Injuries and Recoverable Damages in a Stockton Car Accident
I’m Ed Smith, a Stockton car accident lawyer. There were more than 490,000 motor vehicle accidents in California in 2016, resulting in 278,585 injuries and 3,802 fatalities. This represents a 28 percent increase over the previous three years. While an improved economy and good weather entice people to get out and about, the risk of a collision is always there. Because 94 percent of all traffic collisions are due to the negligence of a driver or other entity, learning what actions lead to accidents can help.
Types of Car Accident Injuries
Injuries in a car accident can depend on the type of collision, speed at which the vehicles were traveling and other factors. Some of the more serious injuries that are incurred are as follows:
- Abdominal injuries may be caused in the collision or by the seat restraints or airbag deployment. Some abdominal injuries may be noticeable right away such as damage to an organ, while others might not present until later like internal bleeding.
- Broken bones are a common result of motor vehicle collisions. Clean breaks may heal in a few weeks, while more serious fractures may require surgical intervention and a more extensive time to recuperate.
- Burns happen when the vehicle catches fire. These may range from simple first-degree burns to fourth-degree. More serious burns require hospitalization in a specialized hospital unit, where caution is taken to avoid infection.
- Chest trauma is common in motor vehicle collisions and can be related to the impact of another vehicle, deployment of airbags, shoulder belts from lack of a seat restraint. While bruising is common, broken ribs or a broken collarbone happen also. In more extreme cases, a broken rib may puncture the lung.
- Head and brain injuries may range from a concussion to traumatic brain injury. At its extreme, a severe brain injury may result in permanent cognitive and sensory changes that require lifelong care. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that motor vehicle accidents are the number one reason for fatalities caused by TBIs.
- Back and spine injuries can range from muscle or ligament damage to severing of the spinal cord. While many of these types of injuries can cause lifelong problems and pain, severing of the spinal cord can result in partial or complete paralysis. This depends on where along the spine it is severed.
Recoverable Damages in a Personal Injury
Both economic and non-economic financial damages are recoverable in a personal injury. This includes the following:
- Medical expenses, including physician costs, hospitalization, ambulance service, rehabilitation and more
- Time lost at work, including any bonuses or other perks you would have received
- Loss of consortium, which includes the benefits enjoyed by partners or married couples
- Disfigurement such as scarring caused by the accident
- Household services such as things an individual normally does to help out around the house, including cooking, child care, lawn care, etc.
- Pain and suffering, which includes the physical, mental and emotional pain suffered
Stockton Car Accident Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Stockton car accident lawyer. When faced with lost time at work, high medical bills and other costs because of an injury caused by a negligent driver, an experienced car accident lawyer can help. Call me at (209) 227-1931 in Stockton for free, friendly and compassionate advice. For those outside the calling area, I can be reached toll-free at (800) 404-5400.
For more than 36 years, I’ve helped Stockton residents and others in Northern California with all types of motor vehicle accidents and wrongful death cases to obtain fair compensation.
Look over the settlements and verdicts list on my website to get an idea of some of our prior cases and their resolutions.
I hold membership at milliondollaradvocates.com. This forum is for trial lawyers who have won in excess of one million dollars for a client.
Former clients have been kind enough to leave comments and reviews of my law practice at:
Photo Attribution: Depositphotos_55116135_l-2015
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