Many fender benders cause minor damage to your vehicle, which is a pretty annoying and unpleasant way to start the day, but you’ll be able to shrug it off and move on. Or will you? Believe it or not, even “minor” fender benders can lead to accident injuries that lead to serious strains, pains, and medical attention.
Even if it’s not costly to your car, a “minor” fender bender can still be costly to your body, and in more ways than one. Likewise, even if an injury doesn’t hurt that bad, drivers injured in such accidents should consider seeking prompt medical attention, and moreover, prompt legal representation from a personal injury attorney. Learn more about the common serious injuries commonly associated with “mild” car accidents and the legal recourse you have to deal with them.
Whiplash Injuries
In the event of a rear-end collision, your neck and head will violently jerk back and forth. This form of soft-tissue injury is known as a whiplash injury and can lead to chronic upper body pain, stiffness, and irritability. While such whiplash pain may recover on its own in due time, other forms of whiplash may demand more rigorous medical attention.
Such severity may be assessed through imaging like X-ray and CT scans and may be treated through ice application, NSAIDs, and physical therapies. Even if it’s only a mild pain, it’s still worth a checkup for good measure. While it might not kill you, whiplash can impede your sleep quality, work performance, and overall peace of mind and leave you more susceptible to future accidents.
Steering Wheel Injuries
A car accident can put literally tons of force on the human body. Given that a panicked driver might be clinging for dear life to their steering wheel, that equates to a lot of force on the hands, wrists, and arms. Therefore, sprains, muscle strains, and fractures can result from even a seemingly minor motor vehicle action. People lament how things may cost “an arm or a leg” as a joke figure of speech, but in the case of a hand or arm fracture, that might not be so figurative.
A cost of such an injury can easily run anywhere in the thousands to tens of thousands to treat, and that’s not even factoring in the injuries associated with airbags. Though they’re meant to mitigate more severe injuries, with the NHTSA crediting over 50,000 lives saved by them, their high impact force can easily cause concussions, lacerations, burns, or even fractures to drivers and passengers. And safety failures are far too common – millions of Takata airbags were recalled after they were found to explode and send shrapnel shooting from the steering wheel. In that case, the manufacturer might be as liable as the at-fault driver.
Back and Spine Injuries
Even minor car collisions can compress and greatly injure the back or spinal cord, leading to chronic pain, loss of mobility, and dramatically life-altering ramifications. According to the Christopher Reeve Foundation, such injuries resulting in permanent paralysis can easily run upwards of six or seven figures to treat. If you suffered them as a result of someone else’s negligence, then you don’t deserve to shoulder that burden alone.
You should always contact an experienced Orange County car accident lawyer to fight for the compensation, justice, and accountability you deserve.
