Getting into a serious car crash can cause numerous physical injuries. Of course, this means it is also possible for head injuries to occur.
But what sort of head injuries can these crashes cause? Can a crash cause a severe traumatic brain injury?
Factors impacting brain injuries
Medline Plus discusses traumatic brain injuries. All it takes is a serious enough hit to the head to cause severe brain damage, and of course, a car crash can easily provide that sort of trauma.
However, the type of brain injury that occurs will depend on numerous factors. This can include things like the speed of the vehicles involved, the size and weight of those vehicles, the positions of people inside of the cars, the angle at which the crash occurred, and the health of the people in the cars.
Typically, severe head injuries are more likely in side swipe or T-bone style crashes. These involve someone hitting one side of the vehicle and often result in the victim’s head hitting the side car door or window.
It is possible for a victim’s head to hit the steering wheel or dashboard when rear-ended, too. However, this typically has less force behind it and often gets dampened by the airbag deployment, which can help mitigate damage greatly.
The importance of car safety
This also helps to highlight how crucial it is for people to wear their seatbelts. If they do not, they risk hitting their head against the windshield, which is designed tougher than any other pane of glass in the car to prevent it from shattering if objects like rocks hit it.
