According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”), more than three million people are hurt each year in car accidents across the United States. While each car accident and the resulting injuries is as different as the parties involved, the common theme among them is that they happen every day on America’s roads. Some injuries are immediately apparent and require urgent medical attention, while other injuries have delayed symptoms that do not appear until days, weeks, or even months after the crash. Treatment may range from temporary simple care to extensive, prolonged, or even life-long medical care.
If you or someone you know has been injured in a Nevada car accident, contact a Las Vegas personal injury attorney right away to protect your rights under the law.
Types of Injuries
Generally, there are two types of injuries that result from car accidents — impact injuries and penetrating injuries. Impact injuries refer to those typically caused by direct contact of the victim’s body with the interior of the vehicle. Penetrating injuries, on the other hand, include other types of harm such as scrapes, cuts, and impalements. No matter what type of injury a car accident victim suffers from, it is critical to seek medical care and then seek legal help.
The most common types of car accident-related injuries include:
- Whiplash: This is a soft tissue injury of the upper back and neck caused by a fast change in direction of the body that is experience due to the impact of the crash;
- Sprains: The sudden movement a driver or passenger experiences during a car accident causes the muscles and ligaments of the body to stretch and compress violently and quickly, resulting in soft tissue strains and sprains;
- Spinal injuries: This happens when the tissues surrounding the spine is sprained, compressed, or otherwise damaged due to the impact of the car accident and can cause temporary or permanent paralysis;
- Lesions: Any loose items in the vehicle, such as books, shoes, purses, cell phones, beverage containers, and umbrellas can quickly become projectiles when a high-speed crash happens. Injuries can include scrapes, bruising, and cuts. While lesions are generally superficial and easily treated, more serious ones can require stitches and can cause blood loss.
- Head injuries: When the body is tossed around in the vehicle when a car crashes, parts of the body, particularly the head, can collide with the car’s window, windshield, steering wheel, seat backs, door sides, and inanimate objects in the car. Head injuries can damage the brain when it hits the inside of the skull, causing traumatic brain injuries.
- Chest injuries: This kind of injury is common in car accidents because the chest often collides with the steering wheel of the vehicle causing broken ribs, bruising, and even internal damages or bleeding. Seat belts locking upon impact can also cause chest injuries in a car accident.
Seek Legal Help in Nevada
If you have been involved in a Nevada car accident and are suffering from a related injury, contact the experienced personal injury lawyers at H&P Law. Because medical bills can pile up quickly and a recovery can take longer than expected, it is in your best interest to seek out the monetary compensation to which you are entitled. Our lawyers understand how a car accident can be life-altering. Contact us today at one of our offices in Las Vegas or Henderson.
