Car accidents happen nearly every day. While cars are equipped with seatbelts and airbags to reduce serious damage, they can’t protect people from everything, especially in catastrophic car accidents. People who suffer from vehicle collisions often experience some kind of injury. The lucky ones end up with minor cuts and bruises. For others, their injuries may be life-altering.
Life-changing injuries can take years to recover from (if victims recover at all). Victims of serious car accidents often have to go through tons of physical therapy and build up medical debt just to get a sense of order in their world. The following are some common injuries that can flip a person’s life upside down:
Herniated disks
While people often overlook how important their spine is, it can be the main factor that changes someone’s life. The spine is made up of a series of vertebrae, each separated by a liquid sack. These liquid sacks reduce friction in the spine and ease pressure on nerves.
When these sacks are damaged, they can put extreme pressure on someone’s spine, leaving them in agonizing pain and stiffness. These sacks can rupture with enough force or pressure, such as during an impact with another vehicle.
Paralyzation
The spine is also vulnerable to major injuries such as paralyzation. Paralyzation happens when the spinal cord itself is pinched or cut, causing victims to lose control or feeling in their limbs. There are many different forms of paralyzation, so damage from a wreck could affect just a single leg on a victim or it may affect their entire body from the neck down.
If you were injured in a car accident, you may need to know your legal rights when seeking compensation for medical debt and losses.