Legs injured in a car accident may cause enormous pain and may be one of the reasons leading to muscle loss, permanent nerve damage, and disability. Depending on the severity of the car crash leg injuries, sometimes amputation may be necessary.
Leg injuries from car accidents can give rise to back pain, soft tissue injuries, broken bones, and other catastrophic injuries. Everyone will experience pain in different manners and their symptoms may also vary depending on the type of injury. Some may experience mild pain whereas others may suffer from acute shooting hip and leg pain after a car accident. It may even make it impossible for you to engage in day-to-day activities.
If an accident victim has also been suffering from these leg injuries and experiencing trauma due to the negligence of another party, a car accident attorney may help you. They may determine the fault of another party and pursue compensation for your damages.
5 Common leg injuries after car accidents
From partial to complete fractures, car accidents are known to cause tears, sprains, and other leg injuries. Some of the most common leg injuries resulting from car crashes are
- Femur fractures
- Tibia/fibula fractures
- Torn meniscus
- ACL injuries
- Sciatica
Femur fractures: The femur or thigh bone is one of the longest, thickest, and strongest bones in your body. There are fundamental risks of causing fractures in this bone during car collisions. Due to this reason, it takes longer to heal than other bones in the leg.
Tibia/fibula fractures: Tibia is the front bone of the leg and fibula is the back leg bone. These two bones are more prone to fracture in car accidents. During car crashes, when the part of the car either caves in or crumples, the leg may come in between the dashboard and the floor. It causes leg injuries.
Torn meniscus: After a car accident, a torn meniscus can cause extreme pain. Some people can walk despite severe pain. However, it can damage your soft cartilage if you put more weight on your leg.
ACL injuries: ACL stands for Anterior Cruciate Ligament and an injury in ACL can cause traumatic pain in the legs. These kinds of leg injuries need to undergo surgery to heal.
Sciatica: Sciatica is the nerve running from the lower spine to both thighs. After a car accident, even a small spinal misalignment can pressurize the nerve. Moreover, it may cause tingling, numbness, and enormous pain in the legs.
A complex combination of nerves, tendons, ligaments, and connective tissue from the legs. As there is an interconnection between them, your back can get seriously hurt after a car accident.
Symptoms of car accident leg injuries
The impact of a car crash can lead to severe pain. As the leg is in interconnection with other body parts, they also get hurt. Back injuries are common along with bone fractures. Moreover, you may even experience symptoms such as:
- Instability in the legs
- Pins
- Needles
- Popping
- Clicking
- Stiffness in legs
- Burning sensation
- Sharp pain
Some of the symptoms of leg injuries may appear after days or months or even years after being a victim of an auto accident. Those who suffer from soft tissue injuries are strains, tears, sprains, and others.
A herniated disc can also cause leg pain after a car crash. It can cause weakness, shooting pain, and tingling sensation. Therefore, you need to treat the disorder through physical therapies, nerve-blocking injections, or steroids.
Common leg pain after a car accident: How to proceed?
After sustaining a leg injury from a car accident, you need to seek immediate medical treatment. You can consult an orthopedic specialist who can diagnose the problem and will design a treatment plan for you. Some of the treatment plans that you can undergo after hip and leg pain after a car accident are:
- Broken bone treatment: Immobilization, anti-inflammatory medications, and maybe surgery to insert intramedullary rods.
- Ligament injury treatment: Brace elastic bandage to provide compression, using ice packs, limitation in activities, and proper rest.
- Tendon injury treatment: Pain medication, cold compresses, rest, and surgery to repair any damage in the tendons.
- Nerve damage treatment: Electrical decompression, topical treatments, pain medications, and complex peripheral nerve surgery.
Physical therapies can also treat patients who suffer from ankle and leg swelling. It will help in increasing stability and strength.
Car accidents can affect different leg areas
Each leg has 5 regions that help in the motion thereby supporting the body. These are the upper leg, knee, lower leg, ankle, and foot. Mostly the knee sustains injuries after a crash. Leg injuries can affect car accident victims not only physically but emotionally also. Furthermore, it can affect your capability to walk.
Findings from NHTSA for leg injuries in the United States
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), people who have an involvement in high-energy crashes survive as they follow car seat belt laws. Moreover, the presence of airbags also acts as protective gear for the passengers.
Although, they have to face lower extremity injuries, and 20% of drivers after car accidents were facing ankle injuries. 33% of patients were facing a financial burden due to lack of car insurance coverage and also facing work loss.
How much compensation do you get for a leg injury after a car accident?
The average compensation for a leg injury for a tibia or fibula fracture in a personal injury claim may range from $70,000 to $90,000. However, in the case of broken femurs, the claimant may get twice the compensation with a settlement value of $150,000 to $175,000.
Are your legs hurting after a car accident? Call us today
Therefore, car accident victims may file injury lawsuits to pursue leg injury compensation. Schedule a free consultation or contact car accident attorney and discuss your case if you do not know how to proceed after sustaining leg injuries.