We commonly consider “cuts and bruises” as minor injuries, but when contusions and lacerations occur in a car accident, they can have serious physical and economic consequences for accident victims. Contusions, lacerations, and abrasions are the most common injuries in car accidents and can occur even in low-speed collisions. However, the impacts of these soft-tissue injuries can be significant and sometimes have long-term or permanent effects such as scarring, disfigurement, and tissue damage. If you are experiencing these injuries after an accident, make sure to speak with an experienced car accident lawyer in Everett to help you get the compensation you deserve.
What Are Contusions, Lacerations, and Abrasions?
Contusions, lacerations, and abrasions are common results of car accidents in Washington and elsewhere. A contusion (bruise) occurs when blunt force trauma causes blood vessels to burst below the skin, resulting in discoloration and inflammation (swelling). Contusions can occur anywhere on the body during an accident, including dangerous contusions on the brain, spinal cord, or heart muscles.
Lacerations are cuts that penetrate below the skin’s surface and damage the layers of skin and sometimes the muscles and nerves below.
An abrasion is a scrape along the skin’s surface caused by a brush with a rough object or from friction during an accident.
What Causes Contusions and Lacerations in Washington Car Accidents?
During a collision, the motorist’s body continues moving forward at the speed the car was traveling until it’s halted and snapped instantly back by the seatbelt at the same time that an airbag forcefully deploys. These restraints inarguably save lives by preventing the accident victim from becoming a projectile, but they also cause injury, particularly bruises from blunt-force trauma. Depending on the severity of the crash, the vehicle’s structure collapses forcefully inward at the point of impact, causing further blunt force trauma to vehicle occupants.
Lacerations occur when broken glass and sharp pieces of metal cut, pierce, or puncture the skin during the accident. Some lacerations penetrate below the skin’s surface and damage muscles, ligaments, nerves, and arteries below.
Abrasions are scrapes that impact only the skin’s surface but can cause pain and scarring, particularly when an unrestrained car accident victim is expelled from the vehicle and bumps along the rough road surface (roadrash) or during pedestrian accidents.
Can I Recover Compensation for Contusions and Lacerations After a Car Accident in Washington?
Under Washington’s fault-based insurance laws, the person who caused a car accident is responsible for the consequences of the accident to injury victims—their “damages” in a car accident claim, typically covered by their insurance. Contusions and lacerations can be painful and restrict movement due to swelling and stitches. Car accident injury victims with contusions, lacerations, and abrasions have a right to compensation for their economic and non-economic damages from medical costs, lost income, and pain and suffering while they recover. More serious contusions and lacerations of the brain, spinal cord, or heart muscles can be life-altering and cause disability. Facial lacerations result in permanent disfigurement.
How Can a Washington Car Accident Attorney Help?
Insurance companies routinely attempt to downplay the serious nature of contusions and lacerations after a car accident, but these painful and potentially damaging and disfiguring injuries have serious consequences and can quickly cause financial hardship from medical costs and lost wages. Some may result in life-altering injuries or disfigurement. Call the Everett injury lawyers at Wells Trumbull for experienced legal representation that gets results for injured clients.