The Most Common Injuries from Rear-End Collisions
The driver who struck you in an injury-causing rear-end collision may have altered your daily life through their carelessness. The Washington car accident attorneys at Schauermann Thayer Injury Law can handle the claims process on your behalf.
The force of the rear-end car accident can cause your body to suddenly lurch forward. The quick and violent motion can cause head, neck, and back injuries. You may be left in discomfort and in need of extensive medical treatment.
Let the car accident attorneys at Schauermann Thayer do the hard work and heavy lifting for your rear-end car accident claim or lawsuit. Call us today to speak to one of our Portland car accident lawyers during a free initial consultation.
Any Rear-End Accident Can Cause Injury
Rear-end car accidents are the most common form of crashes. Careless drivers cannot stop in time, causing you potentially serious injuries from the collision. Even what you may think is a minor crash can leave you with lasting injuries. Here are some common rear-end car accident injuries.
Whiplash
Whiplash is one of the most common car accident injuries. The term is used so often that people fail to realize its seriousness. However, do not mistake common for insignificant. Whiplash can cause serious injuries that may be permanent or require surgery to repair.
When you are struck from behind, the force from the rear car can quickly transfer to your vehicle. The car may jolt forward when your body previously was at rest. The force would then move through you, although your body would largely remain still. Your head would still snap forward, causing potential injury to any part of your body between your head and back. Whiplash can cause:
- Neck pain
- Shoulder pain
- Back injuries
- Numbness in arms and legs
- Concussions and brain injuries
Spinal Stenosis
The force of a car accident can cause trauma to your spine. You may suffer broken vertebrae that can injure your spine. A common rear-end car accident injury is spinal stenosis. This injury is when the spinal cord narrows, pressuring the nerves that are in your spinal cord.
There are two types of spinal stenosis:
- Cervical spinal stenosis is where the injury is near your neck. This condition can cause numbness and pain in the arms and legs.
- Lumbar stenosis is when the injury is to your lower back. This more common form of spinal stenosis can cause back pain and discomfort in your legs.
Your rear-end car accident can also make an existing case of spinal stenosis even worse. The end result is that you may need surgery and could be left in continuous pain.
Spinal Cord Injuries and Fractures
Your spine is made up of 33 bones that form the column. The spinal cord runs through this column, and it carries messages from your brain to the rest of your body that control movement. If these vertebrae break in the back, they can damage your spinal cord. Your injuries could range from incomplete paralysis, when the injury affects only some parts of the body, to complete paralysis, where most of your body is impacted.
Spinal cord injuries may require immediate surgery to stabilize the area. You could be left with a long period of rehabilitation to regain as much strength and movement as possible. Spinal cord injuries often result in medical and care costs of more than $1 million and other significant expenses.
You must take immediate action as soon as you experience symptoms of an injury. The longer you go without medical treatment, the worse your injury may become. Not only will this impact your health, but it can also complicate your legal situation. You are expected to mitigate your own damages by seeing a doctor when you realize that you have been injured. The insurance company may claim that you are partially to blame for the severity of your injury and try to reduce the amount that they pay you.
Disc Injuries
You may not have any fractures from the rear-end car accident, but the sudden movement from the accident can cause one of your vertebrae to protrude into the spinal column. The pressure can cause the soft material inside the inside of the discs in your back to poke through their exterior. The herniated disc can place pressure on your spinal cord. You may end up with pain and numbness in your arms or legs. Herniated discs can cause you constant pain, and they may even require surgery to repair. A herniated disc can result in significant disruption to your daily life and ability to work.
Concussions and Brain Injuries
In a rear-end car accident, your head may not slam against anything in the car. However, that does not mean that you could not suffer a brain injury. When your head snaps forward so violently, your brain could slam into the base of your skull. This impact could cause a concussion or even a more serious brain injury. Concussions could leave you with lasting symptoms, based on their severity. You could even suffer a more serious injury, depending on the extent of damage to your brain cells and tissue.
Contact a Portland Car Accident Lawyer Today
When a rear-end accident has caused physical injury, and has interrupted your daily life, the Portland car accident attorneys at Schauermann Thayer are standing by and ready to help. Call us today at (360) 695-4244 to take control of the legal process and your life. We will assess the situation and advise you whether you have a possible claim or lawsuit. You owe us nothing for your initial consultation, and you do not need to pay us a penny unless you win.
