According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), over two million Americans experienced the trauma and pain of car accident injuries in a single recent year. Most car accidents do not cause fatalities, but the tremendous crash force of an accident, together with blunt-force trauma, can cause an array of injuries, resulting in chronic pain. Chronic pain is a long-term painful condition that reduces the quality of life, impedes productivity, and makes it difficult to accomplish daily tasks. Pain described as “chronic” is that which lasts for six or more months and interferes with quality of life. If you’re suffering from chronic pain after a crash, a car accident attorney in St. Louis can help you explore your legal options for recovering compensation.
What are the Three Categories of Car Accident Injuries?
Car accident experts group most car accident injuries into three types: crash force injuries, impact injuries, and penetrating injuries. A motorist’s spinal column, muscles, tendons, bones, and nerves suffer a serious assault even in a relatively minor accident. At the same time, many car accident victims suffer blunt-force trauma in impact injuries from the structures of the car collapsing inward at collision points. Meanwhile, sharp metal, broken glass, and projectiles can cause penetrating injuries such as lacerations and punctures. All of the above categories of car accident injuries can cause chronic pain conditions. Still, crash-force injuries are sometimes called “hidden injuries” because the injury victim may not experience symptoms for hours or even days after the accident. These injuries are often associated with chronic pain.
What Types of Chronic Pain Are Common After a Car Accident?
Many car accident victims experience acute (sudden and severe) pain from emergency injuries immediately after the accident. However, chronic pain often develops slowly after an accident. Injuries such as whiplash, spinal stenosis, herniated discs, chest injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and soft-tissue injuries to shoulders and knees are most commonly associated with chronic pain caused by car accidents. Common types of chronic pain from car accidents include:
- Neck pain
- Back pain
- Headaches
- Muscle and joint pain
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), which is associated with nerve injuries
- Fibromyalgia
Chronic pain is more than uncomfortable. For some car accident victims who suffer from chronic pain, the condition becomes debilitating, interfering with productivity, the ability to complete routine daily tasks, and causing diminished quality of life. Recovering the appropriate amount of compensation for chronic pain may be challenging without the help of an experienced St. Louis injury attorney.
Coping With Chronic Pain After a Car Accident
Due to the addictive nature of prescription painkillers, many car accident survivors who suffer chronic pain turn to alternative methods of coping with their pain. These include the following:
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Chiropractic care
- Massage therapy
- Meditation
- Acupuncture
- Biofeedback
Chronic pain may also cause depression, anxiety, and emotional distress, requiring counseling or medications to manage.
Chronic Pain Damages In Car Accident Claims
Because chronic pain following a car accident has physical, emotional, and economic impacts on the injury victim’s life, they may recover compensation for these damages in a car accident compensation claim against the driver who caused the accident. Damages recovered often include past and future medical expenses, out-of-pocket costs, past and future income loss, compensation for pain and suffering, and compensation for emotional distress, such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders.