If a motorist is involved in an auto accident, no matter how minor, there is a high probability that they will be injured. Most auto accident injuries are recognizable and must be treated immediately, and the person might be admitted to a hospital. However, some might be unrecognizable or not manifest themselves for several days or even weeks. Some injuries might regrettably worsen over time, resulting in pain, suffering, or the inability to work or have an everyday life.
Physical Injuries
- Connective Tissue and Nerve Injuries: Auto accident victims frequently experience whiplash, which affects the neck muscles, ligaments, or tendons. It has initially mild symptoms like headache, stiff neck, or neck pain. However, the pain increases over time and eventually becomes chronic. Those accident victims who suffer from whiplash experience mobile-debilitating arthritis because of damaged surrounding joints and ligaments. Its long-term effects include migraines and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Connective tissues like the back and spine tend to be seriously injured in auto accidents. Back pain is a type of chronic pain that most accident victims endure. They can also experience a herniated disc, in which symptoms such as tingling, muscle weakness, and continual arm and leg pain occur over time. In some cases, an auto accident victim can experience papilledema in their spinal cord, which indicates pressure buildup around their brain. They will lose sight if they do not receive treatment for this.
- Head Injuries: An auto accident victim can suffer a mild or severe head injury. A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is considered a severe brain injury. A person who experiences TBI can potentially end up in a coma or persistent vegetative state. They could also be unable to keep their job due to other long-term effects, such as changes in personality and memory problems.
Other Effects
- Emotional: After an auto accident, people experience stress due to the trauma endured. Anxiety and depression are two of the most frequent emotional effects of an auto accident. Accident victims might develop anxiety disorders like panic attacks or social anxiety disorder. They can also become depressed if they cannot cope due to a total disability after the auto accident. Accident victims also experience other emotions like frustration or anger.
- Psychological: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a more severe psychological effect of an auto accident that people might be unaware of. Those develop it after they endure a traumatic event. It can severely affect an individual’s ability to live everyday life. They are fearful, angry, nervous, feel guilty, or mistrust others. Such symptoms can lead to the individual having nightmares or flashbacks.
- Financial: Those in an auto accident must deal with the significant damage to their cars. In most accidents, cars can have considerable body damage that will probably make certain parts inoperable, like the engine or wheels. The damage can be expensive to fix and sometimes impossible to do so. If an individual becomes disabled in an auto accident, they could be unable to work and prevented from maintaining an income. Although the person must take a brief leave of absence to recover from the accident, they do not earn any money. By getting their injuries treated, auto accident victims incur substantial medical bills. They can be extremely steep and significantly impact auto accident victims and their families. If the auto accident victim receives a long-term injury and is uninsured, this can be nightmarish. In this situation, medical bills can exceed their yearly income. It can result in financial devastation if the individual does not have an emergency fund or an income to pay for these expenses.