Category: Car Wrecks

Common Automobile Accident Injuries

Injuries sustained in an automobile accident depend on direction of travel, speed of travel, and collisions.  Generally, if a vehicle is hit from behind the chances of severe damage or injury is less likely, however, a client of mine was recently hit so hard from behind her car was written off as a total loss, she suffered a closed head injury from her head hitting the steering wheel (while restrained), and cervical and thoracic strain from the impact.  Car accidents involving a head-on collision at a high speed are often fatal.  Car accidents involving side impact often result in moderate impact and destruction of the vehicle.  Intensity of injuries depends on use of seat belts and injuries to vital organs.  Life threatening injuries are often seen following injuries of the head, neck, chest, and abdomen.  Injuries can range from mild to severe.

Common automobile accident injuries:

Subcutaneous Hematoma:

A hematoma is a collection of blood within the subcutaneous tissue.  This may occur from a tear of blood vessels in the skin, subcutaneous tissue or muscle.  Further investigation is necessary to rule-out internal tissue damage like a fracture, dislocation or a visceral tear (internal organ), which often depends on the area of the body and the size of the hematoma.  If the hematoma is over 2-4 inches in diameter, further investigation in an emergency room should be done.

Whiplash Injury:

The neck is the most vulnerable anatomical part of the body, and whiplash can occur with head-on, side or rear impact collisions causing hyperflexion of the neck.  Whiplash can also be used to describe lower body injuries depending on the impact and the position of the body at the time of the accident as well as the site of the injury.  Whiplash injury can cause muscle tears, joint injury, joint dislocation, ligament injury and tears to viscera (internal organs) and/or blood vessels.

Bone/Joint Injury:

Blunt injury at the time of impact may cause bone or joint fracture or dislocation, which can also lead to tears in the ligaments or joint capsule (sprain) or tear of the   muscles or tendons (strain) leading to further investigation such as x-rays or MRI.  Bone and joint injuries can including skeletal injuries of the spine leading to pain in the neck, back, extremities ranging from mild to severe and possibly even cause disc bulge or herniated disc.  Skeletal injury of the chest wall may result in multiple rib fractures, which could lead to a pneumothorax (collapsed lung).

Concussion:

Impact of the head or neck can cause can cause mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) also referred to as a concussion.  This can lead to headaches, dizziness, confusion, and vertigo (a sensation of spinning).  Further investigation with a CT scan of the head is recommended to rule out further damage.  A severe blow to the head can cause bleeding in the brain, which can be life threatening.

Seatbelt Injury:

While seatbelts can prevent injury, they can also cause injury.  This is actually one of the most common automobile accident injuries.  Mild injuries would include bruising or abrasion either across the chest or across the abdomen whereas moderate and severe injuries could include fractured ribs and resulting lung injury from the shoulder strap and injury to internal organs from the lap belt.

If you’re involved in a wreck, you may have suffered from one or more of these common automobile accident injuries.  For more information on other types of injuries, please see some of the other blog posts by the Desmond Law Office.

Symptoms of a Herniated Disc – Part 2

Let’s take a closer look at possible symptoms of a herniated disc. In some cases a herniated disc will cause no symptoms and in other cases the condition can create localized pain if the tear affects the small nerves located in the uppermost layers of the outer wall of the affected disc. Additional symptoms can develop if the disc wall or escaped nucleus pulposus (the jelly like center) exerts pressure on the spinal cord or a spinal nerve root. Some people may experience neck or back pain, radiating pain that travels down the arms or legs, muscle weakness, numbness or walking difficulties.

A herniated disc can occur in the cervical (neck region), thoracic (mid back region) or lumbar (lower back) region of the spine, although it is most likely to develop in the cervical and lumbar spine segments. That’s because the neck and lower back are both highly flexible and responsible for supporting significant body weight, which takes its toll over time. The thoracic spine, by comparison, is far more stable because it is attached to the rib cage and doesn’t have the same mobility nor does it support the same weight load.

The specific symptoms associated with a herniated disc also depend on the location of the disc degeneration. Most commonly, this condition is associated with localized pain near the origin of the tear in the disc wall, although symptoms can also extend throughout the body when the extruded disc material irritates a nearby nerve root or the spinal cord.

