What Are the Most Common Internal Injuries from Car Accidents?
When a vehicle traveling at high speed suddenly stops or is hit with force, the body absorbs the impact. This can cause damage to internal organs, soft tissues, and bones. Some of the common internal injuries from high-speed car accidents that victims may experience include:
Internal Bleeding
Blunt force trauma can cause blood vessels inside the body to rupture, leading to internal bleeding. This can occur in the abdomen, chest, or even around the brain. Since bleeding can be slow and go unnoticed at first, you should not ignore signs such as deep bruising, fainting, or severe weakness.
Internal bleeding can happen when a person’s body is violently thrown against the seatbelt, steering wheel, or door in a collision.
Organ Damage
Organ damage is among the most life-threatening injuries a victim can suffer in a car accident. The liver, spleen, and kidneys are particularly vulnerable in high-impact crashes. Damage to these organs can lead to improper functioning and dangerous complications. For example, a ruptured spleen can cause significant internal bleeding that requires immediate surgery.
Seatbelt pressure, blunt trauma from the steering wheel, or being crushed in a collision can all lead to organ damage. Because internal organ injuries aren’t always obvious, you should have a doctor check ongoing pain or tenderness in the abdomen.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Significant impact to the head can lead to a traumatic brain injury (TBI). These injuries can vary widely in severity, ranging from mild concussions to severe brain damage. TBI symptoms may not appear right away. Watching for headaches, dizziness, memory loss, or confusion in the hours or days following a crash is crucial.
Car accidents often cause TBIs when the head strikes the steering wheel, dashboard, airbag, or even the headrest with force. Whiplash-like motions can also jostle the brain inside the skull, leading to bruising or swelling. This can happen even in relatively low-speed collisions.
Abdominal Injuries
The abdomen houses many vital organs, including the intestines and stomach. A strong impact can lead to internal bleeding or a condition called peritonitis, where the protective lining of the abdominal cavity becomes inflamed. Severe abdominal pain, swelling, or nausea after an accident could indicate a serious problem.
The force of a seatbelt tightening suddenly can put immense pressure on the abdomen, potentially leading to organ damage. Direct impact from a steering wheel or side collision can also result in abdominal trauma.
Lung Injuries
A collapsed lung (pneumothorax) can happen when a fractured rib punctures the lung and air escapes into the chest cavity. This makes it difficult for the lung to expand, leading to breathing problems and chest pain. Without medical treatment, a collapsed lung can become life-threatening.
Car wrecks can cause lung injuries when the chest is forcefully compressed, either from impact with the dashboard or steering wheel or being squeezed by a seatbelt. Sudden pressure changes, such as during a rollover, can also damage lung tissue.
Rib Fractures
Ribs can easily fracture in a crash when a person is thrown forward into the steering wheel or their chest presses hard against the seatbelt. Even airbags, while lifesaving, can exert enough force to crack ribs in a severe collision.
Fractured ribs are more difficult to diagnose than you may think. The ribs start at the sternum in the front and connect to the spine in the back, thus forming a three-dimensional cage. X-rays, however, are pictures of a two-dimensional plane, so if an x-ray is not taken at just the right place on the rib cage, the fracture will not be seen. Often rib fractures are diagnosed based on the doctor palpating (feeling or pressing with the hands) the painful spots around the chest.
Car accidents can happen in an instant, but the harm they cause can last a lifetime. Some injuries are immediately apparent, like broken bones or cuts, while others are hidden beneath the surface. Internal injuries from car accidents can be life-threatening. But because they aren’t always immediately visible, they often go unnoticed until the situation becomes serious. If you were hurt in a car crash and suspect you may have suffered internal injuries, getting medical attention as soon as possible is critical.
