Whiplash to Broken Bones: 19 Common Car Accident Injuries & Cost

Whether you’re injured or you injure someone else in a car accident, it’s a good idea to know how much common car accident injuries cost, with and without health insurance, and how much of it is covered by car insurance – and whose insurance pays. Also, you’ll need to know how car accident injuries affect car insurance rates.

When considering car accident injuries and related costs, it’s important to remember that there may be lost wages related to the injuries,car damage costs and more. Here’s more on what car insurance covers the 19 most common car accident injuries.

Key Takeaways It’s always a good idea to call the paramedics if you’re hurt after a car accident. Your car insurance will cover the other driver’s injuries as well as the passengers in their car, if you were at fault. Your car insurance will not cover your injuries if you were at fault and don’t have MedPay.

Does Health Insurance Cover Accident Injuries or Car Insurance?

It’s not very complicated to understand how car insurance works once you look at the coverages and the limits on your car insurance policy. If the accident was your fault, the liability coverage you have will cover injuries to the other driver and their passengers, up to limits for bodily injury. After accessing the injury costs below this section, determine whether or not your limits are too low, as most minimum state requirements are.;

If you live in a state where personal injury protection (PIP) is required, your own car insurance covers injuries, up to limits. Determine whether or not your limits are too low after glancing at these common car accident injury costs below.

If the accident was the other driver’s fault, their bodily injury liability coverage will cover your injury costs. If their limits are too low to cover the balance, you can get the remainder if you have uninsured motorist coverage (UM), which also covers underinsured motorists who may have limits that are too low or no car insurance at all. UM is required in some states.

Your health insurance may pay for injuries and then car insurance companies then reimburse your health insurance through a process called subrogation. If you have medical payments coverage (MedPay) on your car insurance policy and the accident was your fault, it will cover you and your passengers, if you prefer to avoid using health insurance because you have a high deductible or if you don’t have health insurance.

What Are the Most Common Car Accident Injuries?

Below are the most common injuries that result from a collision. The costs do not reflect the cost of damage to your car, which would be covered with collision coverage, if the accident was your fault. If you don’t have collision insurance, you are not covered for an accident that was your fault with state minimum requirements.

1. Whiplash

$2,500 to $10,000 ^[2]

When your neck is jolted forward and then back forcefully in a collision, it snaps like a whip, which is why the injury is called whiplash.;

After the accident, the neck may be painful or impossible to move, depending on how severely the neck’s ligaments, muscles and tendons were injured. Some people also experience spasms, numbness or a burning sensation. Even blurred vision can result from serious whiplash.

Diagnosing whiplash and its severity requires x-rays, CT scans, MRIs and more. Immobilization in a neck brace is most common. You may need physical therapy and various treatments. In severe cases, spine surgery will need to be performed. ^[21]

2. Spinal Cord Injury

$85,000 to $3 million ^[4]

$42,000 to $184,000 annually ^[3]

The spinal cord communicates with the brain and the rest of the body, and if the nerves are damaged, it will affect strength and normal functions below the site of the injury. The effects of the injury may affect mental health.

Tetraplegia, also called quadriplegia, is when your arms and hands as well as your trunk, legs and pelvic organs are affected by spinal cord injury by complete or incomplete paralysis. Paraplegia is complete or incomplete paralysis of the trunk, legs and pelvic organs but not the arms.

Symptoms of spinal cord injury after an accident should be addressed immediately. These are common symptoms:

• Excruciating pain in the back and/or neck and head.

• Weakness or loss of control of a body part.

• Numbness or tingling in the extremities.

• Loss of bladder or bowel control.

• Imbalance or trouble walking.

• Difficulty breathing.

• A twisted back or neck. ^[22]

3. Internal Injuries

$10,000 to $150,000 ^[4]

Organ damage and internal bleeding may result from the blunt force trauma of a collision. A damaged organ or internal bleeding that is not treated right away can cause low blood pressure, organ failure and even death.

Ligament and soft tissue tearing resulting from the accident may require specific surgery or treatment and may take several weeks to heal.

You may even suffer a punctured or collapsed lung due to the impact of the collision. If you have difficulty breathing, it’s important to tell the paramedics.

Neurological injuries may result from impact as well. ^[4]

4. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

$100 to $200 per session (ongoing) ^[5]

After a car accident, it’s not uncommon for the driver and passengers to experience PTSD. Even long after the accident, you may have flashbacks, nightmares and uncontrollable thoughts that impede your regular activities.

