Sometimes the consequences of a car accident are blatantly obvious. Other times, injuries can be more difficult to diagnose because they’re internal. Some might not even manifest physical signs or symptoms, or those symptoms might be delayed.
Unfortunately, it’s quite common for car accident victims in New Mexico to suffer internal injuries. In fact, 80 percent of crash victims suffer an injury to the head or chest. Unless you’re looking for specific signs of internal trauma, these types of injuries can worsen or cause further complications, potentially putting a crash victim’s life in danger.
It’s important to understand what types of internal injuries you could suffer in a car accident in New Mexico, as well as the signs to be on the lookout for if you’re in a crash, and why it's important to contact an experienced Albuquerque car accident attorney.
How Do Car Accidents Cause Internal Injuries?
Car accidents, even low-impact collisions at low speeds, can transfer a lot of force to vehicle occupants. There are two primary ways that this transfer of force can cause internal injuries.
First, as this force is absorbed by the victim, the energy can overwhelm internal organs and systems, causing damage.
Second, the force can cause the vehicle occupant to move and suffer blunt force contact with a seatbelt, an airbag, the steering wheel, the dashboard, another part of the car, or even the pavement if they’re ejected during the crash. Blunt force trauma can cause internal systems to tear, shred, twist, and move within the body, causing damage.
What Are the Most Common Internal Injuries From Car Accidents in New Mexico?
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries can occur when a person suffers a violent bump, blow, or jolt to the head. In a car accident, you might suffer a traumatic brain injury if you strike your head on the window or are struck by flying debris. When your head makes hard contact with an object, it can cause the brain to move around rapidly in the skull. As the brain moves, it can bruise, bleed, tear, and suffer other serious internal damage.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Car accident victims may twist or turn their necks or bodies unusually upon impact. If the spinal cord extends beyond its normal range of motion or suffers blunt force trauma, it can be partially or completely severed, resulting in serious and potentially life-threatening conditions, including paralysis or death.
Internal Bleeding
Internal bleeding occurs when blood vessels rupture, which allows blood to leak into surrounding tissues. Victims of particularly violent car accidents, especially those who suffer blunt force to a localized part of the body, are at an increased risk of suffering internal bleeding. Hematomas under the skin, abdominal pain, and vomiting blood can all be signs of internal bleeding after a car accident in New Mexico.
Ruptured Spleen
The spleen is a small organ located inside your rib cage on the left side of your body, just above the stomach. A forceful collision or blunt trauma strong enough to break your ribs can cause the spleen to rupture and expel a large volume of blood into the stomach.
Pneumothorax
Pneumothorax, also known as a collapsed lung, is a chest injury that can be painful and potentially life-threatening. If you hit your chest or suffer a puncture wound to your lung, it can cause the organ to collapse and lead to a buildup of air in the surrounding cavity.
Whiplash
Few internal soft tissue injuries are more common in car accident victims than whiplash. Whiplash occurs when the head snaps back and forth rapidly, often when a victim is involved in a rear-end collision. Like a lot of internal trauma, whiplash can be a delayed injury and not really manifest many symptoms until hours or days after a car accident.
What Are Some Important Signs and Symptoms of Internal Injuries From a Car Accident?
It depends. Some internal injuries can be milder and, in turn, manifest with lesser symptoms. Other internal traumas will often present with more concerning injuries.
The type of car accident you were involved in, where you were seated in the vehicle, whether you were wearing your seatbelt, the speed at which the collision occurred, and if and where you suffered blunt force trauma can all play a part in the type of internal trauma you’re most likely to sustain, and by extension, the symptoms you might develop.
Generally speaking, some of the most common signs of car accident internal injuries in New Mexico include:
- Swelling, bruising, and discoloration under the skin
- Muscle and/or joint stiffness
- Pain that worsens with movement
- Blood in the urine or stool
- Nausea
- Tinnitus
- Blurred vision
- Shortness of breath
- Coughing up blood
- Weakness
- Fatigue
- Difficulty concentrating
- Numbness or tingling in the extremities
- Chest pain
- Severe abdominal pain
- Headaches
It’s important to seek a thorough medical evaluation as soon as you can after a car accident in New Mexico, as shock can make it difficult to notice these and other signs of internal trauma. A prompt medical assessment can quickly diagnose internal injuries and help prevent complications or stop the trauma from getting worse.
How Can a New Mexico Car Accident Attorney Help If I’ve Suffered Internal Injuries?
Internal injuries from a car accident in New Mexico can be debilitating and costly. If you’ve been injured because someone else was negligent, they have to be held accountable. Fortunately, as a crash victim in New Mexico, you have the right to file a legal claim against them to recover insurance benefits and/or seek damages in a personal injury lawsuit.
Hiring an experienced New Mexico car accident lawyer can give you time to focus on your recovery while putting you in the best position to recover a top-dollar financial award.
Car accident victims across the state of New Mexico trust the award-winning litigators at Singleton Schreiber at times like these. We’re local lawyers who are passionate about making a real difference in the lives of our clients, backed by national resources that help us force insurance companies to pay our clients life-changing monetary awards.
We’ve won billions in settlements and jury awards. Now, we’re here to fight to help you recover maximum compensation for your internal car accident injuries, too. We offer a free consultation, so call one of our New Mexico law offices for help today.
