing pain and begin to feel the effects of the crash.
How Prevalent Are Car Accidents?
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in the year 2016, 37,461 people lost their lives on U.S. roadways, which was an increase of 5.6 percent compared to calendar year 2015. The number of vehicle miles traveled on the nation’s roadways in 2016 had also increased by 2.2 percent. The NHTSA data shows that there is a fatality rate of 1.18 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, which was also a 2.6 percent increase from the previous years.
NHTSA found that reckless driving behaviors such as alcohol impairment, speeding and not wearing seatbelts, continued to increase. Motorcycle and pedestrian deaths accounted for more than a third of the year-to-year increase. These numbers clearly show that auto accidents continue to increase despite advancements made in vehicle safety technology.
What Injuries Do You Need to Watch For?
While you are likely to know you are injured if you have suffered a bone fracture or a laceration that causes you to bleed, there are other subtle injuries that may not become apparent right away. Two common injuries that are difficult to identify right away are soft tissue injuries and concussions.
Soft tissue injuries: These types of injuries affect parts of the body other than the bone such as muscles, ligaments and tendons. It is important to understand that car accidents, even those that occur at lower speed, generate a significant amount of force. Even when you are only involved in a fender-bender, your vehicle may come to a sudden stop or your head and neck may move forward and back in a whipping motion. Depending on the type of crash, you may even get thrown around the vehicle, which may cause different parts of your body including your joints to get strained or injured.
The most common type of soft tissue injury suffered in car crashes is known as “whiplash.” This refers to injury of the neck muscles when the head is suddenly thrown forward and back (in a whipping motion), with a great deal of force. Some of the common symptoms of soft tissue injuries include pain, swelling and reduced mobility.
However, these symptoms may not manifest right away. It may take days or, sometimes, even weeks before you realize you have been injured. What makes it more complicated is soft tissue injuries may not show up on an X-ray like fractures do. This may make it more challenging to diagnose these types of injuries, let alone document them. Therefore, getting prompt medical attention and treatment is a critical first step after a car accident, maybe even before you start to experience symptoms such as discomfort or pain.
Concussions: These are extremely common injuries suffered by victims of car accidents especially when the victim strikes his or her head against another object inside the vehicle. Concussion symptoms don’t surface right away, but they can be serious. Some of the symptoms that you should watch out for include inability to concentrate, memory issues, headaches, blurry vision, nausea, dizziness and abnormal sleep patterns. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you should seek immediate medical attention.
Compensation for Injured Victims
If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, or if you have lost a loved one in a car crash caused by a distracted and negligent driver, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
Our skilled accident attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses. Our law firm recently recovered $5,600,000 for a bicyclist who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck, and $4,625,000 for a driver who was in a car and was hit by a van, and $2,500,000 for a man who fell through an improperly secured hole.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
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