A car accident injury can drastically change your life and create enormous physical, financial, and emotional trauma. If you have been injured in a car accident, it’s important to understand your injuries and your options for recovering financial compensation. An experienced car accident attorney can help you seek justice if you’ve suffered any of the following common injuries from car accidents in Dallas.
How Common Are Car Accident Injuries in Dallas?
Unfortunately, Dallas has one of the highest car accident rates in the nation. According to crash data from the Texas Department of Transportation, there were 1,134 serious injuries and 205 fatalities in Dallas car accidents in a recent year. Overall, Dallas accounted for over 7 percent of accidents statewide that year.
Moreover, Dallas has an exceptionally high rate of fatal car accidents. According to an NBC 5 review of data over a five-year period, Dallas averaged around 15 traffic fatalities per 100,000 people, making it more dangerous for drivers than any other U.S. city with a population over one million. Speeding and aggressive driving are two factors that contribute to this high traffic accident death rate.
Common Injuries from Car Accidents
Car crashes involve heavy metal machinery colliding at high forces, which can cause a substantial range of minor and severe injuries. Below are some of the most common types of injuries from car crashes in Dallas.
Whiplash
Whiplash occurs when the head and neck rapidly snap forward or backward due to rapid deceleration during a car accident. It can occur in any car accident but is probably most common in rear-end collisions, where the driver’s head snaps backward from the sudden acceleration. Whiplash causes strain in the neck’s muscles, ligaments, and tendons, creating chronic, lasting pain.
Back and Spinal Cord Injuries
Horizontal forces during a car accident direct themselves at the driver’s torso, leading to back and spinal cord injuries. These types of back injuries can cause extreme pain and significantly hamper mobility. Severe spinal cord injuries also can cause partial or complete paralysis. Car accidents are one of the most significant causes of spinal injuries in the U.S.
Traumatic Brain Injurie (TBI)
Blunt force trauma from hitting your head on the steering wheel or console during an accident can cause concussion and traumatic brain injury. TBIs can cause all kinds of neurological symptoms ranging from brain fog and difficulty concentrating to depression and memory loss. Concussions can also cause delayed symptoms that do not show up until days or weeks after the accident.
Soft Tissue Injuries
The concussive force of car accidents can cause soft tissue injuries like bruising or hematomas. Common symptoms of a soft tissue injury include swelling, discoloration, heat, limited mobility, and tightness in the affected area.
Crushing Injuries
Car accidents can also pin the victim’s legs, arms, and torso, creating crushing injuries in the body. Crushing injuries can create large hematomas, break bones, and even sever limbs.
Internal Bleeding and Organ Damage
Car accidents also cause internal injuries and organ damage that causes bleeding inside the body. These kinds of injuries are particularly pernicious as you might be unable to identify them immediately after an accident.
Burns
Parts of a car might get extremely hot or catch on fire during an accident, causing burn injuries. For example, accident victims can sustain burns from hot water or steam from a broken radiator, or they might come into contact with hot metal or open flames.
PTSD or Emotional Trauma
Being in a serious accident is a scary experience that can leave a lasting mark on your psyche. Accidents can cause emotional trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, both of which can cause mood swings, depressive thoughts, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping.
Common Types of Car Accidents
Different car accident types are likely to produce different injury types. Some of the typical kinds of collisions that occur in Dallas include:
- Rear-End Collisions – Rear-end collisions happen when one car collides into the rear of another, usually when the car in front is stationary at a traffic light or stop sign. Whiplash is particularly common in rear-end collisions because the victim’s head and neck snap backward when the other car collides into the rear.
- Head-On Collisions – Head-on collisions are the most dangerous type of car accident and cause some of the most serious harm. They are deadly because of the rapid deceleration that occurs when two cars traveling in opposite directions collide.
- T-Bone Accidents – T-bone accidents occur when the front of one car collides with the side of another. T-bone accidents typically occur at intersections and crossings where one driver is not paying attention. They can cause variable injuries depending on the speed and angle of the collision.
- Rollover Accidents – Rollover accidents often cause crushing injuries like broken bones or soft tissue injuries. They may also cause severe lacerations and bruising from the victim colliding with the interior of their car and broken metal.
- Multi-Vehicle Accidents – In some cases, a car accident can involve multiple vehicles. Multi-car pile-ups have the potential to cause extensive injuries ranging from whiplash and muscle strains to crushing injuries, burns, and more.
How Much Compensation Can I Receive for a Car Accident Injury?
It is not possible to predict how much compensation one can receive from a specific car accident settlement. Personal injury settlements can range from a few thousand dollars into the millions of dollars – it all depends on the specifics of the case. Factors that will influence compensation amounts include:
- The severity of your injuries
- Your emergency and continuing medical expenses
- Your lost income or lost earning potential
- The available insurance coverage
- The extent of your property damage
Additionally, Texas uses a comparative fault standard that can impact your settlement amount if you bear partial responsibility for causing the accident. Your attorney will work to prevent attempts to shift blame toward you, which could reduce your compensation or prevent you from recovering compensation entirely.
It can be challenging to keep track of your expenses when recovering from a car accident injury. Your Dallas car accident attorney will calculate your expenses and losses to determine a figure that represents total compensation for the harm you’ve suffered.
Call Today to Speak to a Car Accident Attorney in Dallas
If you suffered an injury in a car accident caused by another party’s carelessness, you have limited time to recover financial compensation. Contact Benton Accident & Injury Lawyers online or call (214) 777-7777 today to get started with a free consultation.