Laceraciones faciales (cortes), contusiones (moretones) y abrasión (rasguños)
Broken glass fragments and sharp pieces of metal and plastic can deeply cut the face. Airbags can cause burns on the scalp and face.
Fracturas en las piernas, brazos, muñecas y manos
The force of impact can crush the driver’s side door. Depending on its location, the crushing can easily fracture the driver’s legs, arms, wrists, and hands.
Músculos, ligamentos y tendones esguinzados y desgarrados – el efecto de latigazo
Muscles, ligaments, and tendons can stretch far beyond their natural limit. More severe impacts can result in tears, especially in the neck and shoulder area. The unnatural movement and stretching of the neck and shoulders from side to side and front to back is comparable to the effect of a whip. This injury is commonly known as whiplash.
Desplazamiento de cadera y hombro, fracturas de costillas y clavículas (huesos del cuello)
The hip joint often receives the impact of the central door. The joint is susceptible to dislocations and fractures of the socket. The impact can violently twist the shoulders beyond their intended range.
Due to the fact that the rib cage is located near the outer part of the chest area, it is very vulnerable to hitting the door handle, steering column, and steering wheel. The collarbone bones between the neck area and the shoulders are some of the weakest bones in the human body, making them easily breakable.
Disc hernias and spinal compression
Back injuries are quite common in side impacts for drivers. The force of the impact can break the discs located in and around the spinal cord, often resulting in a herniated disc. The compression of the back against the seat exerts tremendous pressure on the spinal cord.
Internal organs
A crash can tear the internal organs of important blood vessels. Sharp objects such as door handles and the steering wheel can lacerate the spleen, liver, and kidneys.
Perforated eardrums
When a car does not have side airbags, a side impact can force the driver’s ear against the window and crush the outer flesh. When a side airbag deploys, it explodes outward against the driver’s face and ear. The magnitude of the force can perforate, burn, and lacerate the eardrum. Tinnitus (painful or annoying ringing in the ear) can also result from the deployment of a side airbag.
Severely bruised and cut brainstem and spinal cord
The human spinal cord is connected to the brainstem. A violent impact can severely bruise both. In some cases, when the impact is strong enough, it can cut the spinal cord, resulting in paralysis or death.
Concussions, skull fractures, and other serious brain injuries
In a side impact, the driver’s head can hit the vehicle frame or window, causing the brain to hit the inside of the skull. Depending on the force of the impact, the driver can suffer from a mild concussion to a skull fracture and brain damage.