Bus Accident Injuries

cartwrightlaw - November 21, 2023 -

Bus transport is crucial to the United States economy. For instance, most schools use buses to ferry students to and from school. In addition, buses provide affordable and reliable transport for people traveling for leisure and work.

Like most vehicles, buses are vulnerable to collision accidents. Unfortunately, bus accidents cause significant property damage and severe injuries due to their size. Similarly, victims of bus accidents endure long-term health impacts that necessitate hefty medical bills to recover from the injuries.

If you or a loved one sustained a bus accident injury, a personal injury attorney can help you pursue compensation to ease your recovery.

Common Bus Accident Injuries

Traumatic Brain Injuries

A traumatic brain injury occurs due to a violent blow to the head or body. In a bus accident, the impact can cause a shattered piece of the skull to pierce the brain tissue, leading to a traumatic brain injury.

A mild traumatic injury creates a temporary impact on the brain tissue. On the other hand, a severe traumatic brain injury results in torn tissues, bruising, bleeding, and physical damage to the brain.

A severe traumatic brain injury may also trigger long-term complications or death.

A traumatic brain injury can result in prolonged or permanent changes in a victim’s consciousness, responsiveness, and awareness. For instance, some victims suffer a vegetative state, which is widespread damage to their brain cells.

Other complications related to traumatic brain injuries include coma, brain death, and a minimally conscious state.

Back Injuries

The human body and spine have limited ability to absorb the heavy impact produced in a bus collision. As a result, passengers involved in bus accidents are likely to suffer back injuries. Interestingly, back injuries delay showing up after an accident.

Back injuries affect any part of the back, mainly the lower back. A back injury can occur when the impact of the bus collision damages your back’s nerves, muscles, bones, joints, or connective tissue.

Here are a few types of back injuries:

• Herniated discs
• Sprains
• Fractured Vertebrae
• Spinal stenosis

People with back injuries experience symptoms such as difficulty walking or bending, bruising, swelling, and pain that worsens when coughing. A severe back injury can lead to long-term disability that can alter mobility or independence.

Chest Injuries

Chest injuries are also common in bus accidents. The momentum of being thrown forward can cause significant thoracic chest trauma or even death. There are different chest injuries based on their location.

For instance, a chest wall injury may include rib fractures, bruises, or contusions. Chest injuries in the lung include lung contusion, lung laceration, and lung hemothorax.

Victims of bus accidents who suffer chest injuries experience symptoms such as bruising, swelling, difficulty breathing, pain in the chest that worsens when coughing, tenderness to the chest, and pain when breathing in.

Broken Bones

A broken bone and libs is a significant and common injury in bus accidents. Although most broken bones are clear to see, others are not. You may only realize you’ve experienced a broken bone after leaving the accident scene.

Complications of broken bones include bone infection, non-union, malunion, and additional internal damage to your muscles, nerves, ligaments, or blood vessels.

The good news is that people who suffer from broken bones recover and resume their everyday lives. Unfortunately, broken bones can create a long-term impact on people with other injuries.

Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal cord injuries are common in bus accidents due to the substantial impact during collisions. A spinal cord injury occurs after a sudden and traumatic blow to the spine, which may fracture, crush, dislocate, or compress one or more vertebrates.

 A spinal injury may also trigger additional damage within days or weeks due to bleeding, swelling, and fluid accumulation around the spinal cord after the injury.

Spinal cord injuries often result in nasty symptoms such as:

• Loss of bowel or bladder control
• Loss of movement
• Changes in sexual fertility, dysfunction, and fertility
• Trouble breathing
• Change or loss of sensation
• Spasms or exaggerated reflex activities

People with spinal cord injuries suffer complications such as mental health issues, respiratory system defects, and bone density issues.

Facial injuries

A bus accident can cause facial injuries, including bruising, bleeding, broken bones, eye damage, scarring, and bruising. While most facial injuries are immediately noticeable, some are not.

A facial injury can affect the lower jaw, cheek, nose, upper jaw, eye socket, forehead, or nose.

Victims of facial injuries may experience symptoms such as:

• Double vision
• Uneven or deformed face
• Difficulty breathing through the nose due to swelling or bleeding
• A different feeling over the face

Additional complications of facial injuries include nervous system or brain issues, infection, numbness, or weakness.

Internal Injuries

Some bus accident injuries are not visible. The massive impact due to the collision can cause internal bleeding and damage to internal organs. Due to their invisible nature, any delay in seeking treatment always results in a severe medical problem.

Here are a few examples of internal injuries:

• Internal Bleeding: It occurs when there’s internal bleeding inside the body, mainly in the chest cavity, muscles, or stomach cavity. It can occur anywhere in the body where an object has pierced or crushed a blood vessel.

• Kidney Injury: Victims who suffer significant abdominal trauma are at risk of developing kidney injury.

• Spleen Damage: Spleen damage occurs after a blow to the left upper stomach or lower chest. An injured spleen can rupture a few days or weeks after the injury.

• Punctured Lungs: The trauma from a bus accident can cause a blow to the body, leading to a punctured lung. A bus accident victim with a broken rib may also suffer a lung puncture.

Let Our Santa Rosa, CA, Injury Lawyers Help You Pursue Compensation

A traumatic brain injury due to a bus accident can worsen your life. First, you’re experiencing deteriorating health with symptoms such as profound confusion and loss of coordination. You’ll also incur unplanned medication, surgery, and long-term care expenses.

Consider engaging an experienced Santa Rosa personal injury attorney from Cartwright Law Firm to increase your chances of receiving fair compensation.

Contact us online or call us at (415) 851-6486 to book an appointment.

