Different types of car crashes can produce different types of injuries. Head-on collisions can be especially dangerous when people fail to wear safety restraints, as vehicle occupants can end up thrown out of vehicles. T-bone collisions often cause crush injuries due to the way vehicles crumple after a side impact.
Rear-end collisions have a strong association with soft tissue injuries, specifically whiplash. However, they can cause much more serious injuries as well. A rear-end crash has the potential to cause a complete or incomplete spinal cord injury that has permanent medical consequences for the injured party.
How can a crash that doesn’t always seem serious cause a spinal cord injury?
Abrupt motions can cause traumatic injuries
Rear-end crashes often occur when a stopped vehicle gets struck by a vehicle in motion. Other times, a faster-moving vehicle approaching from the rear overtakes a slower-moving vehicle with devastating consequences.
The greater the discrepancy in speed between the two vehicles, the more violent the motions of the vehicle in front after the impact. The abrupt back-and-forth motion can cause pinching or tearing of the spinal cord.
In some cases, people sustain incomplete spinal cord injuries. They may notice pain or mild functional limitations but retain the ability to move their lower extremities. In other cases, the rear-end crash is violent enough to completely sever someone’s spinal cord. Incomplete spinal cord injuries caused by partial tearing or pinching of the spinal cord can sometimes improve with care and rest, but complete spinal cord injuries result in a permanent loss of functional capabilities.
Anyone who suspects an injury to their neck or back after a rear-end crash likely needs to seek out emergency medical care as soon as possible. In fact, they may require stabilization during their trip to the hospital to prevent the worsening of an existing spinal cord injury.
Even incomplete spinal cord injuries can generate expenses that go well beyond what insurance covers. People adjusting to life with a spinal cord injury after a car crash may need to discuss the collision and the resulting expenses with a personal injury attorney.
A lawyer can help people with severe car crash injuries evaluate insurance coverage and identify potential sources of compensation. Securing legal support while recovering from a rear-end collision that caused a spinal cord injury can help an injured person hold the party at fault for the crash legally and financially responsible.