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Low Speed Rear End Collision
Low impact rear-end collisions in automobiles, also known as fender benders, are fairly common in the United States. They tend to occur in busy intersections, crowded parking lots, heavy traffic, and driveways. These accidents are minor but they can be extremely costly. Many people are surprised by the pain and injury that results from such minor collisions.
From low impact rear end collisions, the most common injury is whiplash. This is a neck injury that is the result of a forced back and forth movement of the neck. It is called whiplash because the motion most resembles the cracking of a whip. Whiplash becomes a lot more severe when a victim does not expect the impact. When someone is unaware of the impending impact, they do not brace themselves and their neck muscles are more relaxed thus resulting in more damage. People who suffer from whiplash can take years to recover if they even recover at all.
Low Speed Collision Injury
Back Pain From Rear End Collision
Even though the impact is low, severe back injuries can result from rear end collisions. The force of impact can put a lot of pressure on a person’s spine and result in soreness and intense lower back pain. The force of an airbag can also be quite damaging to a person’s body.
Injury From Airbags
Airbags have been known to burn a person’s face or scalp. For some people, the force is strong enough to break bones in their face or ribs. If the force of the impact from the collision is strong enough, it could damage the person’s spine or brain thus resulting in partial paralysis.
Brain Injuries
Sometimes head injuries occur in these rear end collisions and they should always be taken seriously. Even the impact from the airbags could damage a person’s brain. Symptoms of brain injury vary but appear as impaired speech, dizziness, loss of consciousness, chronic fatigue and much more. Facial disfigurement, wrist and arm injuries and lacerations and bruising from seat belts can also occur from low impact rear-end collisions.
The severity of these injuries is determined by a number of factors. Often, people wonder why damage can be so severe at low speeds. Speed is only one of the factors that determine the force of impact to a person’s spine. The type and weight of a vehicle can determine how the automobile distributes force upon impact and the amount of force that is being distributed into the other person’s car. Studies show that in low impact collisions, the person’s body is exposed to more g-force acceleration than the person’s car. Because of this, low impact rear end collisions can be more dangerous to a person than high impact collisions.
In the event of a fender bender, it is important for a victim to not only contact their attorney but to also contact their doctor. These collisions can seem minor but they can have a lot of long lasting effects on the body that require medical attention. An attorney should be able to help the victim receive just compensation for their injuries.