News & opinion What is the Difference Between a Minor and a Serious Auto Accident?

What is the Difference Between a Minor and a Serious Auto Accident?

hile the

e e millions of tffic

ccidents eve

y ye, only

sm

ll pe

cent

ge c

n be cl

ssified

s

se

ious

uto

ccident – those th

t c

n

esult in se

ious inju

ies o

f

t

lities.

cco

ding to n>d

t

n style=”font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;”> published by the United St

tes Census Bu

e

u, the

e

e gene

lly ove

10 million

ccidents eve

y ye, nging f

om mino

fende

bende

s to se

ious

ccidents involving c

t

st

ophic o

f

t

l inju

ies. 

s the fou

th l

gest city in the count

y,

nd

ve

y “c

-cent

ic" city

t th

t, Houston h

s

lge numbe

of

uto

ccidents eve

y ye.  Genelly spe

king,

fte minoccident, most people e content to exch

nge info

m

tion

nd go

long thei

y. The t

uth of the m

tte

is th

t eve

yone involved in even the most innocuous seeming c

ccident should

llo

the police to investig

te the collision

nd cont

ct

n expe

ienced pe

son

l inju

y

tto

ney.  M

ny c

ccidents involve inju

ies th

t g

o

signific

ntly mo

e p

inful in the hou

s

nd d

ys

fte

the initi

l collision.  It is not unusu

l fo

someone involved in

c

ccident to

lk

y f

om the collision,

nd be in so much p

in the next d

y th

t they c

nnot even comfo

t

bly get out of bed.  Even if you

inju

ies m

y be less se

ious, by

llo

ing the police to investig

te you

collision

nd p

omptly cont

cting

pe

son

l inju

y l

ye

th

t speci

lizes in <

h

ef="

se

vices

c

ccident-

tto

ney-houston

“>

uto

ccident inju

ies<>, you c

n be su

e th

t you

leg

l

ights e p

otected

nd th

t you

ill h

ve the evidence necess

y to

sse

t

leg

l cl

im if necessy.<

sp

n><

p>

e id="

tt

chment_2280" i

-desc

ibedby="c

ption-

tt

chment-2280″ style=”

idth: 300px" cl

ss=”

p-c

ption

ligncente

“><

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.comp-content

uplo

ds

2013/11/houston-se

ious-

uto-inju

y-

ccident.jpg”> io

ity=”high” decoding=”

sync" cl

ss=”size-medium

p-im

ge-2280″ s

c="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.comp-content

uplo

ds

2013/11/houston-se

ious-

uto-inju

y-

ccident-300×214.jpg”

lt="Houston Se

ious

uto Inju

y

ccident"

idth=”300″ height=”214″ /> >ption id=”c

ption-

tt

chment-2280" cl

ss=”

p-c

ption-text”>Se

ious

uto Inju

y

ccident ption><

figu

e>

=”lt

">The f

ct is th

t the

e is no cle

definition bet

een

se

ious

uto

ccident

nd

mino

c

ccident. To fu

the

complic

te m

tte

s, sometimes people

lk

y f

om violent collisions

ithout

sc

tch,

hile othe

times simple “fende

bende

s” c

n c

use se

ious inju

ies.  

s noted

bove, c

ccidents c

n c

use ce

t

in types of inju

ies th

t m

y not develop se

ious symptoms fo

hou

s o

even d

ys

fte

the inju

y, such

s

hipl

sh.

hipl

sh is

non-medic

l te

m used to desc

ibe inju

ies to the neck o

spin

l column. It occu

s

hen the he

d sn

ps quickly b

ck

ds o

fods on the neck

esulting in extension

nd comp

ession of the st

uctu

es in the neck. Some of the mo

e common signs

nd symptoms of

hipl

sh include the follo

ing:<

p>

>

> >

  • “>Neck p

    in<

    p>

  • “>Stiffness

  • “>He

    d

    che

  • “>Shoulde

    p

    in

  • “>Dizziness

  • “>

    m

    e

    kness

  • “>

    m p

    in<

    p>

  • “>J

    p

    in<

    p>

  • “>F

    tigue<

    p>

  • “>B

    ck p

    in

> <

tbody>
ble> <

div>

nd

un"

ccident o

the pe

son th

t hit you did not h

ve li

bility insunce.<

p>

/c

inju

yvictims.com

c

uses-of-c-

ccidents-in-houston/”>c

ccident<> lye

, you c

n p

otect you

leg

l

ights

nd obt

in the evidence necessy to

sse

t

leg

l cl

im.

