Car accidents often occur in a matter of seconds. During that fleeting moment the human body can be subjected to extreme forces and exposure to many sources of harm. Drivers and passengers in moving vehicles continue moving until some external force stops the individual’s inertia. A collision will often cause the body to abruptly change direction.
Traumatic brain injury affects roughly 1.7 million Americans each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Brain injuries result in 52,000 deaths each year. The CDC says that 17.3 percent of traumatic brain injuries are the result of a motor vehicle accident.
A rear-end collision, for instance, causes the body to abruptly move toward the rear of the vehicle; toward the point of impact. In a head-on collision, the body is propelled with great force toward the front of the vehicle. Occupants in a vehicle can hit their head on objects in the vehicle as their body is jolted around in the car. The head trauma from the external impact can result in a brain injury.
However, traumatic brain injuries do not necessarily have to include a foreign object as their cause in an accident.
Use of seat belts and the presence of safety equipment in cars, such as airbags, reduce the risk of head trauma and brain injuries in car accidents. However, oakwood legal personal injury attorneys know that despite the presence and proper use of safety equipment, brain injuries can occur in a motor vehicle crash. Injury lawyers understand these types of accidents and how to handle them.