On Behalf of Rosenthal, Levy, Simon & Sosa | March 32, 2025 | Car Accident Injuries
In 2022, 2.6 million people visited the ER due to serious car accident injuries. Serious injuries are typically defined as any injury that impairs your ability to function normally, requiring lifelong treatment. If left untreated, serious injuries can quickly become life-threatening. Even when medical intervention is obtained, these injuries can result in permanent deficits, creating a financial toll on you and your loved ones.
Being aware of your right to compensation is essential. In this blog, our Port St. Lucie car accident attorneys discuss common severe injuries in a collision and the compensation to which you may be entitled.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Any strike or blow to the head can result in a traumatic brain injury (TBI), which can disrupt normal brain function. Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of TBIs, with approximately 210,000 cases occurring each year. TBI symptoms can range in severity but may include headaches, slurred speech, mood swings, seizures, and loss of consciousness. If left untreated, a person may experience long-term health problems and potential death.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Recent research indicates that almost 40% of spinal cord injuries can be attributed to automobile accidents. The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that run from the base of the skull down the center of the back to the tailbone. The sudden force of a crash can cause the spine to compress and twist in unnatural ways, resulting in irreparable damage. Injury symptoms may present as loss of sensation, numbness or tingling in the extremities, loss of bladder or bowel control, balance issues, and inability to breathe (most common in individuals who sustain injury to upper cervical vertebrae).
Abdominal Injuries
Given the lack of bony protection, car accident victims who sustain abdominal injuries may experience profuse bleeding. Since the abdominal cavity can absorb a significant amount of blood, symptoms may go undetected for a significant amount of time. Common symptoms of abdominal organ damage can include fatigue, sweating, and tenderness to the touch. Since abdominal injuries are not readily apparent, it is important to closely monitor a person who shows no outward signs of injury for at least eight hours before releasing them.
Rib Fractures
Our rib cage wraps around our torso, providing protection to the lungs and heart. Unfortunately, the impact of a crash can result in a fractured rib, which can cause severe pain and difficulty breathing. In some cases, a broken rib may puncture a lung, causing air to leak into the space between the lung and the chest wall. This condition, known as pneumothorax, can result in a collapsed lung, potentially leading to cardiac arrest.
Traumatic Amputation
The impact of a crash can cause limbs or digits to be severed, known as a traumatic amputation. For those victims who do not lose their limb or body part at the time of the incident, lack of adequate blood flow may require that the extremity be amputated to save the patient’s life. With thousands of amputations occurring due to car accident trauma, the implications of such a disfiguring injury are often far-reaching.
Damages
If you suffered serious or catastrophic injuries in a Port St. Lucie collision, you may be entitled to the following damages:
- Lost income
- Loss of future earnings
- Specialist appointments
- Diagnostic testing and medical imaging
- Surgeries and treatments
- Prescription costs
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Infliction of emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Noneconomic damages are intangible losses that impact your quality of life and are more complex to calculate, requiring that you assign a level of severity to your injuries and multiply that number by your total economic damages. While these intangible losses may be overlooked, you deserve to be compensated fully for every aspect in which the collision has affected your life.
Contact Our Port St. Lucie Car Accident Attorneys Today
If you have been injured in a crash, our Port St. Lucie car accident lawyers are ready to assist you. Our legal team will review your car accident case to determine which damages apply to your situation. Retaining counsel is key to guaranteeing that you recoup the full extent of your losses; to learn more or schedule your free case review, contact Rosenthal, Levy, Simon & Sosa online or by phone.