Which Injuries Are Common After a California Car Accident?

Soft-tissue injuries and whiplash

Soft-tissue injuries affect muscles, tendons, and ligaments. MedlinePlus defines a sprain as a stretched or torn ligament and a strain as a stretched or torn muscle or tendon. It describes whiplash as a soft-tissue injury to the neck, also called a neck sprain or strain, and lists falls or accidents, including car accidents, as a common cause of neck pain. The pain of whiplash may not appear right away and can take hours to weeks to develop.

Back and neck injuries, including herniated discs

MedlinePlus lists sprains and strains, herniated disks, and fractured vertebrae as common back injuries and names a sudden jolt such as a car accident as one cause. A herniated disc happens when all or part of a disc is forced through a weakened part of it, which may press on nearby nerves or the spinal cord. The lower back is the most common site and the neck is second, the pain often starts slowly, and a spine X-ray alone cannot diagnose it.

Knee injuries: meniscus tears and ligament injuries

Can a crash tear a meniscus? It can. MedlinePlus describes each meniscus as a c-shaped piece of cartilage that cushions the knee joint, and lists twisting or over-flexing the knee, tearing a ligament such as the ACL, and a direct hit to the knee among the causes of a tear. A crash that forces the knee to twist, bend, or strike something can do that; whether yours did is a medical question.

Swelling may appear the day after the injury, and the knee may lock or catch. X-rays check for bone damage, while an MRI shows whether tissues inside the knee are stretched or torn. MedlinePlus also notes that the ACL is usually injured by a sudden twisting motion, and that the meniscus becomes more brittle and easier to tear with age, which is why an insurer may argue that a tear predates the crash.

Shoulder injuries and rotator cuff tears

The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that attach to the bones of the shoulder joint. MedlinePlus says a sudden tear can follow a fall on an outstretched arm or a sharp jerking motion while lifting something heavy, while other tears develop gradually as a tendon wears down. An X-ray can rule out other causes, and an ultrasound or MRI can show a tear. The dispute is often whether the crash caused the tear or made an older one worse.

Fractures and head injuries

MedlinePlus says fractures commonly happen because of car accidents, falls, or sports injuries. Symptoms include intense pain, deformity, swelling, bruising, or tenderness, and trouble moving the injured part, and it advises getting medical care right away.

A head injury does not require a blow to the head. The CDC says a concussion can be caused by a hit to the body that makes the head and brain move quickly back and forth, and that some symptoms may not appear for hours or days after the injury. The firm’s guide to brain injury claims covers concussion in more detail.

Delayed symptoms, prompt care, and consistent records

Several of these injuries can show up late: whiplash pain that can take hours to weeks, knee swelling that appears the next day, and herniated-disc pain that often starts slowly (MedlinePlus), and concussion symptoms that may take hours or days (CDC). Tell your provider about every symptom, even a mild one.

Medical records are the main proof that a crash caused an injury, and insurers look for delays and gaps. Under CACI No. 3930, a plaintiff cannot recover for harm the defendant proves could have been avoided with reasonable efforts or expenditures, judged in light of the circumstances, including the ability to make them “without undue risk or hardship.” In practice: get evaluated, tell each provider how the crash happened, keep appointments, follow your doctor’s plan, keep a dated symptom log and your bills, and record why if cost or access delays care.

How insurers dispute soft-tissue and pre-existing-condition claims

Common arguments are light vehicle damage, a delay before treatment, gaps in care, a normal X-ray, and “it’s just wear and tear.” Age-related changes are real, but a scan showing wear does not by itself show what caused your pain.

Under CACI No. 3927, you cannot recover for a condition you had before, but if the crash made it worse, jurors must award damages for the effect on that condition. Under CACI No. 3928, jurors must fully compensate you even if you were “more susceptible to injury than a normally healthy person” would have been. The authorities listed with that instruction put it plainly: the person who causes an injury “takes the person he injures as he finds him.”

What a claim can include

California jury instructions list past and future medical expenses (CACI No. 3903A), lost earnings (No. 3903C), lost earning capacity (No. 3903D), and non-economic harm such as pain, mental suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and emotional distress (No. 3905A), for which “no fixed standard exists.” If you share fault, your damages are reduced by your share rather than barred (CACI No. 405).

In Tustin, request the collision report from the agency that responded: the Tustin Police Department for collisions it handled on city streets, or the California Highway Patrol’s Santa Ana Area, which patrols freeways including Interstate 5 and State Route 55.