In fact, when nerve root or spinal cord compression occurs, it can result in symptoms that appear far from the origin of the problem, making at-home diagnosis difficult if not impossible.

Here are just a few examples of the symptoms that can develop as a result of a herniated disc:

Cervical herniated disc — localized pain in the neck; a sensation of pins and needles, muscle weakness and numbness that permeate through the shoulders, arms, hands or fingers; difficulty walking; a feeling of heaviness in the hands or feet; a decline in fine motor skills

Thoracic herniated disc — upper back pain that can radiate into the chest or stomach; back stiffness and muscle weakness; symptoms caused by a herniated disc in the thoracic spine that can also be incorrectly attributed to a problem with the heart, gastrointestinal tract or lungs

Lumbar herniated disc — discomfort in the lower back; pain that travels into the lower body; pain in one or both legs; weakness or tingling in the lower extremities; diminished reflexes and muscle spasms; in rare cases a loss of bowel or bladder control, which can indicate a serious neurological condition called cauda equina syndrome (CES), a rare but serious condition of extreme pressure and swelling on the nerves at the end of the spinal cord. This condition requires immediate medical attention.

The symptoms of a herniated disc can vary widely depending on both the location and severity of the damaged disc, and many of the symptoms commonly associated with this condition can also be explained by the presence of additional spinal degeneration, including facet disease (spinal osteoarthritis – degenerative arthritis that affects the facet joints), spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spaces within your spine), and spondylolisthesis (a condition in which one vertebrae slides forward over the bone below it). In order to effectively manage the symptoms of a herniated disc, the exact cause, location and severity of the condition has to be identified by a medical professional.

If you’d like more information about a herniated disc, please read our previous post.

Head Injury from a Car Wreck?

Did you hit your head on the steering wheel or dashboard after being rear-ended? If you did, you may be diagnosed with a closed head injury, a concussion or a brain contusion. A friend of mine, whose career is in the medical field, was good enough to provide me with the information listed below. We hope that it might assist you in treating any injuries you or your family members may have suffered in an car wreck or motorcycle accident.

A closed head injury is a trauma in which the brain is injured as a result of a blow to the head or sudden back and forth, violent motion.  When this occurs, the brain is knocked around against the inside of the skull. Closed head injuries are common in traffic accidents, falls and assaults.

Closed head injuries can range from mild skull injuries to traumatic brain injury.  They can result in severe brain damage or even death.

Different types of closed head injuries:

• Concussion,
• Brain contusion,
• Diffuse axonal injury and
• Hematoma

Concussions

A concussion is described as any head injury that temporarily affects normal brain function. Most concussions are mild and do not cause loss of consciousness. People suffering from a concussion can experience any number of symptoms including headache, dizziness, nausea, ringing in the ears, slurred speech, and vomiting. Persons suffering from a concussion may also have trouble concentrating or keeping their balance. While symptoms can be immediate, in other cases symptoms do not surface until hours or days after the blow to the head. Secondary symptoms can include mood swings, sensitivity to light and/or noise, and changes in sleep patterns.

Contusions

A brain contusion is when the tissues of the brain are bruised, as a result of the trauma. This can lead to a hemorrhage (bleeding) in some cases, which are then absorbed into the brain tissue. If this blood gets into the cerebrospinal fluid, it can lead to permanent neurological damage. Contusions are localized to a certain area, which is different from a concussion, which can be diffuse (spread out). Persons with a brain contusion (20-30% of severe head injuries) may feel weak and numb, lose coordination, struggle with memory or have cognitive deficits (trouble thinking straight).

Diffuse Axonal Injury

Diffuse axonal injury is one of the most debilitating traumatic brain injuries. These can be caused by high-speed collisions. Diffuse axonal injury causes permanent damage to the nerves in the brain. This can cause brain swelling and increased intracranial pressure (as with other closed head injuries), however, in this case it leads to a coma or a vegetative state in 90% of patients.

Intracranial hematoma

An intracranial hematoma occurs when the brain comes into contact with the inside of the skull, resulting in a pool or blood outside of the blood vessels of the brain or between the brain and the inside of the skull. This can compress brain tissue and requires immediate attention. This can result in unconsciousness, seizures or lethargy.