Today’s vehicle safety standards may be high, but many people still suffer severe injuries as a result of car collisions. These are five of the more common types of injuries that may result from crashes:

1. Soft Tissue Injuries

Even minor collisions could carry a risk of soft tissue damage, also called hyperextension injuries, and the symptoms sometimes take a few days to appear. When the head snaps back and forth, muscles and tendons in the neck and upper back may strain or tear.

2. Blunt Force Trauma

Blunt force trauma to the torso can cause grave personal injury from car accidents Rockville MD like internal organ damage and bleeding or collapsed lungs. Sometimes, victims with pre-existing heart conditions could go into traumatic cardiac arrest as vital organs jostle around the chest cavity.

3. Traumatic Brain Injury

When a person’s head strikes an airbag or any other part of a vehicle, the brain could slam against the inside of the skull, often resulting in a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Like hyperextension, TBI symptoms don’t always appear immediately.

The side effects can be as mild as headaches or become life-long physical and cognitive complications. The most severe TBIs could lead to comas, persistent vegetative states and death.

4. Spinal Nerve and Disk Damage

Spinal injuries and herniated disks are common in car accident victims. Any damage to the backbone risks serious injury to the spinal nerves that could lead to temporary loss of feeling and motion of the limbs to permanent paralysis. Herniated disks, while usually less severe, can still result in lasting pain, muscle weakness and numbness.

5. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Almost one-third of nonfatal car accident victims experience some degree of PTSD or other psychological impacts after the incident, even when physical injuries were negligible. Even after a year has passed, collision patients still might receive psychiatric diagnoses like depression and persistent anxiety.

Car crashes don’t have to be severe for motorists to suffer debilitating injuries. Even if symptoms aren’t present at the scene, immediate medical attention may help prevent any unseen damage from becoming worse.