Car Accident Injury
Traffic accidents are unpredictable and because human reflex is not fast enough to avoid an impending collision, it results to tragic events. Compared to owners of two-wheeled vehicles, car owners take comfort in the fact that based on statistics, they have better chances of surviving a crash. However, regardless of statistics, in every car accident, one of the inevitable circumstances is car accident injury.
Kinds of Injury
The severity of a car accident injury, depends on two things: the object to which the car collided, whether it be stationary or moving; and the gravity of the collision. These factors contribute to making the injury either a minor or a major one.
A minor car accident injury can involve a simple bruise, wound or sprain. It can also cause simple burns injuries but they can also be grave when it affects a large part of the body or is more severe. When the injury is only minor, it can be easily treated with the patient requiring none or minimum hospitalization.
A major car accident injury, on the other hand, may require long periods of hospitalization that can take from several days to weeks or even months in rehabilitation confinement. The most serious of these injuries is a car accident brain injury, which can be a mild concussion or a serious traumatic brain injury (TBI). An injury to the brain can lead to the victim's partial or total paralyzation, coma or even death.
The most common serious car accident injury is fracture or injury to the bones. It can occur on any part of the body, the most sensitive areas of which are the neck, back and ribs. The most dangerous of these is a spinal cord injury, which can lead to a possible coma or paralyzation. Injuries associated with the spinal cord are whiplash, herniated disks and intervertebral disc injuries. In most cases, a victim with fractures may require surgery, brace support and physical therapy. These treatments are also applied in an auto accident injury caused by joint dislocation or a displacement of a bone from its joint.
The possible consequences of a car accident injury are amputation or removal of a body part and scarring, especially facial scarring. A worse scenario for a victim is when these injuries are combined; or when he or she dies.
Legal Consequences of a Car Accident Injury
A car accident may result in injury to a driver and the passenger, the occupants of another vehicle and a pedestrian. There are two possible causes of action against the negligent party: a criminal action, a civil action or both. In either accident lawsuits, the driver's license of the negligent party is usually confiscated and suspended. A criminal action is usually initiated when the accident has led to injury or death, or when the driver was negligent or violated the law such as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. A more common action is a civil suit, a personal injury case for damages.
Insurance Claims
In most cases, victims of a vehicular mishap, do no file court actions because it is costly and lengthy. Victims instead file an insurance claim against the insurance company of the offending driver or his own insurer, if the former is insufficient or has none. The recoverable indemnity from the insurance company may include actual damages such as medical expenses, loss of wages, loss of earning capacity and damage to property. Moral damages may also be recovered by the victim for mental anguish, and pain and suffering.