Organ Damage From Car Accidents: Chicago, Illinois

Internal organ injuries from a car accident can be hazardous because they often go undetected until patients suffer serious complications well after the injury is sustained.

Unfortunately, many victims refuse treatment at the scene of the car crash, believing that there is nothing wrong. However, immediately after an accident, deciding to undergo a comprehensive medical evaluation at an emergency room or urgent care center could differentiate the early detection of a severe internal organ injury and debilitating or fatal injury.

The Chicago auto accident attorneys of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC recognize the need for all car, truck, and motorcycle accident victims to undergo adequate medical evaluations to detect and identify internal organ injuries.

Internal Organ Injury FAQs

Causes of Internal Injury During Auto Accidents

There are powerful forces exerted on the body during a collision. Our Chicago auto injury lawyers know the importance of injured victims receiving a medical evaluation following any motor vehicle accident— even if they feel perfectly healthy.

Any crushing power exerted on the body's internal organs from momentum, kinetic energy, and gravity produces some of the worst injuries occurring underneath the skin. Victims could walk away from an auto accident one day feeling healthy and wake up weeks later with serious injuries that threaten their lives or long-term well-being.

Consider the following causes of internal injuries before refusing medical treatment.

• Blunt trauma – Trauma injuries occur when you've been thrown into a blunt object during a collision, like falling off a bike in a motorcycle accident or hitting her head on the steering wheel in a car accident.
  Blunt trauma injuries often have no open wounds. However, the blood vessels and organs might have been compressed or sustained damage when striking the object. Blunt trauma is also a common cause of broken ribs and spinal injuries.

• Decelerating trauma – Most people assume that their bodies accelerate and decelerate as one object. However, some internal organs might continue on a forward trajectory even though the spine, muscles, and other organs abruptly stopped. The heart, lungs, and brain are often impacted in decelerating trauma accidents
  Many traumatic brain injuries occur even if the victim never struck there head on an object. These injuries are caused when the brain strikes the skull and moves around inside the head.

• Penetrating trauma – These internal injuries occur when the victim experiences a deep puncture wound or laceration. Many emergency responders and doctors focus only on the puncture wound and never detect internal bleeding or organ perforation when addressing the wound.

Blunt trauma and decelerating trauma provide ample and immediate reasons for victims to seek medical treatment and evaluations. However, many internal injuries caused by decelerating trauma go untreated because the victim shows no outward signs of injury and doesn't feel any symptoms until hours, days, weeks, or months after the accident.

Decelerating trauma is the most silent and severe cause of internal injury. For this reason, our Chicago car accident injury lawyers highly recommend you undergo extensive diagnostic testing after your accident to rule out internal injuries.

You might feel that the testing is unnecessary now but be thankful if your doctors diagnose your condition early.

Possible Complications Caused by Internal Organ Injuries

Internal bleeding is the most dangerous complication accompanying any internal injury. Life-threatening internal injury-related bleeding can be caused by ruptured blood vessels, perforations in the intestinal tract, punctured lungs, or micro-tears in the brain.

Other severe and common internal injuries include:

• Ruptured spleen
• Abdominal aorta rupture
• Punctured Lung
• Internal hemorrhaging

Common symptoms associated with all types of internal injuries that require immediate medical attention include:

• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) can show immediate symptoms, including the loss of consciousness, confusion, migraine, and memory loss. Some TBIs can be dormant, showing no immediate symptoms for weeks following the accident.
  Over time, a traumatic brain injury can result in neurological disorders that impair the victim's ability to concentrate, recall events, communicate, or perform motor functions.

• In many ruptured spleen cases, the organ needs to be removed. A ruptured spleen is most often due to a blunt force trauma to the left side of the body and, if left untreated, can cause rapid internal bleeding and infection.

• Pneumothorax is the medical term used to describe the life-threatening condition when a rib punctures the lung. These injuries often result in a collapsed lung and the loss of the ability to fill with air.
  Instead, the lung can then fill with blood and other fluids, causing additional complications for doctors to address after normal breathing is restored.

• Typical organ damage – Internal hemorrhaging produces varying effects on the body, depending on the bleeding's location and its severity. In addition to causing pain and organ failure, it might result in death via blood loss.
  Slower bleeds might become infected and send the victim into septic shock.

• Other injuries – The forceful impact of a car accident could cause brain damage, abdominal pain, clotting, broken bones, abdominal injuries, kidney damage, aneurysm, and a ruptured spleen. Victims might suffer internal injuries that lead to lightheadedness and internal bleeding symptoms like bruising, tenderness, swelling, redness, and infection.

Hire a Car Accident Internal Organ Injury Attorney

Did you, or a loved one, suffer internal injuries and need compensation through an insurance company? If so, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC provides award-winning legal services to those who have suffered life-altering injuries.

Our personal injury attorneys can help you find the justice you deserve and recover the substantial compensation you are entitled to receive in an injury claim. Contact our Chicago car accident attorneys at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone call) or through the contact form to schedule a free consultation for legal advice and representation.

If we cannot negotiate a settlement or win your case, our services will be free of charge. All discussions with our personal injury lawyers remain confidential through an attorney-client relationship.