The impacts of a car crash that people tend to focus on are the immediately obvious injuries that cause pain, bleeding, and bruising. However, many significant long-term issues may arise days, weeks, or even months after a car accident.
This can complicate the process of filing a claim. You might not realize that you were hurt, or you could underestimate how long your recovery will take. A mistake like this can affect the amount of your settlement or trial award. Learn more about the long-term impacts of a car crash and how an attorney can help.
1. Chronic Stiffness and Pain
Car crashes often cause soft tissue injuries, with whiplash being the most common. Your soft tissues include ligaments, tendons, and muscles. In an accident, you can strain or sprain any of these structures in your body. You may not even realize that you are injured right away because the pain can take hours or days to begin.
Although many soft tissue injuries resolve within a few days, some lead to chronic pain. If you fully tear a tendon, for instance, you may need to undergo surgery. Even after that intervention, stiffness and pain can remain.
Injuries to the soft tissues in your back may also leave you with severe and lasting pain. Back and spinal cord injuries, especially lower back injuries, are among the most common reasons that people have to take extended time off work after a collision.
2. Cognitive Issues
A traumatic brain injury can result in significant and permanent changes to your life. Even concussions, which are considered mild, can result in symptoms that linger for weeks or months.
A brain injury may lead to concentration and memory problems that impact your ability to earn a living and make your daily life more difficult. Some people with head trauma experience personality changes, like aggression and irritability, that affect their personal relationships and change their family dynamics.
Mood swings are another potential effect. Head trauma during a car wreck can lead to anxiety and depression because of chemical changes in the brain. Sometimes, these cognitive issues never fully heal, especially with more serious brain injuries.
3. Delayed-Onset Symptoms
Brain injuries don’t always cause immediate symptoms. You may not lose consciousness or even feel dazed. Instead, the chemical changes after a traumatic impact to your head may take a few days to affect you. People who have suffered previous brain injuries are more likely to experience delayed-onset symptoms.
4. Psychological Effects
An auto accident can affect you physically and psychologically. At first, you might be focused on healing your body. As time goes on, though, emotional injuries may become impossible to ignore. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) occurs in around 26% of people who live through car accidents.
PTSD is a serious mental health condition that leads you to relive the traumatic experience via nightmares, flashbacks, and intrusive thoughts. You may avoid anything that reminds you of the accident, which could mean that you don’t feel comfortable driving or getting in a car. That’s bound to impact all aspects of your life.
It’s common to develop depression or anxiety after a collision, too. These mood disorders can lower your quality of life significantly.
5. Sleep Disturbances
Sleep disturbances may appear after a crash. You may have severe nightmares connected to PTSD, or worsening anxiety symptoms could make you unable to relax enough to get to sleep. Brain injuries tend to impact sleeping patterns, too; head trauma can lead to insomnia or, conversely, the need to sleep much more than you used to.
6. Mobility Limitations
A serious injury may limit your mobility. You might not be able to stand up for very long, or you could have to use a wheelchair. This means you cannot live your life as you used to. If you can’t work in the same job or participate in the hobbies you love, these serious losses will impact the quality of your life.
7. Financial Strain
Sustaining serious injuries in a collision can put your financial security at risk. You will have medical expenses and may need to continue receiving physical therapy and at-home care. If you can’t work, then you’ll lose income and, potentially, all of your earning potential.
FAQ
When Is It Possible to Begin a Car Crash Lawsuit in Texas?
In Texas, you can begin a car crash lawsuit if you sustain losses in a collision that another party’s conduct caused. If you were partly responsible for your injuries, you may still be able to file a claim, as long as your percentage of fault doesn’t exceed that of the other party. Your winnings will be reduced proportionally to your liability.
What Is the Statute of Limitations in Texas for Car Accident Lawsuits?
The Texas statute of limitations gives you two years to begin a claim. You shouldn’t wait that long, however, because it takes time to collect evidence and build a strong case.
What Types of Evidence Can Be Helpful in Car Accident Claims?
Evidence that can make a difference in a claim includes medical records, police reports, witness statements, expert testimony, and employment records. Photos and videos, along with a detailed account of how your injuries impact your life, can also help.
Trust Ramsey Law Group With Your Claim
The impacts of a car crash can be devastating for your finances, your health, and your emotional stability. At Ramsey Law Group, our team of car accident attorneys wants to fight for the compensation you deserve. Schedule a free case assessment with one of our lawyers.