Car accidents can cause many types of serious harm, including chest injuries. These injuries involve damage to the musculoskeletal structure of the chest. The term “chest injury” may also refer to damage to internal organs. Even minor chest injuries can result in a long, painful recovery period and far-reaching consequences.
What Types of Chest Injuries Can Happen in a Car Accident?
Car accident chest injuries can range from minor contusions and soft tissue injuries to more serious injuries, like a collapsed lung or fractures.
Common chest injuries sustained in crashes include:
- Chest contusions: Bruises can be caused by an impact with the steering wheel or dashboard or the seatbelt.
- Strains and sprains: These injuries involve hyperextension or tears of the ligaments, tendons, or muscles.
- Torn cartilage: Cartilage connects the ribs on either side of the ribcage to the sternum. Torn rib cartilage takes months to heal and causes pain and reduced range of motion.
- Broken ribs: Rib fractures usually heal without treatment, but they can be very painful.
- Broken sternum: A fractured breastbone usually takes months to heal and may cause long-term problems.
- Flail chest: This is a life-threatening condition caused by multiple rib fractures in the same area.
- Chest wall hematoma: This is an accumulation of blood outside the chest cavity.
- Hemothorax: This refers to blood collected between the lung and chest wall.
- Pulmonary contusion: This is bruising of the lung with accumulated fluids that may make it harder to breathe.
- Collapsed lung (traumatic pneumothorax): This happens when air escapes the lung.
- Cardiac tamponade: This is pressure on the heart caused by blood in the pericardium.
- Ruptured diaphragm: This is a tear in the muscle separating the abdominal and chest cavities, which plays a critical role in breathing.
The most common chest injuries in a crash are airbag injuries and seatbelt injuries. While these safety devices save lives and prevent more serious injuries, they can cause injuries, too.
Chest injuries can cause a range of symptoms, including sharp pain near the site of an injury, extensive bruising, and pain while breathing or moving your arm. These symptoms usually indicate soft tissue injuries or cracked ribs.
Chest injuries are not always immediately obvious after a crash, and injuries can worsen over time. It’s important to seek medical attention as soon as possible after your accident. Chest pain, symptoms of a heart attack, and severe shortness of breath are all signs that you have suffered a serious injury. These symptoms after a crash should be considered an emergency.
How Common Are Car Accident Chest Injuries?
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the risk of a minor chest injury in a collision is 5% to 16%, depending on the crash type. Driver’s side impact accidents have the highest risk, with about a 50% chance of serious chest injuries. Nearly 80% of severe injuries in a crash involve the chest or head.
About 25% of trauma-related deaths involve chest injuries, according to one study. This included all types of trauma-related fatalities, however.
What Causes Chest Injuries in an Auto Accident?
In an accident, chest injuries can happen due to three primary types of trauma:
- Penetrating trauma, which can damage soft tissue like blood vessels, nerves, and muscle
- Blunt trauma, like striking the steering wheel, which can cause broken bones, strains, sprains, and other injuries
- Hyperextension, which happens when joints, tendons, ligaments, muscles, or cartilage are stretched too far or in the wrong direction
All three types of trauma can cause serious chest injuries.
What Is My Chest Injury Case Worth?
The value of a personal injury case depends on many factors and the unique circumstances of your accident.
To estimate what you may be entitled to recover, an attorney may consider:
- The severity of your chest injuries and other injuries you suffered
- How your injuries affect your daily life
- Whether you can go back to your job
- Total financial damages
- The circumstances of the crash
- Whether you share fault for your accident
- Available insurance coverage
A personal injury lawyer may be able to give you a range of what your case may be worth during your consultation. If you were seriously injured, it may take a more in-depth investigation to estimate the value of your claim.
What Compensation Can I Recover For My Chest Injury in Missouri?
After an auto accident, you have the right to seek compensation for your damages from the at-fault party. Missouri uses a pure comparative negligence law when fault is shared. This means even if you were partially or mostly to blame for the accident, you can still recover compensation.
Under the pure comparative negligence rule, your financial recovery will be reduced according to your share of the assigned fault. If you were 40% to blame for a crash that caused you $60,000 in damages, your recovery is limited to $36,000, or the 60% the other party caused.
A successful accident claim allows you to recover money for your economic damages and non-economic damages, such as:
- Medical expenses, including future medical bills associated with the crash
- Rehabilitation and therapy
- Reasonable out-of-pocket costs, including services for household chores or childcare while recovering
- Lost wages
- Diminished earning capacity
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Disfigurement
- Reduced quality of life
An experienced personal injury lawyer will investigate your accident to gather evidence that proves liability and your damages.
How Long Do I Have To File a Chest Injury Lawsuit in Missouri?
The Missouri statute of limitations is five years for negligence-based personal injury lawsuits. This includes claims involving motor vehicle accidents. If you do not bring your claim before this deadline, you will lose the right to seek compensation from the at-fault party.
Contact Our St. Louis Personal Injury Lawyers For a Free Consultation To Discuss Your Chest Injuries
Have you suffered a serious chest injury in a car accident in St. Louis, MO? You may be entitled to compensation, and Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers is here to help you.
Our attorneys have more than 100 years of combined experience handling complex car accident cases. Contact our law office today at (314) 444-4444 to schedule a free consultation with a St. Louis car accident lawyer to discuss your case and how we can help.
