Effects of a Car Crash on the Human Body: What Happens During Impact?

Effects of a Car Crash on the Human Body: Key Insights

Car crashes lead to a range of physical injuries from mild to severe and may leave victims with devastating, lifelong effects. The effects of a car crash on the human body depend on the circumstances of the accident, which includes the car speed at the time of the accident, the size and design of the vehicles involved, and the point of impact. For example, the following scenarios will lead to very different outcomes.

• A semi-truck that hits a smaller sedan may lead to more catastrophic injuries for the driver and passengers of the sedan and the driver of the semi-truck may not be physically hurt.
• A smaller car that rear ends a pick-up truck at a speed under 15 mph will likely not cause injuries to the driver of the truck. The driver of the smaller car may experience soft tissue injuries, such as whiplash.
• Two cars that collide at speeds over 40 mph will likely lead to severe injuries for drivers and passengers of both vehicles.
• Head-on car crashes may be one of the most dangerous points of impact, regardless of the vehicles and speeds involved.

Overall, more modern vehicles have designs to reduce the severity of impact, but even so, the faster the car is going the greater the force and magnitude of impact will be.

What does science say about car crashes?

Energy, motion, and force are involved in car crashes. The energy involved when vehicles collide or when a vehicle collides with something stationary involves a transfer of energy.

Vehicles may absorb the energy after being struck. They can also transfer it back onto the other vehicle. The energy does not disappear.

Newton’s Law of Inertia explains how this works. An object will stay in motion unless an external force acts on it. An object at rest will remain at rest until an external force acts upon it.

When we are driving at 60 mph on the highway, we are traveling at 60 mph with the vehicle. It may feel like we are stationary, but we are moving at the same speed.

When a vehicle hits a wall at 60 mph, the people in the car stay in motion. They remain at 60 mph in the same direction until an external force acts upon them. They may also stay in motion until they hit something.

This is why airbags and seatbelts are critical. They reduce the severity of impact in car crashes.

Without seatbelts and airbags, someone would likely hit the dash, steering wheel, or go through the windshield.

What happens to your body in a car crash?

While vehicles have become safer over time, car accidents are still one of the most dangerous events that happens to people in their lifetime. The effects of a car crash on the body will vary significantly from bruises to broken bones.

The three components of car collisions are

1. Your vehicle suddenly collides with something–either another vehicle or a stationary object;
2. The person collides with the car, such as the seatbelt, steering wheel, or windshield;
3. The person’s internal organs collide with the skeletal system. After the vehicle decelerates because of a collision, your body remains in motion at the car’s speed prior to impact until your body collides with something else. The most common injuries after a car accident include the following:

• Bone Fractures
• Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)
• Burn injuries
• Scrapes and Cuts
• Broken Bones
• Back and Neck Injuries
• Internal Injuries, such as a punctured lung or liver and kidney damage
• Bruising or Numbness

So, what happens to your body in a car crash?

Various anatomical regions of the body may be affected, including head, neck, face, thorax, abdomen, upper limbs, and lower limbs.

Because of the sudden nature of car crashes, most commonly, accidents often lead people to have a “fight or flight” moment in which a rush of adrenaline goes through their body. This helps the body deal with immediate threats, and the surge of adrenaline may mask certain symptoms at first. Sometimes, the physical effects of a car accident may not be known right away, especially if you think the car speeds were not high, and you may walk away and think you are fine, only to have symptoms occur over the course of the following days.

That is why it is critical to seek a medical evaluation and call 911 after an accident regardless of how well you think you feel. Headaches could be due to a range of injuries from a concussion to a brain injury. Chest and abdominal discomfort could be due to internal bleeding. Back pain could be due to a herniated disk or whiplash. Regardless of how you think you feel, getting medical attention and advice is critical. That way you will have a medical record of your symptoms, which would be a critical piece of information should you file a claim against the at-fault driver or with your insurance policy.

In other situations, the effects from an accident leave someone with life-threatening injuries that require immediate medical attention. In these cases, an ambulance takes the victims to the nearest hospital where they receive life-saving care.

How long will this accident impact me?

No matter what kind of injuries you have, the effects of a car crash on the human body will likely last anywhere from weeks to months, and in some cases, a lifetime. Car crashes often leave victims with long-term consequences, including lost wages and medical bills as well as psychological effects, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety.

Consult with a South Florida Attorney

Car accidents with serious injuries, liabilities, and damages will likely need an attorney so that the injured person(s) can focus on recovery while the stress of the insurance claims process is taken care of by a legal professional. At Clayton Trial Lawyers, we specialize in taking care of our clients so that they can focus on their recovery from the trauma of a car accident. Contact us today for a consultation.