When Car Accidents Lead to Organ Damage
Car accidents can cause significant force, impact, and trauma to the human body, potentially leading to serious organ damage. Depending on severity, such damage can result in long-term disability or even death.
Car accidents exert tremendous force, causing the body to twist, turn, and slam against hard interior structures like the steering wheel, dashboard, airbags, or windshield. Additionally, sharp objects and debris may cut and lacerate various body areas, leading to internal organ injuries. Pedestrians and motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable due to their lack of protective barriers, making them susceptible to being ejected into the air, colliding with vehicles or objects, or being thrown forcefully to the ground.
Types of internal organ damage that may emerge from a Phoenix car crash
Internal organ damage is often very serious and life-threatening. Depending on what type of organ damage you have and how severe it is, your organs could quickly start shutting down, which could lead to organ failure. Here are seven of the different types of organ damage that may emerge from a Phoenix car crash:
- Liver damage: The liver can be injured, torn, or even punctured during a car accident. This leads to internal bleeding-a life-threatening condition requiring immediate attention. Severe cases may necessitate a liver transplant.
- Kidney damage: Lower back injuries can result in kidney damage, often irreversible, necessitating lifelong dialysis or a kidney transplant. Kidney injuries also pose a risk of internal bleeding.
- Traumatic brain injuries and damage: When your head hits the steering wheel, dashboard, or another object, you may suffer a traumatic brain injury, which may result in bruising and bleeding inside or on the brain. Even if you do not hit your head on an object, your head may experience strong and sudden movement, which could cause your brain to smash into the hard and bony skull, leading to a traumatic brain injury. Regardless of what type of brain injury you suffer, lifelong cognitive effects and permanent brain damage are likely to occur.
- Lung damage: During a car accident, a sharp or hard object may strike your chest. This may lead to a punctured lung, causing air to enter the chest cavity. When this happens, you may be unable to breathe, which is a medical emergency that must be treated immediately. If a healthcare provider cannot fix a punctured lung quickly enough, fatal consequences may occur.
- Abdominal aorta rupture: When the stomach or abdominal area becomes crushed or injured in a crash, there may be a lot of inflammation and swelling, causing the aorta to rupture. The aorta is the largest blood vessel in the body. Therefore, when it ruptures, it may cause serious internal bleeding, which almost always leads to death.
- Spleen damage: When a person experiences a forceful blow to the stomach or abdominal area, the spleen may become punctured or ruptured. This can lead to the abdominal cavity filling with blood, which requires immediate medical attention. If your spleen is severely damaged and cannot be repaired, the doctor may decide to completely remove it.
- Bowel and intestinal damage: The bowels and intestines may also become injured in a car accident. While this type of damage may not lead to fatal consequences, you may be at higher risk of infections and other complications for the rest of your life.
What are the signs and symptoms of organ damage?
Organ damage symptoms may not appear immediately after an accident, sometimes it takes hours or days to manifest. These are some of the signs and symptoms you should be on the lookout for:
- Pain, tenderness, or sensitivity in a specific area
- Swelling or inflammation
- Trouble breathing
- Dizziness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Confusion or disorientation
- Loss of consciousness
- Fatigue, weakness, or lightheadedness
- Numbness
- Vision problems
- Blood in urine
Does your seat position in a car increase your chances of suffering internal injuries like organ damage?
Although any person inside a vehicle can suffer internal injuries, there has been a lot more focus on ensuring that drivers and front-seat passengers are protected during collisions. As a result, manufacturers have continuously neglected the back seat of vehicles in terms of protection and safety, which means that you could be at higher risk of suffering internal injuries like organ damage as a back-seat passenger.
Researchers for the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) conducted a study to evaluate the difference between rear-seat and front-seat occupant protection. Two of the most significant differences that were noticed were that seat belts tighten around front-seat occupants and airbags deploy to try to prevent them from hitting the steering wheel, dashboard, and other structures inside the car. In the backseat, there may be side airbags but no front airbags, and seat belts do not have force limiters or crash tensioners. Therefore, while back-seat occupants do not have to worry about striking the dashboard or steering wheel, they can collide with the seats and other objects located inside the vehicle.
The study found that individuals riding in the back seat are more likely to suffer severe and life-threatening chest injuries, torso injuries, and head and brain injuries. As a result, internal injuries and organ damage are more likely to occur to rear-seat occupants.
Have you suffered internal organ damage in a Phoenix car crash? If so, the car accident attorneys at Plattner Verderame, P.C. are here to help. Our team has years of experience assisting clients who have suffered organ damage themselves or have lost loved ones due to organ damage. Therefore, we know and understand how traumatic and devastating these accidents can be, and we will do everything we can to stand up and fight for your right to the compensation you need to get your life back on track. Please call our office or complete our contact form to schedule a meeting with one of our lawyers in Tempe or Phoenix today.
What, Where, When, Why – Car Accident Frequently Asked Questions
I have been active in leadership in the Arizona Association for Justice (lawyers who represent injured folks, and formerly known as the Arizona Trial Lawyers Association) since 1985. I served as President in 1991. I was an active participant in battles to protect the Arizona Constitution from the insurance industry and big business interests in 1986, 1990 and 1994.
Read more about Richard Plattner