If you’ve been injured in a car accident, reach out to a personal injury attorney. They can help you receive restitution for lost wages, along with medical and counseling expenses. Or, if you had a family member who was killed in a traffic accident, taking legal action with an accident lawyer enables you to sue the responsible party for wrongful death.
Car Crash Statistics
Per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 39,345 people died in a car crash in 2024. Additionally, in 2023, 2.44 million people suffered an injury in an automobile accident. Of these, approximately 136,000 were pedestrians or cyclists, and 82,564 were driving motorcycles.
There were also 40,901 injuries or deaths involving alcohol per every 100 million vehicle miles traveled. Sadly, 30% of affected people died as a result of a crash. This represents a -4.3% change between 2022 and 2023, though.
Most Frequent Accident Case Injuries
The most frequently experienced injuries in an automobile accident include soft tissue injuries, head injuries, spinal injuries, internal injuries, fractures and broken bones. Let’s examine each type of injury in more detail.
Soft Tissue Injury: Contact a Car Accident Lawyer
Soft tissue injuries involve your ligaments, muscles and tendons. One example is whiplash, which is neck strain that can occur when your head moves back and forth quickly in an accident. Whiplash is often delayed and can include symptoms such as:
- Neck pain
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Tingling
- Shoulder pain
Furthermore, abrasions and bruises can damage your underlying tissues. Strains and sprains, meanwhile, involve the twisting or over-extension of joints and muscles.
Head Injury Accident Case
Suffering from a concussion may be commonplace, but it’s also frequently misunderstood. In fact, if you have more than one concussion, it could change the way your brain structure works. Anywhere from one to three million people go to a hospital annually with symptoms of a concussion, including:
- Headaches
- Balance problems
- Blurred vision
- Fainting
- Tinnitus
Even worse is a traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBIs have famously been linked to playing football, but they can also occur in car crashes that feature a jolt or violent blow to your head. A mild TBI is bad enough and can cause blurred vision, concentration problems and issues with speech. However, a severe TBI can lead to seizures, repeated vomiting or even death.
Spinal Injuries: Call a Personal Injury Lawyer
Any area of your spine can be affected, especially your lower back or neck. A herniated disc usually only impacts one side of your body, but it can lead to bowel or bladder dysfunction.
Spinal cord injuries may be incomplete or complete. In other words, an incomplete spinal cord injury means you’ll retain some sensory or motor functionality below your injury. Meanwhile, a complete spinal cord injury removes all sensory or motor functions below the injured area. There are six different levels of spinal cord injury, including:
- C1-C4: Quadriplegia (all four limbs are paralyzed)
- C5-T1: Quadriplegia with some form of upper body function
- T1-T6: Paraplegia (lower body paralysis)
- T7-T12: Paraplegia with some lower body functions.
- L1-L5: Lower body weakness
- S1-S5: Difficulty standing, walking and having sexual function.
Internal Injury Litigation
Internal injuries can include organ damage, internal bleeding, an aortic aneurysm or fractured ribs. When one of your organs is damaged, it may go into acute organ failure. For example, if your liver is no longer able to filter the toxins from your blood, it’s a medical emergency that could lead to death.
Internal bleeding can be visible or non-visible. You’ll be in a Class I hemorrhage with up to 15% blood loss. A Class II hemorrhage, meanwhile, has 15% to 30% blood loss. Either way, you’ll experience symptoms such as:
- Weakness
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Shortness of breath
- Increased heart rate
- Vomiting
Suffering an aortic aneurysm rupture can be life-threatening. Rib fractures are most commonly caused by car accidents and sports. Although your life probably isn’t at risk from a rib fracture, it can take a month to heal. Breaking a bone could require surgery, if it’s severe enough. Symptoms include intense pain, deformity, swelling and numbness.
Mental Health Issues to Discuss in Court
Mental anguish should also be taken into account by your car accident attorney. There are three commonly claimed issues that relate to mental health: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression. The worst of these issues, PTSD, may include:
- Persistent avoidance of related situations or thoughts
- Re-experiencing trauma psychologically
- Exaggerated startling
- Disturbed sleep
- Numbing of emotional response
A study of veterans with PTSD found a much higher suicide rate than those without it. PTSD caused 50.7 deaths per 100,000 people, while it’s only 13.2 for people without PTSD. Furthermore, major depressive disorder (MDD) is possible after an accident. This has a lifetime suicide risk of almost 20%. Facing the stressful situation of a car crash can also cause serious anxiety.
Contact a Car Accident Lawyer
Whether you’ve suffered from one or multiple things listed above due to a traffic incident, it’s important to get an experienced car accident attorney on your side. Your lawyer knows how to weigh your injuries and/or mental anguish versus the expected rest of your lifetime. They also know the best way to represent you in court.
Remember that the perpetrator of your crash will most likely fight against your case. Even if they don’t, their insurance might. Therefore, it’s vital to choose a skilled attorney with a proven history of winning cases. Our team will fight to get you every penny you deserve.
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