Each car accident is different. Depending on the speed, size, and force of the cars, along with the impact and the directions at which the cars collided, there can be a lot of different injuries that result from a car accident. As well, a crash may have different repercussions for the passengers depending on where the accident occurs and why. There are also situations inside the car which determine whether or not the passengers will get hurt. Was everyone wearing a seatbelt and facing forward? Was a child sleeping long-ways on the back seat? Was a parent reaching back to pick something up off the floor? Did the airbags deploy? These and a myriad of other questions can determine how dangerous and damaging a car accident is.

Even though every accident is different, there are some injuries that are more common than others. The most common injury from car accidents is whiplash. This occurs when a sudden jerk damages the components in the neck. Whiplash might affect the intervertebral joints, discs, ligaments, cervical muscles or nerve roots. Often the victim's neck is extremely sore after whiplash occurs. Many times it will take some physical therapy exercises to loosen the neck and help it recover. Whiplash can happen from any collision, but it is most common when a vehicle is rear-ended. The driver in the front car will normally be pushed forward violently, and the neck will fly backward due to the force. Other common neck injuries include cervical radiculopathy and disc injury. These are serious, painful conditions, and the victim will need to be hospitalized.

In more serious collisions, it is common for the driver to suffer a head injury. The head and neck are the parts of the body that are the least restrained when a person is driving. While the body may be held down by a seatbelt, the head and neck are free to move about, and sudden jerk could prove fatal. When two cars hit each other with a lot of force, the driver's head may whip against the windshield, onto the steering wheel, or against the side window. Sometimes the driver or passenger may bump upwards and hit his or her head on the ceiling. All of these instances can cause a brain injury, from a mild concussion to a traumatic brain injury. Concussions normally come with a quick recovery process, but traumatic brain injuries may take years to recover from. In some cases, the victim may never be the same.

Also common are back injuries. The impact of a car accident and the torque on the body of the driver or passenger may cause a sprain or strain on the back, which is somewhat related to a neck whiplash. In other cases, the accident may have the power to cause a spinal fracture, disc injury, or thoracic spine injury. There are also times when a person involved in a car accident will have a lumbar radiculopathy or a lumbar spine injury. Sometimes these injuries don't shot up right away, but come a few weeks or months after the accident occurs.

Another common area for car accident injuries is the face. In some accidents, the passenger's face will fall against the dashboard, or slide into the windshield. Glass fragments from the accident may cause cuts and lacerations. Also, the force of an airbag can have the power to break bones in a person's face, especially a child whose face is level with the airbag ejection compartment. Sometimes a person will incur a dental injury, and lose teeth because of an accident. Also, the accident may leave a person with temporomandibular jaw disorders, commonly known as TMJ.

Oftentimes some of the most damaging car accident injuries aren't even physical. They're psychological. A person who was involved in a serious car accident may be shocked by the horror he or she experienced. This is especially true if a loved on perished in the accident, or someone suffered a gruesome injury. These people may need to see a counselor or psychologist to get over the emotional pain of the accident.