Common Injuries from Car Accidents

Common Injuries Resulting from Car Accidents in Richmond

If you suffer an auto accident injury in Richmond, it is important to seek immediate medical attention. Obviously the first concern is your health, but as automobile accident attorneys can tell you, professional documentation of your injuries is important if any litigation follows.

Even if you think you are fine, the seriousness of car accident injuries requires you to seek immediate attention, regardless of legal concerns. This is because seemingly minor accidents can sometimes yield life-threatening conditions.

A car accident injury in Richmond or elsewhere usually falls into one of the following categories:

  • Head and neck injuries: Include traumatic brain injury (TBI), skull fractures, bruises of the brain, nerve damage, whiplash, temporalmandibular joint (TMJ) injury, torn and herniated discs.
  • Back injuries: Intervertebral discs in the neck, thoracic, mid-back, discs and lumbar, lower back compression fractures, herniations and bulges, traumatized nerves, ligaments and muscles.
  • Internal organs: Damaged bowels, kidneys, spleen, liver, lungs, heart and aorta, as well as fractured ribs.
  • Upper and lower limbs: Fractures to hands, forearms, arms, shoulders, wrists, fingers, rotator cuff tears, hips, legs, knees, ankles, heels, Achilles tendons, feet, broken pelvis, femur, patella, tibia and ankle bones.

Symptoms may not be evident until days or weeks after the accident, therefore it is essential to get a medical examination immediately after the mishap in order to tie the injury to the car crash.

With many automobile accident injuries, there can be healing over time with medical intervention in Richmond. In other car accident injury cases, the injury is permanent and can lead to varying degrees of debilitation.

The importance of having an experienced Richmond automobile accident injury attorney on your side

In Richmond, auto accident injury lawsuits are almost required because of the at-fault nature of Virginia state laws. A qualified and experienced automobile accident lawyer can help victims negotiate around these key points:

  • Insurance: Drivers are required to carry coverage worth $25,000 per individual, plus $20,000 for property damage.
  • Contributory vs. Comparative Negligence: If both drivers bear some degree of fault, even if 99 percent of fault falls on one driver versus the one percent of fault attributed to the other, the damage award might be reduced or eliminated.
  • Statute of Limitations: You need to file your injury claim within two years of the accident.
  • Joint and Several Liability: If several parties are responsible for the car accident, the lawsuit in Richmond or other Virginia courts must name each of them.

As is evident, an effective case is contingent on negotiating these variables. Engaging an auto accident lawyer as early as possible makes that more likely.

Contact Our Richmond Car Accident Injury Attorneys

If a loved one died as a result of a car accident, or if you were injured in an automobile accident in Richmond, we want to hear from you. For a free consultation with a Douglas A. Lines, P.C. auto accident attorney, call 804-762-4878 or contact us online.