When you’re hurt in an accident, you may be unable to control the impact to your body. Anyone suffering from serious car accident chest injuries may need assistance with filing a lawsuit to name an accountable party and to recover compensation to pay for their medical bills and other costs.
If you experience chest or rib pain after a car accident, contact a Moncks Corner car accident lawyer to address your case. West Law Firm Personal Injury Lawyers are here to guide you through the process, answer your questions and to ensure that your rights are protected in court.
How Is the Chest Injured in A Crash?
There are several ways that you can injure your chest in a vehicle crash. While in the driver’s seat, you may strike your chest against the steering wheel and passengers may be thrown against seatbacks, doors or the dashboard.
Anyone inside the car can also suffer dangerous injuries from the airbag. Although the airbag explodes in order to prevent more severe injuries, you can still be hurt by its deployment or even the severity of a seatbelt restraint during a crash.
A chest injury is not always immediately obvious after an accident. Any signs of significant chest pain after impact should prompt you to contact the authorities for yourself or any other person hurt in an accident.
The facts of the accident may feel fuzzy to you and many people who have sustained a chest injury don’t remember exactly what happened.
Blunt force trauma is the leading cause of rib pain after car accidents and chest pain after car accidents. This can cause further problems, such as:
- Pressure on the heart caused by accumulation of blood and the surrounding area known as cardiac tamponade
- Broken ribs
- Bruised or punctured lungs
- Fractured shoulder blades or collarbones
- Broken breastbone
- Other internal organ injuries
- Collapsed lung
- Soft tissue injuries to ligaments, muscles and tendons
One of the signs of a more severe chest injury is shortness of breath or chest pain that feels worse after you inhale. Other symptoms can include drowsiness, shortness of breath, confusion or skin that is sweaty, blue or cold. These are signs of respiratory failure and shock and should be taken seriously.
Delayed Chest Pain After an Accident
The experience of going through an accident is often a traumatic one. A person may feel minimal symptoms at the scene of the crash because of the adrenaline or shock. These symptoms, however, may begin to emerge hours later or even in the days following the accident.
Any significant change in your underlying health should always be reported to a medical professional. Chest injury severity cannot be identified without a doctor’s evaluation.
A doctor may ask initial questions and conduct a physical exam but in most cases this involves further review, such as blood tests, electrocardiography and X-rays.
Chest injury care includes supporting circulation and the patient’s breathing, in addition to emergency surgery where necessary. The sooner you can get diagnosed by a doctor, the sooner you can begin your treatments.
What Impacts Chest Injury Settlement Amounts?
After you’ve gotten medical attention for your injury, you also need to communicate with a qualified lawyer regarding your car accident chest injuries. You may be eligible to recover compensation for things like physical therapy, medical bills, lost wages, or other damages.
You may need to communicate with an insurance company regarding your intention to file a claim or even file a civil lawsuit to recover your settlement. Some of the damages you may be eligible to receive include pain and suffering, past and future medical costs, lost income, lost earning power, property damages and even mental anguish.
Similarly, if you are filing a lawsuit on behalf of a loved one who was killed due to a severe chest injury, you may need to file for wrongful death. You can claim compensation for funeral and burial expenses, loss of consortium, and services and end of life treatment expenses.
Your ability to recover compensation in a car accident lawsuit will depend on multiple factors including the actions or inactions of the at fault driver, the severity of your injuries and your prognosis for potential recovery.
What is the legal process for filing a personal injury lawsuit in South Carolina?
The following documents need to be served to the at fault party to begin a personal injury lawsuit — a complaint and the summons. The complaint is a brief statement regarding the legal basis and the factual basis for the lawsuit and the summons is the formal notice of the lawsuit’s filing.
The defendant has an opportunity to respond after the summons and complaint have been filed and served. Circuit Courts maintain general jurisdiction for personal injury lawsuits and the vast majority of personal injury cases in the state are handled in these courtrooms.
What is the maximum time I have to file a lawsuit?
Each state has specific laws about how long you have to open a civil lawsuit after an accident happens. This is known as the statute of limitations.
Per South Carolina code 15-3-530(4), the maximum period of time after a personal injury lawsuit is three years. It is far better to communicate with a chest car accident lawyer as soon as possible to open your claim.
How much will a personal injury attorney cost?
Most personal injury attorneys in South Carolina accept cases on a contingency fee basis. If there is no recovery, the client does not owe the attorney fee. This is typically set as a percentage of the overall award received whether that occurs in settlement negotiations or in court.
Contact a Moncks Corner Car Accident Lawyer for Help Compensating Chest Pain
If you need to file a chest injury claim after a car accident, you can’t afford to wait. Contact a car accident lawyer today at West law Firm Personal Injury Lawyers. Leveraging extensive experience in the field, we can start you on the path to damage recovery today.