According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA, there are more than 3 million car accidents every year that result in significant injuries on American roads and highways.
Among them are many injuries that are considered serious in nature by injury lawyers and safety officials.
In Texas alone, there were nearly 20,000 serious injuries from auto accidents based on the most recent TxDOT crash data from 2021, with injury attorneys seeing many of these cases.
In an effort to understand these accidents, injury law firms must first identify what constitutes a serious injury accident and how they cause significant bodily injury.
How Are Serious Auto Accidents Defined?
Although there is no one definition for a serious auto accident, injury lawyers and others typically define them as accidents that result in some type of significant injury.
These include those that result in disabilities, amputations, pain and suffering, PTSD, and many other conditions that result in serious physical damage and/or long-term changes to one’s life.
Given the broadness of the definition and that every person is different, injury attorneys must view every accident as the individual event that it is and determine its seriousness based on specific accident factors.
What Kinds of Injuries Are Common In Serious Accidents?
Serious and severe injuries suffered in car accidents include a wide range of conditions that result in extreme pain, loss of function of some sort, debilitation, and other long-lasting conditions.
Injury law firms find these to be some of the most common:
- Accidents that result in limb loss or amputation.
- Spinal cord injuries, as injury lawyers understand how they can lead to a range of conditions including loss of mobility, chronic pain, loss of sensation, weakness, breathing difficulties, sexual dysfunction, paralysis, and even death.
- Head and traumatic brain injuries as well as the many conditions that may occur as a result, such as cognitive impairment, motor function impairment, mental health issues, pain, loss of ability to care for oneself, emotional and personality changes, and many more.
- Psychological traumas and their associated mental health disorders.
What Types of Auto Accidents Cause The Most Serious Injuries?
When reviewing the auto accidents that lead to serious injuries, injury attorneys see certain events standing out as being common contributors to these events:
- Distracted Driving - Anything that keeps a driver’s eyes and attention off the road can lead to a crash that results in serious injuries. Distracted driving is one of the top causes of car accidents.
- Driving While Impaired - Operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, and even some prescription medications is another cause of serious injury accidents.
- Speeding - Another top cause of serious and severe accidents is speeding, as losing control of a vehicle is more likely to occur at higher rates of speed.
- Aggressive Driving - Road rage, aggressive passing, cutting off other drivers, and aggressive driving in general are yet other common causes of accidents that result in serious injuries.
While there are many causes of auto accidents, lawyers at auto injury law firms see these four categories as causing more accidents that result in serious and severe injuries that leave people permanently affected in some way.
Contact a Skilled Injury Lawyer When Seriously Injured In An Accident
Pursuing auto accident claims that result in serious injuries requires guidance from injury lawyers who specialize in these events.
An experienced serious injury attorney understands the significance of these accidents and the many ways in which severe injuries can permanently affect a person’s life.
With help from a highly experienced serious injury law firm, injured victims can get the compensation they deserve based on the seriousness of their injury, their pain and suffering, and the long-term effects their injuries will have on the rest of their lives.