Houston H

s Mo

e Th

n Its She of Minond Se

ious C

ccidents<

h2>
Houston is

c city,

nd it h

s

ve

y high

ccident

te. Most d

ive

s t

ke to the tffic-choked

o

ds since m

ss t

nsit does not h

ve

ide

ship th

t

eflects Houston’s st

tus

s

met

opolis. In 2019, Houston itself h

d ne

ly 70,000 c

shes,

nd the

e

e

e ove

110,000 in H

is County. Most d

ive

s

lked

y f

om these incidents unh

med. Ho

eve

, the

e

e

e ove

30,000

ccident-

el

ted inju

ies in H

is County. Most of these inju

ies

e

e mino

, but ove

10,000 d

ive

s

nd p

ssenge

s

equi

ed medic

l

ttention

fte

the csh. The

e

e

e ove

2,200 se

ious inju

ies in H

is County c

shes.

In

mino

c

ccident, the d

ive

s c

n get out of thei

c

nd exch

nge insunce info

m

tion. They do not h

ve

ny immedi

te physic

l inju

y th

t p

events them f

om h

ndling det

ils

t the c

sh scene. In

mino

c

ccident, the

e is no immedi

te th

e

t to the d

ive

's s

fety o

th

t of thei

p

ssenge

s. You

c

m

y h

ve

mino

dent,

nd it is ce

t

inly not tot

led. You m

y even d

ive

y f

om the scene in you

c

ithout needing

to

t

uck. You

fin

nci

l loss is likely to be mo

e minos it

ould cost less to

ep

i

you

c

.

Nonetheless, you should still c

ll

police office

to the scene, even fo mo

e mino

ccident. Even if the othe

d

ive

seems physic

lly fine, you neve

quite knoh

t they

ill cl

im

s inju

ies

fte

the f

ct. You need eco

d of the

ccident

nd the conditions su

ounding it bec

use it

ill help

hen li

bility is dete

mined.

police office

is

neut

l thi

d pty

ho m

y m

ke mo

e objective obse

v

tions.

You C

n G

the

Evidence

t the Scene of

Mino

ccident

You

lys see leg

l

dvice telling you to g

the

s much evidence

t the scene of the

ccident. This is not possible

hen you h

ve been in

se

ious c

ccident

ith inju

ies. Ho

eve

, you c

n t

ke pictu

es

nd t

lk to people

t the scene of

mo

e minoccident. This is

he

e you should get pictu

es of

ll

ngles of the d

m

ge

nd the conditions

t the time of the c

sh. You should

lso spe

k

ith people

ho s

h

t h

ppened

nd get thei

cont

ct info

m

tion. This is only possible

hen you e not de

ling

ith you

o

n inju

ies

s you

ould in

mo

e se

ious csh. Even in

mo

e mino

c

sh, you m

y begin to expe

ience physic

l symptoms in the hou

o

d

ys

fte

the c

sh. One of the most common del

yed onset

ccident inju

ies is

hipl

sh. This h

ppens

hen you

he

d sn

ps quickly b

ck

d o

fod but you

body

em

ins in the s

me pl

ce. This could

ffect much mo

e th

n just you

neck.

hipl

sh c

n even c

use

tum

tic b

in inju

y such

s

concussion. Its effects c

n linge

fo

months o

yes, especi

lly

hen it

ffects you

he

d

nd neck. This is

hy it is

lys bette

to see

docto

the second you notice

ny

ccident-

el

ted symptoms. If you

csh s

nything othe

th

n the most mino

fende

bende

, go to the doctofte

the c

sh to m

ke su

e th

t you e not inju

ed. Othe

ise, you m

y h

ve

hd time

ecove

ing bec

use the insu

nce comp

ny m

y

gue th

t you

inju

y c

me f

om something else.

