If you’ve ventured on TikTok in the last year or so, you may have noticed that one of many Y2K-inspired styles that are making a comeback are claw clip hairstyles. You may have also seen several stories circulating the app about how regular claw-clip-wearers are suffering major head and spine injuries in car accidents all due to the cute hair accessory. Most people who wear claw clips assume that in the event of a wreck, the clip would just shatter on impact, but this is not the case. These hair clips are typically made of thick plastic, so they are extremely difficult to break, even if you stomp on them. This means that during a car accident, this plastic is going to drive itself into the back of the skull and potentially cause skull fractures, traumatic brain injuries, and more. Below, San Antonio car accident lawyers at Janicek Law break down the dangers of wearing claw clips in the car. Additionally, we discuss whether or not people have grounds to sue over hair clip car accident injuries.
If you or a loved one has suffered catastrophic injuries or wrongful death in a car crash, you may have grounds to file a civil lawsuit. The experienced attorneys at Janicek Law are the best team to have on your side during such an impossible time. We will make sure that you obtain justice and full financial compensation for your injuries. Call 210-366-4949 to schedule a free consultation today.
TikTok and the Hair Claw Clip
If you’re an avid TikTok user, you have probably seen a resurgence of many Y2K fashion styles, one of which being the claw clip. All of the biggest TikTok influencers post hairstyle tutorial videos using large hair clips to keep their hair in place at the back of their head all day. These influencers also post videos of themselves running errands in their cars with these cute accessories still in their hair. Because of this, avid TikTok users have been sporting hair clips in their hair nearly every day, even when driving.
Due to the current popularity of claw clips right now, emergency room doctors have been seeing a huge influx of some of the same types of car accident injuries, and they’re all caused by these plastic claw clips.
Some lucky car crash survivors who sustained serious head injuries from these stylish hair accessories have been turning to TikTok and encouraging people to take out their clips in the car. In response, thousands of TikTokers commented something along the lines of “Wouldn’t these hair claw clips just break during car accidents?”
Often, the answer is no. One popular hair claw clip brand called KOV Essentials posted a video of someone stomping and jumping on one of their largest clips, and despite the force, it did not break. Now imagine what this means if you were to get into a car crash with the claw clip in your hair – instead of shattering on impact, it would drive itself directly into the back of your skull.
Possible Hair Clip Car Accident Injuries
The hair clip at the back of your head may look cute, but it can lead to life-threatening injuries if you ever wore the accessory during a car accident. Below, our San Antonio personal injury lawyers break down the types of hair clip car accident injuries you can suffer from.
Head Injuries
One of the most well-known stories of hair clip car accident injuries comes from a TikToker with the username @paisley.rileyyy. She posted numerous videos about her car accident and the head injuries she sustained from wearing a claw clip at the back of her head. She explains that during her roll-over accident, “the back of my head hit a metal bar, which lodged the claw clip in the back of my head.”
She goes on to say that the claw clip didn’t break at all during the impact and that the nurse removed it from her scalp all in one piece. She suffered a concussion and needed five staples to close the wound on her scalp. Lastly, Paisley explains that despite her head injury, she is thankful that she didn’t suffer major brain damage from the hair accessory.
Another similar story comes from a British woman named Jeena Panesar, who also suffered a major head injury from wearing a claw clip during a car crash. Panesar explains that she lost control of her car, and it flipped. The back of her head was not only became crushed from the car roof but from her claw clip as well. She suffered a large wound that extended from the back of her scalp all the way to her left eyebrow. Panesar was spared from major brain damage, but she did suffer major damage to the muscle in her forehead.
Spinal Injuries
Other possible hair clip car accident injuries include spinal injuries. A TikToker with the username @arielleelonys explained that during her car accident in November 2022, she suffered multiple vertebral fractures because she was wearing her hair claw clip.
Arielle explained that this happened because the clip prevented her head from hitting the headrest at the correct angle when the airbag deployed. As a result, she suffered fractures in 3 out of 7 cervical vertebrae. She goes on to say, “Thank God it didn’t get embedded in my head, but that also happens for some people where they have to get it surgically removed from their head.”
Can You Sue for Hair Clip Car Accident Injuries?
Yes, you might have grounds to file a civil lawsuit for hair clip car accident injuries (or any other injuries) if someone else’s negligence caused your accident.
In order to have a strong car accident case, you must prove the 4 elements of negligence:
- Duty of Care: Every driver on the roads owes each other a duty of care to drive safely, carefully, and responsibly.
- Breached Duty of Care: The other driver breached this duty by driving carelessly, recklessly, or drunkenly.
- Causation: The other driver’s negligence caused the victim’s car accident injuries.
- Damages: The victim suffered a wide variety of damages, so they should be fully compensated.
San Antonio car accident lawyers at Janicek Law can help you prove these elements of negligence through medical records, police reports, surveillance video of the crash, witness statements, BAC test results, and so much more.
Car Accident Damages
All car accident victims deserve to be fully compensated for their injuries, especially if they are not at fault for the accident. The minimum amount of car insurance required in the state of Texas does cover a lot of car accident damages, but if the victim suffered catastrophic injuries (like head and spine injuries from wearing claw clips), this insurance coverage may not be enough. That’s when many crash victims seek out legal representation and file personal injury lawsuits so that they can be fully compensated. These same principles apply to the rights of passengers in car accidents.
San Antonio car accident lawyers at Janicek Law can help you recover financial compensation for the following types of damages:
- Past and future medical bills
- Past and future rehabilitative bills
- Expenses associated with necessary medical equipment like wheelchairs and other assistive equipment
- Lost wages
- Loss of earning capacity if the car accident injuries prevent the person from completing their normal job duties
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Mental health counseling bills
- Permanent scarring, disfigurement, and disability
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Funeral and burial expenses if the injuries lead to wrongful death
Call San Antonio Car Accident Lawyers at Janicek Law Today
Moral of the story: be sure to take the hair claw clip out of your hair before you start driving. You will not have time to pull it out of your hair in the middle of a car crash.
If you or a loved one has suffered major injuries or wrongful death in a car accident that was caused by someone else’s negligence, you may have grounds to file a civil lawsuit. The legal team at Janicek Law has decades of combined experience in helping injured victims obtain justice and fair compensation for their suffering. They can do the same for you too. Call 210-366-4949 to schedule a free consultation today.
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