Distinguishing Between A Minor Or Major Car Accident

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Duncan Firm

Car accidents are always unforeseen and unfortunate events that can happen to anyone. 

What most people don’t realize is that there are two different types of car accidents – minor accidents and major accidents. 

How does one differentiate between them? 

There are several indicators that can help understand the difference between a minor accident and a major accident. Let’s explore them below:

1. Vehicle Damage

If someone is in a minor auto accident, the damage is likely to be less. For example, a small dent or a broken car part that’s more of an inconvenience rather than a danger to life. 

In a major accident, the damage caused is extensive. This is what most people refer to as “being totaled”. A car or any other vehicle involved in a major accident is less likely to be in a manageable shape or form. The damage renders it undrivable and useless almost immediately and requires it to be towed away.

2. Personal Injury

In any accident, there is bound to be some level of personal injury involved. In a minor accident, the level of injury is either non-existent or minimal. There’s no immediate threat to life in a minor accident and those injured are in a relatively healthy state. 

In a major accident, there is a threat to life. Those involved suffer major injuries and complications that cause life-threatening injuries that are either lifelong or even cause death in a worst-case scenario.

3. Financial loss

When there’s an accident, one or more parties suffer financial loss, it all depends on the intensity of the accident. 

In a minor accident, there’s little to no financial loss. Nothing that will cause a financial burden or it’s almost always easily managed through mutual understanding. 

In a major accident, due to extensive damage to human life or the vehicle, the financial loss is huge. This brings forth the question of huge medical bills or car-repair bills, or insurance claims. 

The core differentiating factor between minor and major accidents is the intensity of these three aspects. 

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