What Neck Injuries Are Caused by Car Accidents?

Car accidents can lead to devastating medical consequences in the blink of an eye. Neck injuries are some of the worst to come out of major collisions. What neck injuries are caused by car accidents? Explore a few common ones and how this type of injury could affect your payout. 

5 Common Neck Injuries in Car Accidents

When you ride in a vehicle, your torso is relatively secure because of the seatbelt. Meanwhile, your head and neck don’t have much protection. A serious accident could cause your head to jerk back and forth, leading to severe medical conditions.

Common neck injuries caused by car accidents include the following:

• Whiplash: This happens when your neck experiences rapid back-and-forth movement during the sudden impact of a crash. Forcibly bending the neck to this degree may damage the muscles, bones, nerves, and ligaments. 
• Herniated discs: This condition occurs when the soft center of a spinal disc pushes against the outer ring, causing nerve pain, numbness, or weakness. This could also be considered a spinal cord injury, depending on the location of the disc. 
• Cervical fractures: The cervical spine is the upper portion of the spine. Fractures in this area often occur from high-impact trauma, such as an auto collision or diving into a shallow pool. Severe fractures typically require surgery to improve alignment. 
• Soft tissue damage: Whiplash and other car accident injuries lead to soft tissue damage. This injury often needs to heal on its own, a process that can take over six weeks. 
• Nerve compression: Cervical radiculopathy is the medical term for nerve compression in the upper spine. It happens when the jolt of the accident pinches a nerve, leading to radiating pain, numbness, and muscle weakness. 

These neck injuries caused by car accidents all range from mild to severe. In the worst cases, they result in permanent paralysis. Even minor ones may lead to long-lasting pain and discomfort. 

Are Neck Injury Car Accidents Worth More? 

If you were the victim of a car accident in which you experienced neck injuries, you may have the opportunity to pursue significant compensation. These conditions tend to be more expensive than other injury types because they take longer to heal and require more medical intervention, significantly impacting your life. 

Should you decide to pursue an insurance claim, you may seek funds to cover your medical bills and other direct expenses related to the injury. But if the insurance coverage is too low to provide a sufficient payout, you might need to seek compensation through a lawsuit instead to collect both economic and non-economic damages. 

Non-economic damages in neck injury car accident cases are common. This severe type of injury can lead to significant pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of quality of life, especially if it bars you from working or has permanent effects.

You may have the right to seek compensation for these damages. 

Let Us Help You Pursue Compensation for Your Injuries

What neck injuries are caused by car accidents? The above examples are just a few of the conditions that could arise after a serious collision. If you are facing severe medical consequences, let our attorneys take the compensation process off your shoulders while you focus on your recovery. 

The Law Office of Elliott Kanter has been representing car accident victims in San Diego for more than 40 years. Let us help you seek the maximum compensation so you can start moving forward. 

Call us today at 619-231-1883 or fill out our online form to schedule a free case evaluation.

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