You may fear driving again, lash out at loved ones or isolate yourself. Seeking professional help from a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist is highly advised, especially if the symptoms don’t improve over the course of a month. ^[23]

5. Traumatic Brain Injury

$85,000 to $3 million ^[4]

A mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), after a jolt to the head during a collision, may heal itself. But a more serious injury to the brain may cause bruising, torn tissues, bleeding and other damage and can lead to death if not treated.

Most TBI events mimic the symptoms of a concussion. The longer a person is unconscious after the accident often determines how serious the TBI is. Dilation of the pupils, slurred speech and the seepage of fluids from the nose or ears also signify a more severe TBI. In an infant, TBI can cause seizures. ^[24]

6. Amputation

$100,000 to more than $700,000+ ^[19]

Roughly 45% of amputations are a result of a motor vehicle accident. The removal of any extremities, including the fingers, arm, legs, toes, foot or hand may be necessary if the body part is badly torn, burned or crushed beyond repair. ^[25]

After amputation, patients often have phantom pains and psychological distress. The advancement of prosthesis is good news for amputees.

7. Skull Fracture

$2,000 to $100,000+ ^[6]

Your skull is made of bones. A break in one or more of these bones is called a skull fracture. Some skull fractures heal without the need for surgery, but others require it if the break is severe and interferes with the functions of the brain. If the break tears the skin over the skull, there is a risk of infection.

There are different types of skull fractures. Here they are:

1. Linear fractures are breaks in the bone near the top of the head, above the ears.

2. Depressed fractures push the bone closer to your brain and can be serious.

3. Basal (basilar) fractures are breaks in the bones at the base of the skull, behind the face and interior bones near the brain.

4. Diastatic fractures separate the tissues that connect the bones in the skull.

5. Combination or complex fractures involve more than one of the above types of skull fractures. ^[26]

6. Concussion (Mild)

$800 ^[10]

When the head is impacted, a concussion is common after a collision. Concussions are a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Loss of consciousness is not common but can happen. More common symptoms are headaches, trouble concentrating, memory impairment, lack of balance, mood changes, slurred speech, vomiting and trouble sleeping.

It’s important to have what you suspect is a concussion seen by a paramedic because it may be a more serious TBI (see #5). It’s an emergency if you lose consciousness for more than 30 seconds, have seizures, exhibit slurred speech, if there is fluid or blood draining from the nose and ears and if a headache continues to get worse. ^[27]

9. Soft Tissue Injury

$75 to $150 per session for physical therapy

$400-$12,000 for MRIs and/or surgery ^[9]

Any damage to the muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia is considered a soft tissue injury. Any tissue that connects or supports bone is soft tissue, and when injured or torn, it can cause pain, swelling, discoloration or bruising.

Most often, soft tissue injuries occur in the knees, wrists and ankles. Sometimes rest, icing, compression and elevation of the injured area will allow the injury to heal on its own. In severe cases like a torn ligament, however, surgery may be required. ^[28]

10. Burns

$200,000 to $1.5 million ^[4]

Having paramedics examine you right after an accident is important for determining how severe the burn is. The severity of burns is measured in degrees.

First-degree burns are not very serious and are caused by hot water or touching a hot pan. Icing or running cold water on the area right away helps.

Second-degree burns are more serious and cause pain and redness, possibly blisters and swelling. This level of burn may need to be seen by a doctor.;

Third-degree burns are what doctors call full thickness burns. Third-degree burns require immediate medical attention and you may lose sensation if the nerves were affected.

Fourth-degree burns can affect muscles, tendons and even bone tissue and require emergency care.

For more serious burns, it’s best not to apply anything to the wound and seek emergency care right away. ^[29]

11. Eye Injury

$5,000 to $30,000+ ^[4]

If you get a black eye as a result of the impact of a collision, it will likely heal on its own with icing. However, blunt eye trauma may cause damage to the bones around the eyes. This is more serious and needs immediate attention.;

Eye burns are also serious, and if something punctures your eye from inside the car’s cabin, it’s important to wait for a specialist to remove it. Corneal scratches are also common during car accidents.

If there are fluids leaking from an eye, it is a sign of injury and must be seen by a specialist immediately. ^[30]

12. Lacerations

$532 on average for minor lacerations

$200+ starting, for stitches ^[12]

A tear or deep cut into the flesh is called a laceration. The laceration may occur due to broken glass after a collision. The tear may be jagged and uneven but won’t have missing flesh or skin.;

Ifyou’re bleeding or spurting blood, it’s important to contact the paramedics immediately.;

You may or may not stitches to close the wound, and it’s important to keep the wound clean and use the prescribed antibiotics and ointments until it heals. ^[31]

13. Broken or Fractured Bones

$2,500 to $100,000 ^[4]

Fractured bones and broken bones are the same injury, just worded differently. You may need a splint, cast, brace or sling to repair a broken bone but surgery may be required, depending on the severity of the fracture.

Different bones need different treatment and are classified by: fracture patterns, which bone is broken and the cause of the break, which in this case would most likely be impact. Open fractures, when the bone breaks the skin, need to be seen immediately.

You’ll also want to go to the emergency room if you can’t use a body part, have pain, swelling and/or a bump on the body part that is injured. At the hospital, you will have x-rays, an MRI, CT scans and bone scans to determine the correct treatment. You may or may not need surgery. ^[32]

14. Knee Injury

$9,300 ACL repair surgery costs

$7,400 to $9,000 Torn meniscus

$2,500 Broken knee cap ^[11]

Ligaments, tendons, cartilage, bones and muscles make up and support the knee joint. If one or several of these components is damaged, you may need knee surgery or a knee replacement. Impact may shatter a knee cap too.

Fractures, dislocations, tears and sprains are common after car accidents, so emergency care is advised if you feel any discomfort. Surgery may or may not be required. ^[33]

15. Shoulder Injury

$6,900 to $56,200 ^[14]

A broken shoulder bone, a dislocated shoulder, shoulder separation, frozen shoulder, nerve injury and a rotator cuff tear are all reasons to get immediate medical attention.

It is an emergency if you feel excruciating pain from the left shoulder all the way to the jaw, which could be a heart attack.

A painful, swollen, bruised, or bleeding shoulder are all reasons to call the paramedics. ^[34]

16. Foot and Ankle Injury

$292 to $21,801 ^[18]

You may experience an injury to the bones, joints,muscles, ligaments and tendons in the foot and ankles after a car accident. Common types of injuries include:

• Jones fractures (fractures of the bone on the outside of the foot).

• Heel bone fractures

• Ankle fractures

• Ankle sprains (ligament damage)

• Achilles tendon injuries

• Lisfranc injury (injury to the joints and/or ligaments in the middle of the foot)

• Joint dislocation in the ankle or foot.

If you feel pain or see swelling, blood or discoloration, it’s important to call the paramedics. Doctors will diagnose the injury and plan your treatment based on x-rays, MRIs or CT scans. ^[35]

17. Hand and Wrist Injury

$6,951 median cost ^[15]

A wrist sprain is not very costly, but it’s important to get your hands and wrists checked out after an accident if you feel any pain. You may have a hand, finger or wrist fracture or multiple fractures.

It’s important to treat broken bones right away to ensure proper alignment as they heal. If the joints in your wrist are hot or swollen, or if you have trouble moving the wrist, you’ll need an X-ray, ultrasound or MRI to determine the course of action for treatment. ^[36]

18. Neck and Back Injuries;

$5,000 to $50,000+ ^[4]

If you feel pain in and around the neck and back, it’s important to have the injuries examined to make sure there is no spinal damage (see #2 for spinal cord injuries). An x-ray and MRI can spot soft tissues injuries, such as torn ligaments, tendons and broken blood vessels.

You may need rehabilitation in the form of physical therapy if the neck and back pain is severe or debilitating. Your doctor may also prescribe a brace. ^[37]

Surgery is required for fractures along the spine, if there are damaged disks and if the pain is unmanageable and interferes with sleep. ^[38]

19. Facial Injuries and Disfigurement

$27,613.44 to $52,850.88 for facial fractures ^[17]

Reconstructive surgery for facial fractures and soft tissue injuries may be necessary to treat pain, broken bones and disfigurement in the face.

Computed tomography (CT) will help a surgeon determine the extent of the injury and how to improve disfigurement and functions, such as chewing, speaking and swallowing. ^[39]

How Do Car Accident Injuries Impact Car Insurance?

You will see an increase in car insurance rates after an accident, even if it was determined that it was the other driver’s fault. However, the at-fault driver’s rate goes up substantially more.

The severity of the injuries and property loss as a result of the accident will determine how drastic the increases will be. For instance, a fender-bender will not increase your rates as much as causing an accident in which the other car was totaled and the passengers and driver had to be taken to the emergency room for injuries.