Neck injuries from car accident: Management and Claims
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Neck injuries from car accident should not be overlooked as it could lead to life altering ramifications. Our neck consists of seven cervical bone piled on top of one another with a gel-like disc in between. When these vertebrae or discs get injured in car accidents, it could rewrite destinies of the victims. According the surveys and researches, it is found that mostly men get their necks injured when compared to women. Motor vehicle accidents cause most of the neck injuries.
During the vehicle accidents, especially in rear-end accidents, due to the force of the impact the head jerks back and forth injuring the neck joints, muscles or nerves. Whiplashes, lacerations, fractures, facet joint injuries, soft tissue injuries, and disc herniations are the most common neck injuries, victims encounter in car accidents.
Most of the minor neck injuries can be resolved with non-invasive treatments and therapies like physical and chiropractic therapies, muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatories and steroid injections can help in pain management. More severe injuries might necessitate cervical spine surgeries like spinal fusion, Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF), Anterior Cervical Corpectomy and Fusion (ACCF), Laminoplasty and Laminectomy, Artificial Disk Replacement (ADR), and Posterior Cervical Laminoforaminotomy.
When the neck injuries affect the central nervous system, it can lead to autonomic dysfunctions like issues pertaining to cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, urinary and sexual functions. In some cases, victims may encounter paralytic issues like paraplegia, quadriplegia, etc.
When victims of car accidents have severe injuries and undergo treatments, they can claim for their neck injuries from car accidents. Present and past medical expenses related to the accident, loss to wages in the present and loss of earning capacity in the future, property damages, pain and suffering, mental agony and disability can be claimed in damages.
Neck injuries from car accident settlements are awarded based on the severity of neck injuries, the extensive therapies and treatments undergone, the expenses of treatments, pre-existing conditions, income earned, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, pain and suffering and the degree of liability from the part of the victim.