Chest Injuries

Long Island Chest Injury Attorney

Chest damage and trauma are some of the most common car accident injuries, and many of us tend to not realize just how debilitating these types of injuries can be to an individual’s breath and overall peace of mind. Injuries to your chest, abdomen and upper back are serious issues that can linger for long periods of time if left untreated through the lack of surgeries or other medical interventions.

Being able to breathe easily and pain-free is something that we all rightfully deserve, and if you or a family member has sustained a chest injury of any type then you may be entitled to compensation.

At Siler & Ingber, LLP, our team of personal injury attorneys has over 20 years of experience in handling all sorts of complex personal injury matters. We’ve been able to help countless accident victims to recover millions in compensation for serious injuries, and some of these past clients include chest injury victims.

Whether you’ve injured your chest, ribs or internal organs in a car accident or in a workplace injury, we know the complex processes involved with working together with your medical team and other experts to accurately calculate your case’s noneconomic and economic damages. Insurance companies across the state of New York know us very well, and we’ll be ready to take your case to trial if a settlement value isn’t successfully agreed upon.

If you or a loved one has suffered a chest injury of any kind that was due to someone else’s negligence, contact us for a free case review so we can go over the details of your accident and begin the necessary initial steps towards devising the best legal strategy to help you obtain your maximum, rightful compensation.

How Common are Chest Injuries Within Car Accidents?

We all know how common car accidents are, and the CDC has stated that about 32,000 deaths and 2 million serious injuries are reported each year in the United States as a result of motor vehicle collisions. Furthermore, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has stated that about 80% of all car accident injuries involve the chest and/or head.

Likelihood of Enduring a Chest Injury

The two main factors associated with the likelihood of sustaining a chest injury in a car accident include the type of car crash and your age.

• Age: Young drivers tend to be less likely to endure chest injuries as opposed to older drivers, and drivers between 16-24 are considered much less likely to sustain a chest injury as opposed to any other driver age demographic.
• Type of Crash: The two main types of car crashes include non-rollover and rollover incidents. Non-rollover accidents are also classified by the exact location on a car in which the impact occurred. So according to the NHTSA, drivers are most likely to get a chest injury in rollover crashes and left-side impacting non-rollover crashes.

Common Causes of Chest Injuries Within Car Accidents

All drivers, passengers and even pedestrians are at risk of suffering a chest injury. Some of the common causes of chest injuries as they pertain to car accidents include the following:

• Seatbelts: We all know that seatbelts ultimately save lives, but they can also create serious abdominal and chest injuries during the moments of a high-impact collision. Seatbelts will always automatically tighten when a car comes to a screeching halt in order to properly secure a vehicle’s passengers, but there are some instances in which seatbelts become extremely tight and create severe bruising, swelling and abrasions upon a passenger’s chest. There are even instances in which seatbelt tightening can result in rib cage and sternum fractures.
• Steering Wheels: When a driver isn’t properly wearing their seatbelt, they can be at an extreme risk of enduring blunt force chest trauma. Our steering wheels are always right at the perfect height to make direct contact with the chest, and because it’s such a rigid object it can certainly cause a significant amount of damage to an individual’s chest area.
• Side Panel Contact: There are countless incidents in which a car’s side panels will fold in on the passengers within side collision impacts.
• Flying Glass: Glass and other types of debris will many times shoot out around the inside of a vehicle during the moments of a high-impact crash, which can subsequently become lodged within a person’s chest. When an individual’s rib cage is compromised, it can have a ripple effect to the lungs, trachea and heart.
• Airbags: There are two main scenarios in which airbags can end up harming a passenger’s chest area, including the airbag being defective and the airbag simply deploying with a threatening force. There are also instances in which a properly deployed airbag can cause someone to injure their chest area, and this is primarily the case with children and older passengers.

Some other common chest injuries include:

• Internal bleeding
• Soft tissue damage
• Spinal cord damage
• Swelling/bruising
• Death

Receiving Medical Attention for Chest Injuries After Accidents

Chest injuries vary dramatically in terms of overall severity, and the treatment process will depend upon the type of chest injury that was sustained. Some potential treatments include surgery, intensive rehabilitation and time.

Chest injuries can become life-threatening if left untreated, so it’s always crucial to get medical attention immediately after an accident. A medical professional will always be capable of ensuring that you are properly diagnosed and treated.

Obtaining Compensation for Chest Injuries

Chest injuries typically will take a very long time to heal, and many chest injury victims have a difficult time engaging in normal activities due to the incredible amount of pain they’re experiencing in the weeks and months after an accident.

There are some instances in which chest injuries can cause permanent disability, which can ultimately cause an accident victim to suffer a loss of earning capacity and quality of life. When you file a personal injury lawsuit you will give you and your family the opportunity to recover the necessary compensation to assist with your chest injury.

Some of the common damages associated with chest injuries include:

• Hospitalization
• Surgery
• Rehabilitation
• Medication
• Disability
• Lost wages
• Transportation
• Disfigurement
• Pain and suffering
• Depression and anxiety
• Scarring
• Loss of quality of life
• Embarrassment

Contact the Experienced New York Personal Injury Attorneys at Siler & Ingber

You will always need to be focused on how you will recover your compensation for lost wages and medical expenses after you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury from an accident caused by someone else’s negligence. There’s no denying that insurance companies will not be so willing to cover the entirety of the vast amount of medical costs associated with chest injuries, which is partly why chest injuries tend to leave families with serious financial hardships.

That’s exactly why the legal team at Siler & Ingber, LLP is here to protect your rights while seeking out the maximum amount of rightful compensation for you and your injuries. We all know that no one deserves to be injured because of someone else and put in a financially troubling position, and our past case results prove that we’ve successfully assisted countless families in need.

If you’re in the process of figuring out how you’ll be able to recover your rightful compensation through an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit, contact us today for a free case review so we can go over the details of your injury and help you devise the most effective legal strategy possible towards obtaining the compensation you rightfully deserve.