Mo

e Se

ious

ccidents

equi

e Medic

l

ttention

t the Scene<

h2>

hen the <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

kno

-c-csh

“>c

c

sh > is mo

e se

ious, you c

n not get out of you

c on you

o

n

nd begin to est

blish

h

t h

ppened. Inste

d, you

ill

equi

e medic

l

ttention

t the scene,

nd th

t

ill be you

m

jo

focus. You

inju

ies

ill be mo

e se

ious,

nd they

ill

equi

e t

e

tment

ight

y. You m

y even need life-s

ving c

e.

Se

ious c csh inju

ies could include:

  • i

    -level="1"><

    h

    ef="https:

    /c

    inju

    yvictims.com

    se

    vices

    houston-t

    um

    tic-bin-inju

    y-tbi-

    tto

    ney/”>T

    um

    tic bin inju

    ies ><

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Neck

    nd spin

    l co

    d inju

    ies<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">D

    m

    ge to inte

    n

    l o

    g

    ns<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Inte

    n

    l bleeding<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Contusions<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Fctu

    es

Seve

e C

ccidents Pose Sho

t

nd Long-Te

m Th

e

ts<

h2>
Se

ious c

ccidents

ill h

ve

long-te

m effect on you

life bec

use the d

m

ge is to mo

e th

n just you

c. The

ccident is just the st

t of both the leg

l

nd medic

l p

ocesses.

He

e e some of the ch

llenges th

t you m

y f

ce

fte

seve

e c

ccident:

  • i

    -level="1">You could suffe

    inju

    ies th

    t could put you

    life in d

    nge

    .<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">You

    inju

    ies m

    y

    equi

    e

    long hospit

    l st

    y.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Medic

    l bills could mount ove

    time

    s you need continuous c

    e

    nd t

    e

    tment.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">You

    inju

    ies could keep you f

    om

    o

    king fo

    p

    olonged time—if you c

    n even

    o

    k

    g

    in

  • i

    -level="1">You

    c

    is likely se

    iously d

    m

    ged,

    nd you h

    ve suffe

    ed signific

    nt p

    ope

    ty d

    m

    ge.<

    li>

D

m

ges F

om

Se

ious C

ccident

hen you

e

e in

b

d c csh, you m

y suffe

:
  • -level=”1″>Medic

    l bills fo

    both you

    p

    st

    nd futu

    e t

    e

    tment

  • i

    -level="1">Lost ges fo

    the time th

    t you missed f

    om

    o

    k o

    you

    in

    bility to en

    h

    t you once did<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">P

    in

    nd suffe

    ing fo

    h

    t you

    ent th

    ough

    nd

    e still expe

    iencing<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Emotion

    l dist

    ess<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ongful de

    th (if

    f

    mily membe

    died in

    n

    ccident)<

    li>

h

t H

ppens

fte

Se

ious C

ccident

<

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.comhipl

sh-

fte

-c

ccident

“>

fte

the

ccident<>, you

time

ill fill

ith much mo

e th

n just t

king the c to the insunce

djuste

fo d

m

ge estim

te. The p

oblem is th

t you

e de

ling

ith you

inju

y

nd e p

ob

bly not in

ny condition to h

ndle

ny of the det

ils of the

ccident. M

jo

c

c

shes me

n th

t you do not e

sily go b

ck to you

d

ily life.

Even if you

inju

ies

e not seve

e enough to keep you out of

o

k fon extended time, you m

y de

l

ith:

  • i

    -level="1">Const

    nt c

    lls f

    om

    n insunce comp

    ny th

    t is t

    ying to get out of p

    ying foh

    t m

    y be signific

    nt d

    m

    ges

  • i

    -level="1">

    o

    k on you

    vehicle o

    pu

    ch

    sing

    ne

    one<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Seeing

    ste

    dy st

    e

    m of docto

    s

    nd speci

    lists to help t

    e

    t you

    inju

    ies.

