Motor Vehicle Accidents, Serious Personal Injury, Traumatic Brain Injuries

Types of Injuries Sustained in Motor Vehicle Accidents in Alberta

Written on behalf of Cuming & Gillespie LLP Published on September 12, 2022
x-ray image of spine

Car accidents are a fact of life. They can happen at any time and place, including when you’re on the road. But being involved in an accident doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily be injured. Many people who are in car accidents walk away with no injuries whatsoever. However, if you sustain injuries resulting from an accident, it’s important to seek medical attention as soon as possible—and ideally before leaving the scene of the accident itself (if possible). That way, you can get treatment sooner rather than later and minimize potential complications from any potential injuries sustained in the crash. 

Common types of injuries sustained by those involved in motor vehicle accidents

Whiplash

Whiplash is a soft tissue injury. The neck is the most common area of injury, but it can also affect the upper back and shoulders. Whiplash occurs when your head moves suddenly in relation to your body, causing stretching and damage to the ligaments that support the joints in your neck.

  • Spinal Cord Injuries. Spinal cord injuries are the most serious kind of injury you can sustain in a motor vehicle accident. If a large part of your spinal cord is damaged, you will likely experience paralysis or lose partial or complete use of your limbs. This type of injury could also have an impact on other functions such as breathing and bladder control.
  • Painful Neck Injuries. A neck injury may be sustained by whiplash during an accident, causing pain and spasms in the back and shoulders as well as headaches or other symptoms similar to those associated with a concussion (see below).

Neck injury

A neck injury is a common motor vehicle accident injury. These types of injuries can range from minor to serious. The most common types of neck injuries include:

  • Tear of the ligaments – A ligament is a tough band that connects two bones, helping them stay in place and providing stability to the joint. Ligament tears are often mild but can also be severe enough to cause permanent damage or instability in the joint.
  • Tear of tendons – Tendons are structures that attach muscles to bones or cartilage so that you can move your arms and legs properly. Tendon ruptures often occur when you have excessive force placed on your body while you’re moving it around quickly (i.e., getting hit by another car). This type of injury is more likely in high-speed collisions than low-speed ones because it requires more force for something as small as muscle tissue to break through its surrounding connective tissue; however, this does not mean people who sustain a milder version will not experience any lasting pain or discomfort afterwards!

Brain injury

Head trauma is a serious injury that can lead to brain damage and even death. There are many different types of head trauma, including:

  • Bleeding in the brain
  • Unconsciousness
  • Seizures (convulsions)

Brain and neck injuries are the most serious. Brain damage can be fatal; in many cases, a person will die due to complications (such as internal bleeding). Neck injuries can also result in death because they can compress the spinal cord or cause excessive pressure on the brain stem. Both of these types of damage can also be severe, mild, moderate or minimal, depending on their severity level.

Broken bones

Broken bones are a more common injury in motor vehicle accidents. A broken bone, or fracture, occurs when a person’s bone is weakened by trauma or stress and breaks. This can be extremely painful and can lead to other complications such as infection if not treated properly. It is also very dangerous because if there is a break in your leg or arm, you will not be able to move around as easily and may even become immobile completely if the break occurs near your joints.

Broken bones are expensive to treat because they require special equipment and materials that regular doctors don’t normally have access too (such as casts). They may also cause permanent damage if they aren’t properly healed after being set back into place surgically by professional medical personnel using advanced techniques such as bone grafting, where they take healthy cells from another part of your body like your hipbone or rib cage, then inject them into areas where bones need extra support before healing properly on their own so you don’t end up misaligned later down the road which could mean needing surgery again later down the road also costing hundreds maybe even thousands of dollars every year depending on how bad your injury was initially treated/treated incorrectly during initial treatment process).

Car accidents can cause external and internal injuries

Injuries sustained in a motor vehicle collision can be categorized as either external or internal. External injuries are those that are visible and easy to treat, such as road rash and cuts. Internal injuries include broken bones, torn ligaments and muscles, head injury, spinal cord injury (SCI), and internal bleeding. Internal bleeding is less obvious but may require surgery to stop the flow of blood from an organ or body cavity into the surrounding area of your body. Internal bleeding can lead to shock because your heart has difficulty pumping enough blood throughout your circulatory system; this condition is life threatening if left untreated for too long

Car accidents are a leading cause of death and injury in Alberta. Car accidents can cause serious injuries, including whiplash, spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, broken bones and internal bleeding. If you have any of these after a car accident, it’s important to seek medical attention as soon as possible.

In conclusion, the range of injuries sustained in car accidents is very broad. If you were injured in a car crash, it’s important to seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Cuming & Gillespie LLP Helps Recover Maximum Compensation for Motor Vehicle Accident Injuries 

The compassionate personal injury lawyers at Cuming & Gillespie LLP have over 20 years of experience dealing with serious personal injury claims arising from motor vehicle accidents. Our firm understands how insurance companies approach claims and will help you build the strongest case possible. We handle every step of the process so you can focus on your recovery. From our office in Calgary, our skilled team proudly advocates for injured individuals across Alberta. Please call us at 403-571-0555 (toll-free at 1-800-682-2480) or reach out online to discuss how we can help you.