The head and back are some of the most vulnerable areas of the body in a motor vehicle accident. They are also essential parts of the body for proper function and mobility. For this reason, injuries to the head and back tend to come with the most severe and protracted consequences for car accident victims.
As for head injuries, it’s common for passengers and drivers involved in auto accidents to strike their heads against windows, dashboards and other areas of the car. Even if the head doesn’t directly strike an object, however, a brain injury can occur due to the severe gravitational forces involved. Car accident victims might suffer from a minor traumatic brain injury that results in a temporary concussion, or a severe one that results in a coma. Lasting cognitive problems, emotional issues, loss of motor skills, vision impairment, hearing loss, skull fractures, facial injuries and other life-altering systems may be associated with a catastrophic injury to the head or brain.
As for back injuries, these problems happen when the back gets crushed, hit or struck in the violence of an auto collision. If the spinal cord that runs through the vertebrae is damaged or severed, it may end in catastrophic results. The injured person could be disabled from the point of the spinal cord damage down in the body. The higher up on the spine this kind of injury occurs, the more devastating the effects. Some paralysis patients cannot breathe or control other faculties on their own.
Medical care, in-home treatments and services, physical therapy, lost income and other consequences of head and back injuries can be extremely costly for car accident victims. However, if the accident happened due to another party’s negligence, legal avenues may exist for victims to recoup damages, pay for medical care and achieve some sense of closure relating to the accident and injuries.
Source: The Dickerson & Smith Law Group, “Types of Car Accident Injuries,” accessed Feb. 02, 2018