Ohio may not have the biggest cities in the country, nor the most urban areas — but it does have a lot of car crashes. In 2020, there were more than 43,000 crashes on Ohio’s roads, and 2021 has been worse.
Immediately after a collision, most people check to see if they are injured. While cuts, piercing wounds and broken bones are usually pretty easy to identify, internal injuries are not.
What kinds of internal injuries are common in car accidents?
It can take hours or days for an internal injury to become obvious. This is why you should always go to an emergency room and get checked out after a crash. Some prime examples of hidden internal injuries include:
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs): That slight bump on the head could turn serious, especially once bleeding starts inside your skull. The damage from the wreck could be minor compared to what the swelling causes afterwards.
- Broken ribs: If it hurts to move or breathe after a crash, but you don’t see any obvious external injuries, you may have broken ribs. They can take a long time to heal, and you may need lots of rest and rehabilitative therapy before it’s over. It’s also possible that a broken rib ended up puncturing your lung, which is an additional concern.
- Internal bleeding: Blunt-force trauma can cause severe damage to your blood vessels. If they rupture, you can literally “bleed out” without ever seeing a drop of blood. Abdominal pain, chills, fatigue, lightheadedness, swelling and deep purple bruising are all signs of serious danger.
- Internal organ damage: Again, blunt-force trauma to the trunk of your body or your midsection can leave you with serious injuries to your internal organs, including your kidneys, liver and heart. Prompt treatment could save your life.
If you’ve been injured in a collision through no fault of your own or your loved one was killed, you have every right to pursue compensation for your losses. Find out more about what it takes.
