Sadly there are many severe injuries caused as a result of hit and run accidents. What follows is a summary of the common types of injuries sustained. Whatever your injury type we can deal with your claim. We can also normally secure funding to enable you to have treatment and/or surgical procedures privately in order to speed up your recovery process. Fractures How often have you heard someone say "thankfully it's only a fracture, I thought it might be broken". Many people think that a fracture is less severe than a broken bone but in reality fractures are broken bones. Bones are rigid, but they do bend or give way when an outside force is applied to them. The severity of a fracture usually depends on the force that caused the fracture. If the force applied is fairly slight a bone may crack rather than breaking all the way through. If the force is more extreme, such as in a high velocity road traffic accident, the bone may shatter. If the bone breaks in such a way that the bone sticks through the skin, the fracture is called an "open" fracture. Whiplash Whiplash occurs when the soft tissue in the spine is stretched and strained after the body is thrown in a sudden, forceful jerk. The injury most commonly occurs in car accidents involving sudden deceleration. This frequently happens when one vehicle collides with the rear of another. The most common features of a whiplash injury are headache and stiffness in the neck and the back of the head. These symptoms usually appear in the first couple of days after the accident. A diagnosis of whiplash is usually made on the basis of the background of the injury and the patient's description of symptoms. Whiplash cannot be seen on an MRI scan, CT scan or x-ray although these investigations are frequently undertaken to try to determine the precise nature of the problem or where there is a suspicion of a fracture or dislocation of the cervical spine. The chances of a full recovery from whiplash are quite good. However, whiplash is a strain injury and it is not unusual for the pain to last for some months. In more severe cases symptoms can continue and result in long term neck pain and discomfort. There is no single treatment for whiplash that is widely accepted by medical experts. Advice on exercise and recovery is commonly provided by a physiotherapist or chiropractor. Scarring Our skin is fairly sensitive to damage. Therefore any burn, injury, surgery or other trauma to it can cause the formation of scar tissue. Scar formation is a natural part of the healing process after injury. Various factors influence how your skin scars. The depth and size of any wound or incision and its location are going to impact on the scar's characteristics. But other relevant factors are age, sex, ethnicity as these can all affect how your skin looks and reacts. Psychological Injuries Post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD, is among only a few mental disorders that are triggered by a disturbing outside event, quite unlike other psychiatric disorders such as depression. A common misconception is that PTSD is the only psychological illness arising out of a traumatic event. In fact it is just one of many which can include; depression, anxiety disorders, adjustment disorders and even personality changes. Eye Injuries The structure of your face helps protect your eyes from injury. Still, injuries can damage your eye, sometimes severely enough that you could lose your vision. Dental Injuries Dental trauma occurs when the tooth receives a blow. Teeth can be broken, loosened or knocked out completely. Immediate treatment gives the best possible chance of saving the tooth. Dental trauma is unfortunately a common occurrence in a hit and run accident. Chest Injuries These can take many forms from the simple but painful fractured rib to the fractured sternum, punctured lung (pneumothorax) and the more serious aortic rupture which can often be fatal. Unfortunately all these injuries are the common result of a hit and run accident. While many chest injuries will require no specific therapy, they may be indicators of more significant underlying trauma. Multiple rib fractures will often be associated with an underlying pulmonary contusion, which may not be immediately apparent on an initial chest X-ray. Internal Injuries Internal injuries, especially those involving the liver, spleen, stomach, colon, pancreas and blood vessels can be caused by hit and run motor vehicle accidents. For, example, the blunt, shearing force of striking the steer wheel in a motor vehicle accident can lead to a significant amount of traumatic internal injuries. Back Injury Your back is an intricate structure of bones, muscles, and other tissues extending from your neck to your pelvis. Back injuries can result from a sudden jolt such as a hit and run car accident. The lower back is the most common site of back injuries and back pain. Ligament Injuries Ligaments link bones to other bones and provide support to joints. They allow a normal range of movement to occur within a joint, but prevent unwanted movement that would render the joint unstable. In order to fulfill this function ligaments must possess immense mechanical strength. Ligaments are classified as dense connective tissue, and they consist of a protein substance called collagen. The organisation of collagen fibres gives the ligament its strength. Shoulder Injury An injury to the shoulder is a common occurrence in a hit and run accident. A Rotator Cuff injury is a common cause of shoulder pain. Injury to the Rotator Cuff will usually begin as inflammation, commonly called Rotator Cuff tendonitis. If the cause of Rotator Cuff tendonitis is not addressed, a partial or complete Rotator Cuff tear can develop. Tears of the Rotator Cuff are best treated by surgical repair. Physiotherapy is often effective in treating Rotator Cuff tendonitis. Ankle Injury A sprained ankle is the most common ankle injury. An ankle sprain refers to soft tissue damage to the ligaments. When ligaments are injured it is referred to as a 'sprain' around the ankle joint. Typically this ankle ligament damage is characterised by ankle pain and a swollen ankle. Severe sprained ankles should be reviewed by an orthopaedic surgeon although physiotherapy treatment is very effective for most sprained ankles where there is no bone injury. An ankle support can be very helpful for the treatment and prevention of a sprained ankle injury. Spinal Cord Injury A Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is damage or trauma to the spinal cord that results in a loss or impaired function causing reduced mobility or feeling. One of the most common causes of damage are car accidents. The spinal cord does not have to be severed in order for a loss of functioning to occur. In most people with SCI, the spinal cord is intact, but the cellular damage to it results in loss of functioning. SCI is very different from back injuries such as ruptured discs, spinal stenosis or pinched nerves. It is possible for a person to "break their back or neck" yet not sustain a spinal cord injury as long as only the bones (vertebrae) around the spinal cord are damaged, but the spinal cord is not affected. In these cases, the person may not experience paralysis after the vertebrae are stabilized. Head Injuries Traumatic brain injury ("TBI"), also called acquired brain injury or simply head injury occurs when a sudden trauma causes damage to the brain. TBI can result when the head suddenly and violently hits an object, or when an object pierces the skull and enters brain tissue. Symptoms of a TBI can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the extent of the damage to the brain. A person with a mild TBI may remain conscious or may experience a loss of consciousness for a few seconds or minutes. Other symptoms of mild TBI include headache, confusion, lightheadedness, dizziness, blurred vision or tired eyes, ringing in the ears, bad taste in the mouth, fatigue or lethargy, a change in sleep patterns, behavioral or mood changes, and trouble with memory, concentration, attention, or thinking. A person with a moderate or severe TBI may show these same symptoms, but may also have a headache that gets worse or does not go away, repeated vomiting or nausea, convulsions or seizures, an inability to awaken from sleep, dilation of one or both pupils of the eyes, slurred speech, weakness or numbness in the extremities, loss of coordination, and increased confusion, restlessness, or agitation. Anyone with signs of moderate or severe TBI should receive medical attention as soon as possible. Because little can be done to reverse the initial brain damage caused by trauma, medical personnel try to stabilize an individual with TBI and focus on preventing further injury.