Chest Injuries After a Car Accident in Clearwater

After a car accident in Clearwater, Florida, your chest could hurt. But the pain could come from many causes, and the pain could signify many types of chest injuries. In a car crash, your chest can experience many forces that can tear soft tissue, break bones, and even rupture organs.

Chest injuries from a car crash could cause minor tissue damage that heals on its own in a few weeks. But car crash injuries can also produce incapacitating symptoms that could disable you from working and even threaten your life.

If you’ve been in a car accident, it is crucial to understand more about these injuries and what you can do to seek compensation for them. Continue reading to learn more, and contact Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers for a free initial consultation with a Clearwater lawyer. Call us at (727) 787-2500.

How Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help After a Car Accident in Clearwater, FL

How Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help After a Car Accident in Clearwater, FL

One of the oldest personal injury law firms in Clearwater, Florida, Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers was established in 1996. Our Clearwater car accident attorneys have over 50 years of combined experience representing accident victims against at-fault drivers and their insurers.

Our firm has secured over $120 million in injury compensation for our clients, and we’re prepared to fight for the financial recovery you need after a collision.

If you hire our Clearwater personal injury lawyers for help after a car accident, we’ll: 

  • Investigate the crash to determine why it happened and who caused it 
  • Collect evidence proving your claim 
  • Keep you informed and updated throughout the process
  • Negotiate with insurance companies
  • Take your case to trial if settlement negotiations are unsuccessful

Car accident injuries to the head, chest, and back can disable you from working, shopping, or even showering. Contact Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to discuss the compensation you might receive under Florida law.

Do Chest Injuries Occur Often After a Car Accident?

Florida does not track the specific injuries that car accident victims suffer. But the state does track the severity of injuries that happen. Using this information and studies about chest injuries, you can estimate how many Florida car accidents produce chest injuries.

In Florida’s 2020 Crash Facts Report, the state reported:

  • 3,332 fatal injuries
  • 15,614 incapacitating injuries that required hospitalization
  • 62,738 non-incapacitating, visible injuries that didn’t require hospitalization
  • 134,080 possible injuries that produced symptoms but no visible wounds

In one study, about 3.6% of traffic fatalities suffered a chest injury. Applying this to the Crash Facts Report, approximately 120 people who died in Florida crashes in 2020 had chest injuries.

According to another study, 19.6% of people hospitalized after a car accident had chest injuries. Based on this study, you can estimate that about 3,060 Florida accident victims with incapacitating injuries in 2020 had a chest injury.

Among the remaining accident victims, the likelihood of a chest injury depends on the type of crash. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the likelihood of a minor chest injury ranges from 5% for a rear-end crash to 15% for a front-end or side-impact crash.

In 2020, Florida accident victims suffered about 197,000 minor injuries. Using the NHTSA’s numbers, between 9,800 and 29,500 accident victims could have suffered a chest injury.

In total, this gives an estimated 12,980 and 32,680 car accident victims who suffered a fatal or non-fatal chest injury in 2020.

Causes and Types of Chest Injuries After a Car Accident in Clearwater

Chest injuries around Pinellas County can happen in three ways in a car accident. First, your chest can experience impact from your:

  • Seat belt 
  • Steering wheel 
  • Airbag 
  • Door
  • Dashboard 

This impact can damage the tissues of your chest.

Second, you can hyperextend your chest as your body twists and bends in an accident. Something can also pierce your chest. This does not happen often. But if you get ejected, you could suffer a penetrating chest injury from broken glass, sharp metal, or road debris.

Chest injuries can cover a broad range of injuries, including:

Chest Strain

Chest strain happens when you hyperextend the muscles or tendons in your chest. Hyperextension stretches or even tears these tissues, leading to muscle pain, swelling, stiffness, and spasms.

Broken Rib

An impact to your chest can fracture your ribs. A broken rib can cause pain, particularly when breathing. This pain usually happens in the middle of the bone rather than its ends.

Torn Cartilage

Cartilage holds your ribs to the sternum or to each other. A blow to the chest can tear the cartilage, allowing the ribs to dislocate. A dislocated rib can press on nerves, producing pain that could radiate into your shoulder, back, and neck.

Pneumothorax

A pneumothorax happens when your chest wall gets punctured. Air rushes into the chest cavity that surrounds the lungs. The resulting air pressure squeezes the lungs and causes them to collapse. Without emergency surgery to remove the air and re-expand the lung, you can suffer permanent lung damage, and as a consequence, the accident could be fatal.

Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Clearwater Car Accident Attorneys To Discuss Your Chest Injury

A chest injury can cause pain and limit your mobility. You deserve to focus on your recovery. At Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers, we are dedicated to providing representation that is both high-quality and compassionate. 

To learn about the compensation you can seek for these and other effects of your chest injury in Clearwater, Florida, contact Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation.

Our law firm handles all types of car accident cases involving:

Additional Clearwater Car Accident Resources