Car accidents can happen in a split second, and you can be involved in an automobile accident without doing anything wrong. An automobile accident can cause minor injuries, no injuries, debilitating injuries, and even fatalities. Even a collision at slow speeds can lead to an injury that may require lifelong treatments. Although any car accident is scary and stressful, they aren’t all the same. The most common types of car accidents are minor fender benders; however, there is a risk of other types of accidents occurring, such as a head-on collision, being side-swiped, or being T-boned. Here is some brief information about the different types of car accidents and the types of injuries that may happen in a car accident.
Multiple Vehicle Accidents
A multiple-vehicle accident is oftentimes one of the deadliest types of car accidents. Many of these types of accidents involve catastrophic injuries or even fatalities. There are several situations that may lead to a multi-vehicle accident, including distracted driving, driving while intoxicated, fatigue, excessive speed, law enforcement chases, and poor weather conditions. The injuries suffered by drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and other motorists can range from minor to catastrophic to fatal.
T-Bone Accidents
A T-bone collision means a side-impact collision occurred. The percentage of fatalities in these types of accidents is about 24 percent and the collision often occurs on the passenger side of the vehicle. A T-bone accident is also known as a broadside collision and is generally the result of another driver failing to yield to the driver that has the right of way. For instance, a driver may make a dangerous left turn at an intersection assuming that the other vehicle will stop at a yellow traffic light, or a driver may run a red light causing the other driver with a green light to crash into the car speeding through the red light. Blowing through a stop sign is also a common cause of T-bone crashes. Unfortunately, drivers and/or their passengers are more like to get seriously injured or killed when a T-bone accident occurs.
Sideswipe Accidents
A sideswipe accident happens when one car gets too close to the side of another vehicle, causing the two vehicles to connect. Although a sideswipe accident doesn’t sound like it can cause serious injuries, this type of accident may actually cause the vehicle that was sideswiped to roll over or it may remain upright but run off the road and hit another vehicle or other stationary objects. A sideswipe accident may only involve one vehicle that swipes an inanimate object, such as a parked vehicle, a road barrier, or a street sign.
Head-On Collision
Head-on collisions occur when the front of two vehicles come in contact with each other. A head-on collision can be extremely scary as well as fatal, especially if one or both vehicles are traveling at a high rate of speed. This type of accident can cause significant damage to both the vehicles as well as the vehicle occupants. Those involved in this type of accident have suffered severe or life-threatening injuries, even if the airbag is deployed.
Common Types of Injuries Resulting from Car Accidents
The injuries sustained in car accidents typically fall into one of two categories: impact injuries and penetrating injuries.
- Penetrating injuries happen when an object penetrates a person’s body, such as shattered glass or objects that have come loose from the cargo on a truck.
- Impact injuries happen when the person’s body strikes a part of the vehicle, such as hitting the seatbelt, the airbag imploding, or hitting the windshield, dashboard, or steering wheel.
Some of the most common types of injuries that occur from an automobile collision may include:
- Soft tissue injuries mean there is a trauma to the skin, tendons, muscle, or ligaments in the body. For instance, whiplash, which is a common injury during a rear-end collision, occurs when the ligaments and muscles of the neck and head are stretched. Soft tissue injuries also include abrasions, lacerations, muscle sprains, and contusions.
- Head injuries, which are the most common type of injury in a multi-vehicle accident mean there is trauma and damage to the head, especially the brain. Although a head injury is common in a multi-vehicle accident, this type of injury can happen in any type of car accident, especially if the driver or passengers aren’t wearing a seat belt.
- Chest injuries can range from bruises to contusions to serious injuries such as damage to internal organs, broken ribs, internal bleeding, or collapsed lungs. The driver is at the greatest risk of a chest injury because of the small amount of space between the steering wheel and their chest. A seatbelt may also cause chest injuries.
- Broken bones are especially common in T-bone, head-on, and multi-vehicle accidents. The force of the collision during a T-bone accident can cause serious fractures including a broken hip, broken arm, or broken pelvis.
- Back injuries can happen in any type of car accident; however, they are a common injury in head-on, rear-end, and side-swiping car accidents. The force of the crash can cause a range of back injuries including a broken back, pinched nerves, spinal cord injury, or herniated disks.
- Traumatic brain injuries are one of the most tragic types of injuries that result from car accidents. They are often the result of a head-on collision because the head and brain move forward while the rest of the body is held in place by the seatbelt. A traumatic brain injury happens when the brain is hit, either because it strikes the inside of the skull or through a direct blow to the skull.
If you have been involved in an automobile accident, regardless of minor or severe the accident may have been, it is critical that you seek medical care immediately after the accident. In many situations, the injuries resulting from a car crash aren’t immediately apparent. The symptoms may not show up for several days or even a few weeks after the accident, so seeking medical attention right away will allow you to receive the appropriate treatment sooner, which may be life-saving. If the accident was caused by the negligence of someone else, the next step after seeking medical care is to contact a car accident lawyer in Everett to assist you with seeking recovery for the damages caused by the accident.