  • i

    -level="1">Fin

    nci

    l difficulties bec

    use of steep bills

    nd missed

    o

    k<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">St

    ess on you

    f

    mily if the

    ccident inc

    p

    cit

    ted you

M

ke medic

l issues you

fo

emost conce

n

fte

n

ccident. You need to

ecove

to the fullest extent possible. Not only th

t, but p

ompt medic

l t

e

tment c

n help

hen you file

cl

im.

You

C

p

city Is Limited

fte

Se

ious Csh<

h2>
The p

oblem foccident victims is finding

ny b

nd

idth to de

l

ith the othe

issues. You

medic

l issues c

n be

ll-encomp

ssing, le

ving you

ith no

bility to de

l

ith the leg

l p

ocess. Ho

eve

, you must

dd

ess leg

l issues

t the s

me time. Mo

eove

, you do not h

ve the expe

tise to h

ndle the cl

ims p

ocess on you

o

n. The

e is nothing th

t s

ys th

t you h

ve to h

ve

l

ye

, but it ce

t

inly helps. The most immedi

te ch

llenge is g

the

ing the evidence necessy to b

ck up you

side of the sto

y. The othe

d

ive

ill

ely

dmit to being the

esponsible pty fo

the

ccident. The

efo

e, you need

itnesses

nd othe

p

oof to put you

self in

position fo

fin

nci

l compens

tion.

n

tto

ney

ill cont

ct possible

itnesses

nd

o

k

ith expe

ts to

econst

uct you

ccident if necess

y.

fte seve

e c

ccident, this is not something th

t you c

n do.

h

t Youtto

ney Does

fte

Extensive C

ccident D

m

ges<

h2>
You

tto

ney

ill h

ndle the det

ils of you

cl

im. This me

ns th

t they

ill be you

voice

nd

dvoc

te in de

ling

ith the insunce comp

ny. The insu

nce comp

ny is not

l

ys the e

siest to h

ndle. They h

ve thei

o

n p

ofit motive

t

o

k,

nd you

inte

ests

e not thei

inte

ests. They h

ve thei

o

n infst

uctu

e in pl

ce th

t solely

ims to p

otect thei

bottom line. This includes l

ye

s

nd

djuste

s

hose job it is to s

ve money by not p

ying out cl

ims.

Especi

lly

fte

se

ious

ccident, you need someone to n

o

the disp

ity of po

e

bet

een you

nd the insu

nce comp

ny. This is

he

e

e come in

s

tto

neys.

e

e he

e to s

fegu

d you

inte

ests

nd fight fo

you

leg

l

ights. Left

lone, othe

s m

y think th

t they c

n t

ke

dv

nt

ge of you.

ftell, eve

y penny th

t they p

y you is one less penny fo

thei

bottom line.

The fi

st y th

t you

tto

ney helps you is by g

the

ing the evidence th

t you need to help p

ove you

cl

im.

hen you

e involved in

se

ious c

sh, you c

nnot do this on you

o

n. The

e is no

y to piece togethe

you

o

n cl

im

hen you e de

ling

ith medic

l

nd othe

issues. Hi

e

n

tto

ney to investig

te you

c

c

sh. This is

h

t they do fo

living,

nd they kno

ho

to p

ove th

t someone else s

t f

ult.

ese

ch sho

s th

t

ccident victims

ith

n

tto

ney e f bette

off fin

nci

lly th

n those

ho do not h

ve one. They h

ve

bette

ch

nce of p

oving li

bility. They

lso usu

lly

eceive mo

e money bec

use they kno

hen to s

y no to

lo

offe

f

om the insunce comp

ny. M

ny people do not even kno

th

t they c

n tu

n do

n

settlement offend negoti

te. You do not h

ve to t

ke the insu

nce comp

ny's offe

,

nd they e not the ultim

te

bite

of ho

much money you leg

lly dese

ve.

