There were 3,387 serious injuries in Colorado car accidents in 2021, the most recent year for which the Department of Transportation has data available. Unfortunately, car accident injuries can happen to anyone and can change your life.
If you or someone you love was hurt in a car accident, Dulin McQuinn Young is here to help so you can give us a call at (303) 246-1111 to speak with a car accident lawyer in Denver. You can also read on to learn about some of the most common car accident injuries you might experience if you’re involved in a crash.
1. Orthopedic Injuries
Orthopedic injuries affect the bones, joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. You could experience a wide range of damage to your orthopedic system after a motor vehicle accident, ranging from minor sprains to severely broken bones. These injuries can be broadly divided into three categories:
- Upper extremity injuries such as those affecting the wrist, arms, ribs, or shoulders.
- Lower extremity injuries including broken hips, legs, and feet or a torn ACL or MCL
- Soft tissue injuries impacting the ligaments, muscles or tendons.
2. Nerve Damage
You have nerves located throughout the body. Unfortunately, if you experience lacerations or trauma to the nervous system, this could affect your brain and other bodily functions. Common types of nerve damage include:
- Spinal nerve damage: Spine injuries affect your ability to move your body
- Sensory nerve damage: This would cause you to lose sensation
- Digital nerve damage: This can include a range of injuries from hand trauma to a simple cut
3. Internal Injuries
Internal injuries damage the organs inside of your abdominal, cranial, and thoracic cavities. Your stomach, ribs, lungs, major blood vessels, or other organs could be damaged. This may not cause immediate outward symptoms but can be serious or even fatal. Common examples of internal injuries that can occur in a car accident include:
- Broken ribs
- Internal bleeding
- An abdominal aortic aneurysm
- Organ injury
- A ruptured spleen
4. Head Trauma
Striking your vehicle on any hard object inside of the car, or on the road if you are thrown from a vehicle, can cause damage to the brain, skull, or scalp. Injuries can range in severity from a simple concussion to lasting traumatic brain injury.
Common types of head injuries that occur in a motor vehicle accident include:
- Open head injuries, which penetrate the skull and touch brain tissue
- Closed head injuries, which don’t penetrate the skull
- Concussion, which occurs when your head is thrown quickly back and forth. Concussions can occur even without making physical contact with other objects and can result in a range of symptoms from a headache to loss of consciousness to a coma
- Primary or secondary lesions on the brain
Our Denver traumatic brain injury lawyers can assist you with getting compensation to cover your injury costs.
5. Disfigurement
Burns, cuts, lacerations, and dental damage can all occur and impact your appearance especially if your face is affected. Treatment may include plastic surgery and skin grafts
Each of these common types of injury can impact your life in profound ways. Be sure to get prompt medical help after a crash so your injuries can be properly diagnosed, documented, and treated. Then, contact a Denver injury lawyer at Dulin McQuinn Young to help you get compensation for the economic and non-financial losses these injuries can cause. Call today at (303) 246-1111 to learn how we can help.