Injuries to Passengers in a Car Accident

It is no surprise to learn that car crashes are one of the most common causes of injuries in the United States, and the National Safety Council (NSC) reported that more people died in motor vehicle accidents in 2020 than 2019, marking an increase following a 95 percent reduction in motor vehicle deaths between 1913 and 2020. The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) reported that traffic fatalities, alcohol-impaired fatalities, unrestrained occupant fatalities, motorcycle fatalities, teen motor fatalities, and pedestrian fatalities all decreased from prior years, but the number of drivers killed in accidents who tested positive for legal and/or illegal drugs increased 8 percent from 2018.

People need to understand that car accidents often have the potential to cause injuries of some kind to most people involved, and there will be an immediate need for any person involved in a crash to seek medical attention so they can be sure they are getting the most complete treatment. It is a mistake not to see a doctor as soon as possible because any delay in going to a hospital can complicate the ability to recover any money for any injury because an insurance company will become more likely to argue the injury is not connected to the accident.

Then, always discuss your legal options with a car accident attorney in the Bay Area. 

Types of Car Accidents

No two car crashes are ever the same, and every single person needs to understand that their case will most certainly be unique and have its own different set of factors. The causes of collisions can always vary, and some accidents can be more difficult to determine fault for.

Some of the most common kinds of accidents in California include, but are not limited to:

• Read-End Collisions — A rear-end accident is usually the fault of a driver striking the rear of another automobile.
• Head-On Collisions — Head-on crashes typically involve a driver going the wrong way.
• Side-Impact Collisions — Also known as T-bone or broadside accidents, a vehicle strikes another one in the side.
• Sideswipe Collisions — A vehicle striking the side of another vehicle while both are traveling next to one another. 
• Rollover Accidents — Any accident in which a motor vehicle turns on to its side or rolls over completely.
• Merging Accidents — Collisions that occur when people are attempting to merge on highways.
• Hit-and-Run Accidents — When a driver flees the scene of an accident without exchanging personal information, it is a criminal offense known as a hit-and-run accident.
• Speeding Accidents — Any driver who was violating a speed limit could be at fault for a collision.
• Single-Vehicle Accidents — When motor vehicles fail because of mechanical issues, single-vehicle accidents can be more common.
• Multi-Vehicle Accidents — Any collisions involving more than two motor vehicles will be a multi-vehicle collision.

Types of Car Accident Injuries

People could suffer any one of several different kinds of injuries in a car accident. Much of a person’s condition can depend on where they were an accident occurred and how much the impact personally affected them.

Some of the most common kinds of injuries people suffer in these cases include:

• Fractures or broken bones — While certain fractures may not require significant time to heal, other kinds of fractures could involve surgeries or long-term disabilities. 
• Closed head injuries — A closed head injury involves trauma to a person’s head not causing a break in the skull. 
• Back injuries — Back injuries may include herniated discs, sprains and strains, muscle tension, fractured vertebrae, cervical dislocation, thoracic spine injuries in the mid-back, chest, or rib area, spondylolisthesis, herniated or bulging discs, spinal stenosis, lumbar spine or lower back injuries, cervical radiculopathy, and cervical fractures. 
• Leg injuries — A leg injury could involve a fracture or broken bone, with the tibia being among the most commonly injured. People could also be dealing with dislocations in which bones pull out of joints, sprains involving stretches and tears of ligaments, or strains involving stretches and tears of muscles. 
• Neck injuries — A neck injury may involve a ruptured disc, a broken or fractured neck, nerve compression, herniated discs, or radiculopathy. 
• Internal injuries — Internal organ injuries include ruptured spleens, brain bleeds, internal bleeding, broken ribs, abdominal aorta aneurysms involving the stomach being compressed during an accident and causes a rupture of the abdominal aorta, pneumothorax involving a rib puncturing a lung, or other internal organ injuries.
• Skull fractures — According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, the four major types of skull fractures include linear skull fractures, depressed skull fractures, diastatic skull fractures, and basilar skull fractures. 
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) — TBI symptoms can be mild, moderate, or severe. 

• Spinal cord injuries — Spinal cord injuries can result from direct injuries to a spinal cord itself or from damage to tissue and bones (vertebrae) surrounding the spinal cord. Incomplete spinal cord injuries involve spinal cords still being able to transmit messages to and from a brain to the rest of the body, but complete spinal cord injuries involve no nerve communication and motor function (voluntary movement) below the site where the trauma occurred. 
• Permanent nerve injuries — Peripheral nerves sending messages from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body consist of fibers called axons insulated by surrounding tissues, and a nerve injury could affect the brain’s ability to communicate with muscles and organs. 
• Amputations — Removal of a limb from trauma, medical illness, or surgery may be necessary to control pain or a disease process in an affected limb. 
• Paralysis — Paralysis is the loss of the ability to move a portion or all of the body, and different forms of paralysis include instances affecting a person’s face, hands, one side of the body (hemiplegia), one arm or leg (monoplegia), both legs (paraplegia), or both arms and legs (tetraplegia or quadriplegia). 
• Severe burn injuries — Severe burn injuries can cause major and permanent disfigurement for some people. 

Call Us Today to Schedule a Free Consultation with a Bay Area Car Accident Attorney

If you suffered serious injuries or your loved one was killed in any kind of car accident in the San Francisco Bay Area, you cannot afford to wait to seek legal representation because you will only have a limited amount of time to hold a negligent party accountable. The Cartwright Law Firm, Inc. represents clients throughout the state of California and has a proud history of real results for people who are dealing with injury claims.

Our firm has been legal advocates for injured people for more than 60 years, and we emphasize creating personal experiences for our clients. You can call (415) 433-0444 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with our Bay Area car accident attorney.