Someone is hurt in a traffic collision in South Carolina every 16 minutes. Many of these victims suffer from chest injuries. There are numerous types of chest injuries that may result from an accident, and they are often serious, even life-threatening.
If you have suffered car accident chest injuries, our car accident lawyers in Greenville want you to receive the compensation that you deserve. Contact David R. Price, Jr., P.A. to talk about your case and how we can help you achieve justice.
Types of chest injuries
Here are some types of chest injuries that may occur in an accident:
- Cuts and lacerations
- Bruises
- Costachondritis or inflammation around the sternum
- Broken ribs or flail chest (contiguous fractures or multiple breaks per rib)
- Fractures, including to the scapula and clavicle
- Contusions to the lungs and airways
- Collapsed lung or pneumothorax
- Myocardial contusion, cardiac tamponade (pressure or fluid buildup)
- Cuts or ruptures to the aorta
- Lesions to the esophagus or diaphragm
- Burns and skin damage
- Pain and discomfort, muscle injury
- Severe bruising or necrosis to breast tissue
(European Society of Thoracic Surgeons, Types of chest injuries, Mayo Clinic, Flail chest, Pneumothorax, Mount Sinai, Cardiac tamponade)
Chest Injuries in Car Accidents
What happens to your chest in a car accident?
In a car accident, the chest is subjected to unnatural forces that it cannot naturally withstand. It may be thrown forward, backward, or sideways because of the force of impact. The chest make slam into or strike the seatbelt, steering wheel, glass, or other objects. A person may be thrown from the vehicle and come into contact with the ground, including the hard pavement.
These forces can damage the chest in multiple ways. The chest houses vital organs and bodily systems. As a result of injuries, a victim may suffer damage to the following systems:
- Skeletal
- Muscular
- Nervous
- Endocrine
- Cardiovascular
- Lymphatic
- Respiratory
- Digestive
- Urinary
- Reproductive
Body functions and mobility may be damaged or limited. Victims may be left with visible disfigurement and scars. Injuries may also be internal. Injuries to the chest from a car accident may be life threatening.
What are the causes of chest injury in car accidents?
Common causes of chest injury in car accidents are:
- Steering wheel
- Airbags
- Side impact from another vehicle
- Broken glass
- Seat belts
- Crushing from vehicle components
- Blunt force trauma from a load being transported on a vehicle
- Road rash from dragging on the ground
There may be multiple contributing causes of a chest injury.
Seat belts unequivocally save lives by preventing people in a vehicle from being thrown out or around inside a car. They make overall injuries less severe, but they still may cause bruising and discomfort to the chest.
Airbags also prevent more serious harm, but they may cause some blunt chest trauma and pain.
Is it normal for your chest to hurt after a car accident?
No. It is not normal for your chest to hurt after a car accident. If you are experiencing any kind of chest pain, seek immediate medical attention. You may have a serious injury that requires stabilization. Without care, your injuries could become worse.
Delayed chest pain after car accidents
It’s common for chest pain to appear hours or days after a car accident. Immediately after the crash, your body may mask symptoms. Also, certain types of injuries may not show symptoms for a period of time. Inflammation, swelling and irritation take time to build. Over the days after a collision, injuries may continue to degrade, causing new symptoms to develop and show.
If you develop chest pain after a car accident, seek immediate medical attention. You could have a serious medical condition, and need medical care to prevent the injury from becoming worse. In addition, by seeking medical care you can document that the injury is the result of the accident. If you do not seek immediate medical attention, insurance companies and defense lawyers will try to sow doubt about how the injury occurred.
Getting the care that you need is important for your health, but it’s also crucial to getting the compensation that you deserve.
Your Legal Rights
Our lawyers help people who are hurt in car accidents. Here is what we want you to know about your legal rights if you have chest injuries because of a crash:
- You may have the right to financial compensation and insurance policies are often available to pay damages.
- However, you get only one chance to resolve your legal claim. It’s important to ensure that you determine the full scope of your damages before resolving your claim.
- The compensation you receive may reflect your immediate losses and future losses. In order to truly receive the compensation you deserve, you must determine and document the nature of your injury, the full costs associated with treatment, and its impact on your life.
- South Carolina uses an at-fault system for car accidents. If someone else is legally responsible for causing the crash, they may be liable to pay compensation.
- Fault for a car accident is often more complex than it seems. Fault may be shared. Parties other than the driver may have legal liability, too.
- You have the right to legal representation. The lawyer of your choice can represent you and protect your rights throughout the proceedings.
- We represent injured people and their families. At your consultation, our lawyers can explore fault and discuss your options to pursue compensation.
When a car accident involves chest injuries, injuries may be more severe than they initially seem. The course of treatment may not be immedicately apparent, and the long-term impact on your career and ability to earn may not be fully known.
The insurance company may offer you a settlement to resolve your case quickly. It might be a trap – your losses may be worth much more than that. Our lawyers are happy to talk with you about your situation, any settlement offer you may have received, and the best way to pursue your case.
Lawyers for Chest Injuries in Car Accidents
The lawyers at David R. Price, Jr., P.A., have extensive knowledge and experience representing people with chest injuries from car accidents. If you have been hurt, we invite you to talk to us about your situation. We are proud to represent people who find themselves in challenging circumstances, going above and beyond to protect your rights.
Consultations with our team are free, because our lawyers want you to receive the compensation you deserve. Call or message us now.
