Most rear-end collisions happen because the tailing driver isn’t paying attention, or because he or she isn’t exercising proper control over their vehicle. Too often, the front-most driver is left with little chance of avoiding the accident and escaping injury. Sadly, those injuries can be as serious as they are unfair. Below, we look at several of the most common injuries you can get from being rear-ended in a car crash.
Whiplash
You don’t have to be traveling at fast speeds to develop whiplash. In fact, people have suffered serious cases of whiplash on slow-moving amusement park rides, on golf carts, in parking lot bump-ups, and a variety of other low-speed accidents. All it takes is movement at 5 miles per hour or more. Whiplash happens when your head and neck are jostled back and forth, “whipping” more forcefully than the neck’s sensitive structure can handle. It can lead to everything from headaches and restricted movement to depression, cognitive difficulties, impaired senses, and unavoidable career change. Even more modest cases of whiplash can lead to significant medical bills and claims for pain and suffering.Spine and Back Injuries
Any injury involving your spinal cord can lead to a far-reaching range of health problems, including (but not necessarily limited to):- Severe back pain
- Problems with your nerves
- Reduced range of motion
- Lost sensation of feeling
- Numbness
- Tingling (“pins and needles”)
- Paralysis (including paraplegia or quadriplegia)
- Slipped discs
- Herniated discs
- Pulled muscles
- Compressed vertebrae
- Broken bones
Head Injuries & Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)
As with whiplash, head injuries can happen more easily than you may realize. In fact, whiplash can even cause a brain injury. Traumatic brain injury is the term for any injury to your brain, which could be something as traumatic as a direct strike to your head or a penetration of the skull, or something less invasive: a jostling of the brain within the head itself. Concussion is a serious form of TBI — much more serious than once believed. Long gone are the days when football players believed they could “tough out” a concussion. Today we know that every concussion involves a direct injury to the brain and can have long-term consequences. Prompt and thorough medical treatment is critical.Seatbelt and Airbag Injuries
Even though seatbelts have been proven to save lives — and you are always better off wearing one — sometimes the force of collision can cause the belt to pull in on your body too tightly. Lacerations and bruises are common, while more serious injuries are possible in severe accidents. Similarly, airbags have made automobiles much safer overall, but a forceful impact with an expanding airbag can cause serious damage. Likewise, a defective airbag can have devastating or fatal consequences. Because rear-end accidents often propel the occupant forward just as the airbag is expanding, airbag injuries are among the most common injuries you can get from being rear-ended.Joint Injuries: Knees, Wrists, Shoulders, Ankles, Elbows, Etc.
Knee injuries are some of the more medically complicated injuries we see in rear-end auto accidents. The human knee is made up of many complex parts. Any injury to the knee can produce adverse health effects for years to come, including impaired mobility and chronic pain. Other joints can develop a wide range of complications after collision too, from inflamed tendons to soft tissue injuries and beyond.Broken Bones
Unfortunately, fractured or broken bones are among the most common rear-end accident injuries. Bones made vulnerable during rear-end collision include:- Arm bones
- Leg bones
- Shoulder bones
- Pelvic bone
- Tailbone
- Collar bone
- Rib cage
- Bones in the hands and feet