What Is Considered A Serious Car Accident?

The impact of a serious car accident can last a lifetime. It can lead to life-threatening injuries and severe vehicular or property damage. Individuals can require a lot of medical treatment to recover from a serious car accident. Sometimes, the accident may lead to permanent disabilities as well. Similarly, the vehicle will also have to undergo extensive repair, which can be extremely expensive.  

Types of Crashes That May Result in Severe Accidents

There are many different types of car accidents. Some of them may be minor, while others can lead to serious injuries. Some common types of crashes that can lead to severe injury and vehicle damage include: 

• Side-Impact Crash - These are also known as T-bone crashes. These car accidents occur when one vehicle crashes into the side of another vehicle near the doors. These accidents can leave the driver and passengers severely injured because the sides of any car are not strong enough to withstand an accident's impact like the front or back. 
• Rollover Accidents - Rollover accidents are most common with SUVs. This is because these vehicles have a higher center of gravity compared to sedans. These types of accidents involve the vehicle rolling over to its sides, sometimes multiple times. As a result, these accidents can lead to serious injury and vehicular damage. Individuals involved in rollover accidents are known to have suffered spinal cord injuries, broken bones, and internal organ damage. 
• Head-on Collisions - Head-on collisions occur when the front ends of two vehicles crash into each other with full force. This usually happens because one car is going on the wrong side. Head-on collisions are hazardous for the front seat drivers and passengers and can even lead to death. 
• Rear-end Collisions - Rear-end collisions are one of the most common types of car accidents. They can occur in several situations where vehicles are close to each other, like traffic intersections, stop signs, or even in heavy traffic. The severity of damage and injuries in rear-end collisions will vary depending on the vehicle's speed and the situation. Sometimes it could lead to a minor fender bender, while at other times, it could even lead to death.  

Common Injuries Of Serious Car Accidents

There are multiple ways in which an individual can get injured in a car accident. However, there are a few common injury types that are seen across most serious accidents. They are:

• Disfigurement
• Dismemberment
• Organ damage
• Broken bones
• Head, brain, and neck injury
• Paralysis
• Severe whiplash
• Lacerations
• Spinal cord injuries
• Permanent scarring
• Soft tissue injuries
• Amputations
• Death

Severe injuries caused by serious accidents can have a long-lasting impact on the victims and their family’s lives. Their personal relationships can get affected. They may lose their jobs, and the injuries could lead to psychological effects as well.  

Sometimes a major car accident may not cause severe injury to the people involved. It may only lead to severe vehicular damage. Even in such situations, the accident will be categorized as a severe accident. All that needs to happen for an accident to be considered severe is that it needs to have a negative impact on the victim's life. For instance, the person involved may not afford the repairs to his/her vehicle and will need a reasonable settlement to do so. Another instance is where the accident may have led to just whiplash injuries, but the severe whiplash can have life-long effects and make it difficult for them to return to work.  

Commercial trucks and vehicles are at the most risk of being involved in serious accidents. The most severe kinds are where a large commercial vehicle crashes into a smaller car. These kinds of accidents lead to the most severe injuries and vehicular damage. Sometimes, they may also turn fatal. Besides the common severe injuries that occur, serious accidents that involve larger commercial vehicles can also lead to severe burns or hazardous chemical exposure. 

Compensation In A Serious Car Accident

Individuals who are involved in a serious car accident can claim damages for the injuries and the vehicular damage. Compensation could include both economic and non-economic damages. Examples of economic damage include medical and rehabilitation costs, reduced earning capacity, and loss of income.

Examples of non-economic damage include emotional distress and mental stress, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, and disability. Individuals can recover these damages through an insurance settlement or lawsuit.  

How Can A Lawyer Help?

When you decide to claim compensation and damage after a car accident, you will have to deal with the responsible party's insurance company. While the insurance company may give you compensation, they will approach the entire case with the sole purpose of minimizing the compensation amount. And representatives of insurance companies are experienced at handling such situations. So they will know exactly what to say and do when negotiating with you. It can get overwhelming for you to deal with the strict and insensitive insurance company representatives when you are already dealing with an injury, damage, mental stress, and sometimes the loss of loved ones. In addition, the complexities involved in personal injury law can be too difficult to understand. This is where an experienced personal injury attorney can help.  

The personal injury lawyer will help you in many ways and fight for you to get the best possible outcome. He/she will investigate the accident, collect evidence, examine medical reports and police records, interview witnesses and first responders, consult with third-party experts, if required, and calculate the right amount of compensation for you. If an out-of-court settlement is not possible, he/she will also represent you in the court of law.  

Personal injury attorneys have years of experience dealing with severe car accident cases. They can be of valuable help to you in getting the right amount of compensation after your severe accident. If you or a loved one has been in a severe car accident, you should speak to a personal injury attorney about your case.