Bus transport is crucial to the United States economy. For instance, most schools use buses to ferry students to and from school. In addition, buses provide affordable and reliable transport for people traveling for leisure and work.

Like most vehicles, buses are vulnerable to collision accidents. Unfortunately, bus accidents cause significant property damage and severe injuries due to their size. Similarly, victims of bus accidents endure long-term health impacts that necessitate hefty medical bills to recover from the injuries.

If you or a loved one sustained a bus accident injury, a personal injury attorney can help you pursue compensation to ease your recovery.

Common Bus Accident Injuries

Traumatic Brain Injuries

A traumatic brain injury occurs due to a violent blow to the head or body. In a bus accident, the impact can cause a shattered piece of the skull to pierce the brain tissue, leading to a traumatic brain injury.

A mild traumatic injury creates a temporary impact on the brain tissue. On the other hand, a severe traumatic brain injury results in torn tissues, bruising, bleeding, and physical damage to the brain.

A severe traumatic brain injury may also trigger long-term complications or death.

A traumatic brain injury can result in prolonged or permanent changes in a victim’s consciousness, responsiveness, and awareness. For instance, some victims suffer a vegetative state, which is widespread damage to their brain cells.

Other complications related to traumatic brain injuries include coma, brain death, and a minimally conscious state.

Back Injuries

The human body and spine have limited ability to absorb the heavy impact produced in a bus collision. As a result, passengers involved in bus accidents are likely to suffer back injuries. Interestingly, back injuries delay showing up after an accident.

Back injuries affect any part of the back, mainly the lower back. A back injury can occur when the impact of the bus collision damages your back’s nerves, muscles, bones, joints, or connective tissue.

Here are a few types of back injuries:

• Herniated discs
• Sprains
• Fractured Vertebrae
• Spinal stenosis

People with back injuries experience symptoms such as difficulty walking or bending, bruising, swelling, and pain that worsens when coughing. A severe back injury can lead to long-term disability that can alter mobility or independence.

Chest Injuries

Chest injuries are also common in bus accidents. The momentum of being thrown forward can cause significant thoracic chest trauma or even death. There are different chest injuries based on their location.

For instance, a chest wall injury may include rib fractures, bruises, or contusions. Chest injuries in the lung include lung contusion, lung laceration, and lung hemothorax.

Victims of bus accidents who suffer chest injuries experience symptoms such as bruising, swelling, difficulty breathing, pain in the chest that worsens when coughing, tenderness to the chest, and pain when breathing in.

Broken Bones

A broken bone and libs is a significant and common injury in bus accidents. Although most broken bones are clear to see, others are not. You may only realize you’ve experienced a broken bone after leaving the accident scene.

Complications of broken bones include bone infection, non-union, malunion, and additional internal damage to your muscles, nerves, ligaments, or blood vessels.

The good news is that people who suffer from broken bones recover and resume their everyday lives. Unfortunately, broken bones can create a long-term impact on people with other injuries.

Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal cord injuries are common in bus accidents due to the substantial impact during collisions. A spinal cord injury occurs after a sudden and traumatic blow to the spine, which may fracture, crush, dislocate, or compress one or more vertebrates.

 A spinal injury may also trigger additional damage within days or weeks due to bleeding, swelling, and fluid accumulation around the spinal cord after the injury.

Spinal cord injuries often result in nasty symptoms such as:

• Loss of bowel or bladder control
• Loss of movement
• Changes in sexual fertility, dysfunction, and fertility
• Trouble breathing
• Change or loss of sensation
• Spasms or exaggerated reflex activities

People with spinal cord injuries suffer complications such as mental health issues, respiratory system defects, and bone density issues.

Facial injuries

A bus accident can cause facial injuries, including bruising, bleeding, broken bones, eye damage, scarring, and bruising. While most facial injuries are immediately noticeable, some are not.

A facial injury can affect the lower jaw, cheek, nose, upper jaw, eye socket, forehead, or nose.

Victims of facial injuries may experience symptoms such as:

• Double vision
• Uneven or deformed face
• Difficulty breathing through the nose due to swelling or bleeding
• A different feeling over the face

Additional complications of facial injuries include nervous system or brain issues, infection, numbness, or weakness.

Internal Injuries

Some bus accident injuries are not visible. The massive impact due to the collision can cause internal bleeding and damage to internal organs. Due to their invisible nature, any delay in seeking treatment always results in a severe medical problem.

Here are a few examples of internal injuries:

• Internal Bleeding: It occurs when there’s internal bleeding inside the body, mainly in the chest cavity, muscles, or stomach cavity. It can occur anywhere in the body where an object has pierced or crushed a blood vessel.

• Kidney Injury: Victims who suffer significant abdominal trauma are at risk of developing kidney injury.

• Spleen Damage: Spleen damage occurs after a blow to the left upper stomach or lower chest. An injured spleen can rupture a few days or weeks after the injury.

• Punctured Lungs: The trauma from a bus accident can cause a blow to the body, leading to a punctured lung. A bus accident victim with a broken rib may also suffer a lung puncture.

Let Our Santa Rosa, CA, Injury Lawyers Help You Pursue Compensation

A traumatic brain injury due to a bus accident can worsen your life. First, you’re experiencing deteriorating health with symptoms such as profound confusion and loss of coordination. You’ll also incur unplanned medication, surgery, and long-term care expenses.

Consider engaging an experienced Santa Rosa personal injury attorney from Cartwright Law Firm to increase your chances of receiving fair compensation.

Contact us online or call us at (415) 851-6486 to book an appointment.

Our successful case results are a reflection of the values and virtues we believe in and uphold at Cartwright Law Firm. Nothing stops us from pursuing justice on behalf of those who need it.

Robert E. Cartwright Jr.
Founder and Managing Partner