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Did you hear about the school bus in Brooklyn that overturned back in early January?
Eight people – including kids – were rushed to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn and Maimonides Medical Center with what officials said were minor injuries, and an investigation is currently underway.
When you hear stories like this, it can make you wonder how safe buses really are and what kinds of injuries can occur when one gets into an accident. Well, as we’ve covered before, buses are actually pretty safe modes of transportation – at least when compared to cars.
However, that doesn’t mean that accidents – and injuries – don’t happen. Below, we will detail several of the most common injuries that people tend to suffer if they are in a bus that crashes.
The thing about being involved in a bus crash is that there’s nothing holding you down. As such, it is fairly common for people to get slammed around or into each other or to experience sudden falls. These are the kinds of things that tend to lead to sprains, strains, and contusions.
Spraining something is another way of saying you’ve stretched or torn one of your ligaments. Most often, this happens at the wrist, knee, or ankle due to sudden tension, twists, or falls. The vast majority of sprains are mild and will heal fairly quickly on their own, but severe sprains can completely tear your ligament and make the joint nonfunctional.
A strain is similar to a sprain except that it involves your tendons or muscles getting injured. Like with sprains, these can be mild (too much of a stretch) or severe (partial or complete tears).
Most people know contusions by their more colloquial name: bruises. Generally speaking, bruises aren’t a big deal, but in some cases, they can be quite painful and serious, particularly if they occur over a large area.
Another soft tissue injury, whiplash is what can happen if your head is “whipped” back and forth quickly, as can easily happen in a bus accident.
People who experience whiplash may suffer headaches, neck pain, muscle spasms, a reduction in mobility, swelling, and tenderness. While it isn’t typically life-threatening, whiplash can lead to temporary disability and can even worsen if not properly treated.
Seats. Windows. The floor. The ceiling. Another passenger. There are many things that you can slam your head into that may lead to a concussion – or even a more serious head or brain injury.
Depending on the severity, head injuries can result in nausea, insomnia, loss of mobility, paralysis, seizures, and more.
You can suffer more than just bruises and pulled muscles if you’re tossed around a bus during an accident. If you hit your back in the wrong way, you might experience a spinal cord injury, something that can be incredibly serious. In some cases, spinal cord accidents can leave people paralyzed or even kill them.
Another impact injury often associated with bus crashes is broken bones. Just like you can get bruised, suffer a concussion, or hurt your spine if you are thrown around, it is also possible to break a bone. Or several.
Not only will a broken bone cause obvious pain and distress, along with a prolonged healing period, they can also be quite costly. In the worst-case scenarios that involve truly bad breaks, it is even possible that your bones will not heal correctly and will be forever weaker.
Lines of windows. Screws. Even hard plastic when ripped apart. There are many breakable parts on a bus, several of which are plenty sharp enough to cause quite deep or otherwise serious cuts and lacerations if they fly at you in a crash.
Cuts aren’t usually life-threatening or long-lasting injury issues. However, in certain cases, they can be.
Particularly long and deep cuts may lead to serious blood loss that must be addressed quickly and will likely necessitate stitches. Permanent scars can result. Nerves can be damaged. It is even possible that reconstructive plastic surgery may be needed in some of the worst cases.
If you or someone you love was involved in a bus accident where they were seriously injured, don’t chalk it up to bad luck or something that simply has to be endured. Bus operators and companies have a duty to ensure the vehicle itself is safe and the driver does not act in a reckless or negligent manner.
Don’t pay for someone else’s mistake. Fight for the compensation you need and deserve by reaching out to a skilled New York injury attorney and working with them to put together a case designed to hold the negligent party accountable.
