Factors That Affect the Severity of Car Accident Injuries

Accidents come in all shapes and sizes, with no two being exactly alike. What determines the severity of an auto collision can seem random, but there are actually a series of factors that impact the damage and deadliness of each accident. If you’ve ever wondered why some are worse than others, read on to find out why.

Seat Belts

The top determining factor in how severe injuries are after an accident is whether or not individuals within the vehicle were wearing seatbelts. These simple devices reduce the risk of injury by up to 50% when an accident occurs just by helping to keep your body in place. The risk of death is reduced by 45%. 

The Impact

Getting rear-ended is never going to turn out the same as another vehicle hitting your driver-side door. Types of injuries sustained change dramatically based on the point of impact alone, without speed or vehicle sizes factored in. 

Body Position

When you’re seated in a forward-facing position, your risk of injury is slightly reduced. If you were turning toward the back seat to attend to a toddler, for instance, that twisted body position is going to result in more severe injuries. 

Speed

This one is simple. The higher the speed, the more devastating the accident. Lower-speed incidents can still produce ample damage to vehicles and people, however. Still, higher velocity impacts can quickly become deadly. 

Airbags

These nifty devices reduce your risk of death by 30% in an accident. Combined with a seatbelt, that number jumps to 50%. All cars feature front airbags for head-on collisions, but you need airbags in other locations for different directional impacts to achieve the same results.

Head Injuries

Of all the injuries you could potentially sustain in an accident, head injuries are the worst. These are the most fatal type of injury and often come with the most long-term consequences for those who survive. This is why it’s important for a medical professional to examine you after a collision, even if you feel fine. There’s always a chance that something is brewing underneath the surface.

Neck Injuries

Second to head injuries are those in the neck. Swelling, breaking, cracking, and even just whiplash can have severe consequences. You can injure your neck from direct and indirect collisions, ranging from soreness in your muscles to fatal wounds. 

Seeking Care

Regardless of the severity of your injuries, you have the right to seek compensation after an accident. An auto accident injury attorney Bay Area can help you in court, but they can also ensure you’re getting the medical care you need in the days and weeks after. 

This vital part of the process not only helps you get back on your feet as you recover, but helps to identify the full extent of your injuries and therefore the amount of compensation you can seek. In some cases, it helps drivers identify damages they wouldn’t have known about until pain arose weeks later.