The Most Common Car Accident Injuries — and What Each One Means for a New York Claim

This page runs through what each injury usually involves and how it interacts with a New York claim. How we handle these cases is on our motor vehicle accident page.

Why so many crash injuries arrive late

Adrenaline and inflammation both mask pain. Soft-tissue damage stiffens over 24 to 72 hours. Concussion symptoms can take days to declare themselves. None of this is unusual and none of it is suspicious — but a gap between the collision and the first medical record is what an adjuster will point at.

Getting seen the same day, and describing every symptom including the ones that feel minor or embarrassing, is the cheapest protection available.

Neck and back strain

The most common outcome by a distance. Often described as whiplash, which undersells it — the mechanism is a rapid forced movement of the neck beyond its normal range, and it can involve muscle, ligament and nerve.

Most resolve with conservative care. Some do not, and the ones that do not are frequently the claims that were settled early on the assumption they would.

Herniated and bulging discs

A disc injury is where a claim's value usually changes shape, because it can mean anything from physical therapy to a fusion. It is also where the defense is most predictable: nearly every adult spine shows degenerative change on imaging, and insurers argue the finding is age rather than accident.

That argument is answerable, and what answers it is whether the condition was causing symptoms before the crash. We cover the whole picture in what drives a herniated disc settlement, and how we handle the cases on our spine injury page.

Concussion and traumatic brain injury

Loss of consciousness is not required, and most people who sustain a concussion never lose consciousness at all. Mild traumatic brain injury frequently does not appear on a routine CT or MRI, which is exactly why it is disputed: the carrier points at a clean scan while the person is struggling with memory, concentration, mood, light sensitivity and fatigue.

What establishes it is neuropsychological testing, specialist assessment, and accounts from the people around you who noticed the change. More on our brain injury page.

Shoulder and knee injuries

Rotator cuff tears, labral tears, meniscus damage and ligament injuries are common in collisions and often need imaging beyond an X-ray to find. They frequently require surgery, and they have a particular habit of being diagnosed weeks after the crash once the more obvious pain settles.

Fractures

A fracture is the one injury that rarely gets argued about, because it is objective and it is one of the categories written into the statute. Wrist, rib, ankle and facial fractures are the ones we see most often.

Internal injuries

Less common but the most urgent. Seat belts and airbags save lives and can also cause abdominal injury; internal bleeding and organ damage may not be obvious immediately. This is the reason emergency evaluation after a significant collision is a medical decision rather than a legal one.

Psychological injury

Anxiety about driving, intrusive memories, sleep disruption and post-traumatic stress are ordinary consequences of a serious crash, and they are compensable in New York where they are documented. They are also the injuries people are most reluctant to report, which means they often appear in a file months late or not at all. Telling your doctor is what puts them in the record.

Scarring and disfigurement

Facial lacerations from glass and airbag deployment are common. Significant disfigurement is one of the categories written into the statute, so it can matter to the claim independently of any functional limitation — and photographs taken during healing, not only after, are what document it.

Which injuries clear the serious injury threshold

In New York, a claim against the at-fault driver for pain and suffering generally has to meet the threshold in Insurance Law § 5102(d). The statute lists categories including death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, fracture, permanent loss of use, permanent consequential limitation, significant limitation of use, and a substantial disability for 90 of the 180 days after the crash.

A fracture qualifies on its face. A disc injury or a concussion turns on the medical record rather than the diagnosis — which is the reason consistent treatment and complete symptom reporting do more for a claim than any argument made later.

Common questions

What are the most common injuries in a car accident?

Neck and back strain, disc herniations, concussions, shoulder and knee injuries, and fractures. Soft-tissue injuries are the most frequent; disc and brain injuries are the most disputed.

I felt fine at the scene and now I hurt. Is it too late?

No, and delayed onset is medically ordinary. Get seen now, and tell the provider the symptoms began after the collision. The longer the gap, the more work it takes to connect the two, but it is connected all the time.

Why does the insurance company keep asking about old injuries?

Because a pre-existing condition is the standard defense. It is worth knowing that aggravating a condition that was not causing symptoms is compensable in New York — a prior finding on a scan does not end a claim.

Do I have to have a fracture for my case to be worth anything?

No. A fracture makes the threshold straightforward, but permanent limitation, significant limitation and the 90/180-day category all exist precisely because serious injuries are not always fractures.

Who pays for treatment while the claim is open?

In most crashes, your own no-fault coverage does, regardless of fault, up to the basic limit and subject to a 30-day application deadline. See how no-fault works and who pays your medical bills.

This page is general information about New York law. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Davidov & Cohen Law. To talk about your own situation, tell us what happened.