The Pottenger Law Firm is very experienced in representing those injured in car accidents. Throughout the Kansas City area, thousands of people are hurt or killed in auto accidents every year. 80% of all crashes involve distracted driving according to the Missouri Department of Transportation. These numbers are concerning because many accidents could have been prevented.
Unfortunately, distracted drivers often don’t realize the danger they are placing themselves and others in when they reach for the phone or lose focus. It is important that everyone understands the potential injuries that can result from a car accident.
Cars moving at high speeds are inherently dangerous
Despite sounding like a high school science lesson, learning the physics of a crash can be informative. The underlying idea of car engineering and safety features is absorbing and spreading the high energy forces that result from a crash away from the driver and passengers. Kinetic energy is the energy that an object in motion possesses. When a car is speeding down an interstate like I-435 at 80 miles per hour and collides with another vehicle, an enormous amount of kinetic energy is transferred. The human body simply cannot sustain those forces without serious injury.
When your car gets stopped from hitting another vehicle, tree, or any other resistant object, the people inside remain in motion until they are stopped. Hopefully, a seatbelt will be able to bear the brunt of that impact, but far too often drivers will hurtle towards the steering wheel or windshield.
What kind of injuries can happen?
The nature of someone’s injuries depends on the type of crash. Most often, people experience broken collarbones from their seatbelt. However, consider yourself lucky if that is the only injury you have. The seatbelt is designed to exert the force needed to stop the body from moving forward across the stronger and less sensitive parts of you. That is why it should extend from the collarbone down across the relatively fortified rib cage and sit directly upon the bony pelvis instead of the soft abdomen. If the seatbelt does cut into your abdomen, it may rupture the internal organs causing problems that may be life-threatening. Also, your ribs may still break or fracture but it is better than being tossed around the car.
Of course, the most sensitive area during a crash is the brain. There are no internal structures in your skull anchoring the brain in place. Therefore when the body experiences high-speed collisions the brain gets rocked violently against the bone.
Drivers in Missouri must use the “highest degree of care” when driving. If you get hurt due to someone else’s inattention or neglect, they are liable. The Pottenger Law Firm is committed to getting you the compensation that you deserve.