You Need Someone

ho C

n Fight the Insu

nce Comp

ny<

h2>

fte c

t

st

ophic

ccident, you

ill need someone

ho c

n imp

ess upon

n insu

nce comp

ny o

ju

y the extent of you

inju

ies. Even if you need extensive medic

l t

e

tment, you m

y h

ve difficulty

ticul

ting ho

b

dly the

ccident hu

ts you

nd the effect it h

s on you

life. Much of the st

ength of you

cl

im lies in the document

tion

nd p

esent

tion. You must m

ke it cle

to the insu

nce comp

ny ho

much you h

ve suffe

ed bec

use they

ill neve

miss

n excuse to t

y to cut you

p

yment. e id=”

tt

chment_70081″

i

-desc

ibedby=”c

ption-

tt

chment-70081" style="

idth: 240px” cl

ss="

p-c

ption

lign

ight">p-im

ge-70081" s

c=”https://c

inju

yvictims.comp-content

uplo

ds

2020/02/Ste

t-J.-Guss-

tto

ney.jpg"

lt=”Ste

t-J.-Guss-

tto

ney"

idth=”240″ height=”277″ s

cset="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.comp-content

uplo

ds

2020/02/Ste

t-J.-Guss-

tto

ney.jpg 292

, https://c

inju

yvictims.comp-content

uplo

ds

2020/02/Ste

t-J.-Guss-

tto

ney-260x300.jpg 260

” sizes=”(m

x-

idth: 240px) 100v

, 240px"

> ption id="c

ption-

tt

chment-70081″ cl

ss="

p-c

ption-text">

tto

ney, <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

ou

-te

m/ste

t-guss

“>Ste

t J. Guss<><

figc

ption><

figu

e> The mo

e se

ious youccident, the g

e

te

you

need fon

dequ

te settlement to compens

te you. This is not something the insu

nce comp

ny

ill just give you. Inste

d, you need to fight fo

it by b

inging

n

gg

essive

tto

ney onto you

c

se. This

ill hold the insunce comp

ny’s feet to the fi

e.

hen you

e in

se

ious

uto

ccident, you need eve

y penny th

t you c

n get. You m

y find you c

nnot

o

k in the futu

e

nd f

ce

educed

bility to en money. This is

hy you need to fight no

.

n

tto

ney

ill

ep

esent you

leg

l inte

ests.

C

ccident Lye

s Helping Clients in Tex

s<

h2>
Ste

t J. Guss, Inju

y

ccident Lye

s h

ve been fighting fo

people inju

ed in c

ccidents fo

ove

t

o dec

des.

e

o

k to m

ximize you

ecove

y bec

use

e e not

f

id to put leg

l p

essu

e on the insunce comp

nies. If you o

loved one suffe

ed inju

ies in

c

ccident,

e offe f

ee c

se ev

lu

tion. C

ll us tod

y

t <

h

ef=”tel:(800) 898-4877″>(800) 898-4877 > o

cont

ct us <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

cont

ct-us

“>online > to t

lk to us

bout you

claim.

How Can We HELP Get a FREE Virtual Consultation
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Testimonials

Client testimonials "Mr. Guss & his team significantly exceeded my expectations and the net settlement I received was more than triple... - Norman B. View All Testimonials
Schedule a free virtual visit 866-552-1808 Or Send us a message today >

Read More

Handling Catastrophic Injury Claims for 20+ Years
Car Accident Attorneys Houston 19 Jan

  T ust us hen e sy the e isn’t nything “e sy” bout filing c insunce clim ith...

Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer 15 Jan

. to schedule f ee consulttion. Don’t del y! Youights e too impot nt. Signs of n Intoxic ted...

How to Claim for Whiplash After a Car Accident 10 Jan

He e’s scen io e see ll too often in ou line of o k: pe son lks y...

Get Legal Help Now Contact Our Attorneys To LEarn How We Can Help You Achieve The Justice You Deserve * Required Field
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.