Common Injuries From St. Louis Car Accidents

The physics involved in car accidents can produce severe injuries. The impacts and whipping forces your body endures can fracture your bones and tear your soft tissues. Even common injuries from St. Louis car accidents can require expensive medical care and disable you from working.

If you get injured in a crash in St. Louis, MO, you may have several possible sources of compensation, including a claim against the at-fault driver and their auto insurer. An attorney from Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers will assess your case so you can make informed decisions about how to proceed.

Contact our personal injury law firm, you can call (314) 444-4444 for a free initial consultation to discuss your legal options.

How Our St. Louis Car Accident Attorneys Can Help You Pursue Compensation for Your Injuries

How Our St. Louis Car Accident Attorneys Can Help You Pursue Compensation for Your Injuries

Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers was founded in 2010 to help injured clients in St. Louis, Missouri, pursue financial compensation from those responsible for their injuries.

Our St. Louis car accident lawyers have successfully recovered over $100 million for victims of traumatic injuries.

If you get hurt in a collision, our attorneys can provide:

  • A free consultation so we can learn about your situation and explain your options
  • A thorough investigation of your crash to gather crucial evidence and information
  • A skilled team of negotiators to fight for a fair insurance settlement
  • Over 100 years of legal experience to advocate for you in court if your case fails to settle

Car accident injuries can jeopardize your physical, mental, and financial health. Contact Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers to discuss your injuries and how we can help you pursue compensation for them.

How Many Car Accident Injuries Happen in Missouri?

According to the Missouri Traffic Safety Compendium, the state had 127,485 traffic crashes in 2022. 

This number included:

  • 878 fatal crashes
  • 31,599 non-fatal injury crashes
  • 95,008 property damage-only crashes

These crashes produced:

  • 964 fatal injuries
  • 45,456 non-fatal injuries

These numbers include:

Once you account for these road users, you have 836 people killed and 43,914 people injured in Missouri car accidents.

Looking more locally, St. Louis had 76 fatalities and 5,229 injuries due to traffic crashes. Subtracting injured pedestrians and cyclists from these numbers, you have 54 fatal injuries and 4,979 non-fatal injuries caused by St. Louis car accidents.

Common Car Crash Injuries in St. Louis, MO

Car accident injuries happen in three ways. Blunt force injuries happen when you impact a surface inside your car. Acceleration/deceleration injuries result from your body whipping around during the collision, even if you do not hit anything. Penetrating injuries occur when a sharp object pierces your body.

The most common car crash injuries occur due to blunt and acceleration/deceleration forces. Penetrating injuries are rare because auto manufacturers purposefully design vehicles without sharp or pointed objects.

Some injuries that can result from blunt and acceleration/deceleration forces include:

Chest Injuries

Chest injuries happen because your body keeps moving at the same speed and direction as before the crash. The seat belt must exert an equal and opposite force to stop your body. While the seat belt can save your life, the impact on your chest may produce seat belt injuries.

The force of the seat belt can break blood vessels under the skin, producing chest bruises. Bruises become discolored and cause pain and swelling.

An impact on your chest by the seat belt, steering wheel, or dashboard can break your ribs. You have twelve pairs of ribs in your chest. These thin bones protect your vital organs. When you hit your chest, the impact can snap the ribs.

Spine Injuries

The whipping forces on your body cause your spine to hyperextend. The vertebrae separate, and the ligaments and tendons anchored to them stretch. When the ligaments holding vertebrae together hyperextend, you have a sprain. Hyperextension of the tendons that attach back muscles to your spine will produce a strain.

When you sprain your neck or back, you may feel a popping in your spine and experience symptoms such as:

  • Spine pain
  • Inflammation
  • Limited range of movement
  • Bruises

By contrast, neck or back strain will cause:

  • Muscle pain and swelling
  • Stiffness
  • Muscle spasms

In both cases, a mild injury will heal in four to six weeks. A more severe sprain or strain might take months to heal fully.

Concussions

Concussions are mild brain injuries that happen when your brain gets jolted. Concussions rarely cause death. 

But they can cause serious symptoms such as:

  • Headache
  • Memory loss
  • Brain fog
  • Dizziness
  • Slurred speech
  • Blurry vision
  • Ringing ears
  • Clumsiness and loss of fine motor control
  • Drowsiness

You should recover from your concussion symptoms in about two months. If your concussion lasts longer than two months, you may have other injuries.

Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Car Wreck Attorneys in St. Louis To Discuss Your Injuries and Options

You might need significant time away from work while you recover from your car crash injuries. Contact Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to discuss the compensation you can seek for your car accident injuries.

We handle all types of car accident claims, including:

Additional St. Louis Car Accident Resources

Learn more about car accident FAQs: