Rear-End Collisions: Why They’re Often Much Worse Than They Look

When people see a car flipped over in an accident, they often react with a shudder and assume it’s pretty serious. Similarly, if you consider what happens when two cars hit head-on, you might assume it would result in a serious accident and that the people involved could be hurt very badly.

But when you think about the most common type of car accident, rear-end collisions, the reaction is much milder. We tend to assume that rear-end collisions are fender benders that cause property damage but only minor injuries. However, an experienced Tallahassee auto accident lawyer knows that the results of a rear-end collision are often far worse than they appear at first glance. Drivers and passengers involved can suffer life-threatening injuries that aren’t always immediately apparent. It is important to understand the harm these accidents can cause and to take them seriously.

The Mechanics of a Rear-End Collision

A rear-end collision involves two or more vehicles traveling in the same direction in the same lane of traffic, one immediately behind the other. When the vehicle in front slows down or the vehicle behind speeds up—or a combination of both occurs—the vehicle behind strikes the rear-end of the vehicle in front of it. Although rear-end collisions usually occur between two vehicles, a rear-end collision can result in a chain reaction in which several vehicles are pushed into each other, like cars collapsing into each other in a train wreck.

Though this type of accident seems simple, there are complex forces unleashed that can result in serious injuries. When the front vehicle is struck from behind, it jerks forward quickly and then abruptly stops, subjecting the driver and passengers to distinct three movements as energy is transferred from the rear vehicle to their bodies. Their bodies are thrown forward, then immediately released backward, and then brought to a stop.

If anyone in the vehicle is not wearing a seatbelt or if the belt fails, then that person can be thrown forward to collide with the dashboard or seat in front of them, or out through the windshield. When the driver and passengers are wearing seatbelts, their bodies follow the motion of their vehicle, but their necks, heads, and limbs that are not restrained move at a more extreme pace, extending far beyond their usual range of motion. So while seatbelts prevent many deadly injuries, an experienced Tallahassee auto accident lawyer has seen many situations where they actually can create different injuries.

The Dangers Posed by Common Objects During a Rear-End Collision

Many of us are on the go so frequently that we “live” out of cars. We routinely carry items that we need for work and other daily activities in our cars. This includes laptops, cell phones, purses, gym bags, and water bottles. We also often store items in our cars, such as flashlights, first-aid kits, rolls of coins, and toolkits. While useful, these items can cause severe and even deadly injuries in a rear-end collision. The force of the impact can send these items airborne at tremendous speed. A laptop computer sitting on the backseat has been known to cause fatal injuries when it flew forward and hit the driver in the back of the head during a rear-end collision.

Even when we take conscientious steps to safely store items we keep in the car, there are frequent times, such as when returning home from the grocery store or on a long car trip, when the vehicle is carrying too many loose items to restrain them all. Many popular vehicles, such as SUVs and minivans, do not have a separate trunk area for safely storing heavy items such as suitcases.

Why is that a problem? If a vehicle is traveling only 30 miles per hour, in a rear-end collision, a one-pound object like a can of soup or a plastic bottle of water can hit someone with the same force as a 40-pound bag of cement. When a vehicle is traveling 55 miles per hour, a 20-pound object like a small suitcase can hit someone with 1,000 pounds of force. Obviously, the injuries caused by objects in the vehicle during a rear-end collision can be quite serious.

Seatbelts and Airbags Don’t Provide Complete Protection

Cars are engineered to be safer today than in the past, but even the most up-to-date safety equipment may not protect you from serious injuries in a rear-end collision.

For instance, airbags prevent numerous types of injuries, but they are designed to deploy in front-end collisions and side-impact collisions. They frequently will not deploy when a vehicle is hit from behind, leaving the driver and passengers at risk of impact injuries.

Seatbelts restrain the majority of the body and prevent those wearing them from being thrown out of the vehicle, but they can cause injuries as well. The National Institutes of Health reports that the transmission of force can cause damage to internal organs and fractures of the vertebrae. Often, patients suffering these injuries may display more obvious signs of seat belt syndrome injuries, such as bruising and abrasions, but very frequently they do not. 

A Tallahassee auto accident lawyer knows that it often takes an extremely thorough medical exam to detect these types of injuries immediately after an accident. Signs of these dangerous injuries are often overlooked or misdiagnosed until some time later when accident victims are in extreme distress.

Types of Injuries In Rear-End Collisions

When most people think of injuries caused by rear-end collisions, they imagine whiplash to be the most serious effect. While whiplash is common and it can cause severe pain and long-term problems, a Tallahassee auto accident lawyer sees that drivers and passengers hit in rear-end collisions often suffer far worse injuries. These include:

• Injuries to the back, such as herniated discs and spinal fractures. These often result in chronic pain that grows worse over time and decreases mobility and abilities.
• Damage to the spinal cord that can cause paralysis. Spinal cord injuries can, in turn, lead to other medical conditions such as circulatory problems and pressure sores. Those with spinal cord injuries frequently suffer bladder, bowel, and sexual dysfunction. Injuries high on the spinal cord can cause difficulty breathing and swallowing.
• Traumatic brain injuries that can lead to profound impairment of cognitive abilities.
• Damage to eyes and ears, severely interfering with the functioning of crucial senses
• Injuries to the face that cause intense physical and emotional pain and often lead to permanent disfigurement
• Broken bones, particularly in the foot, ankle, arm, and wrist. When pinned by debris, an accident victim can suffer loss of limbs or digits.

Moreover, even when physical injuries are relatively minor, the emotional impact caused by a rear-end collision can have extremely damaging effects on mental health. Being struck without warning in a dramatic fashion can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. Those who’ve endured substantial rear-end collisions frequently suffer from severe anxiety, particularly when in a moving vehicle, and that can force them to change habits and become withdrawn. When injuries are catastrophic and lead to long-term disabilities or disfigurement, the change in lifestyle often leads to severe depression.

Meeting Needs After a Rear-End Collision

The physical and mental harm caused by a rear-end collision comes as a surprise to many people. Very often, the driver who caused the accident will assume that nothing is really wrong because the accident wasn’t dramatic or injuries were not immediately obvious. When those hurt in the collision file a claim for damages for their suffering and long-term effects, the person who caused the accident may insist that it is an exaggeration, and the insurance company will try to prove either that injuries aren’t serious or that they were caused by something else.

This makes it crucial for victims of rear-end collisions to collect evidence as soon as possible to demonstrate liability and to keep journals and other records showing the effects of their injuries. It is vital to get a medical exam after the accident and also to return to the doctor when symptoms worsen or new symptoms appear. Additionally, it is essential to follow the recommendations of doctors so that the insurance company cannot claim that your own actions made your injuries worse.

When you can prove liability and document your injuries, a dedicated Tallahassee auto accident lawyer should be able to help you recover full compensation to offset your losses and meet future needs. You could receive amounts to cover past and future:

• Medical expenses
• Pain and suffering
• Lost wages
• Emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment of favorite activities

Your attorney should be able to help you gather evidence to document your claim, so it is best to seek legal advice as soon as possible after a rear-end collision.

Experience Matters When it Comes to Auto Accident Recovery

Because rear-end collisions are not dramatic, accident victims can often find their claims ignored or devalued. It is important to work with an experienced legal team that understands how to get full and fair compensation for what you’ve experienced in the past and what you will need to deal with in the future because of the accident. At Searcy Denney Tallahassee, we have decades of experience helping accident victims obtain full recovery for their losses in car accidents and many other situations. Put our experience to work for you today by calling us at 888-549-7011 or contacting us online to schedule a free consultation and case evaluation.