No one ever wants to be the victim in a car accident. The physics of stopping a vehicle moving at 70 miles per hour on an interstate highway are astoundingly frightening, and the terrible carnage caused by such catastrophic accidents is terrifying. But truck and car accidents cover a host of conditions and types, leaving their victims with injuries ranging from minor to fatal.
Severe accidents can kill and maim. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that the cost of injuries related to car accidents is about $18 billion annually. Some are lucky enough to only suffer minor injuries, such as bruising, as well as some broken bones. These injures heal and they can move on with their lives after the car accident.
But some will not be so lucky. They will suffer more serious injuries, like broken legs with compound fractures, broken ribs, punctured lungs, other internal organ damage, spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries.
In many cases, these injuries require multiple, significant surgeries, and months or years of rehabilitation and therapy, and even then, they may leave permanent damage. In addition, plastic or reconstructive surgery may be necessary to rebuild facial scars and head injuries.
Victims of traumatic brain injuries can face the cruel fate of sometimes suffering little outward damage, while their behavior and personality can be forever changed by the accident, causing difficulties with their relationships and leading to divorce or job loss.
When we speak of pain and suffering resulting from a car accident, there is an additional type of suffering. If your driving led to such an accident and you survived, you must carry the knowledge of the damage you caused the rest of your life.
12newsnow.com, “Driver in Toyota case says he’s still haunted by crash,” Steve Karnowski, Associated Press, January 8, 2015