Serious Oklahoma motor vehicle accidents can leave vehicle occupants with internal bleeding injuries. Internal bleeding can cause accident victims excruciating pain. Besides the pain, the treatment for these injuries can be very costly.
If you sustained an internal bleeding injury due to another motorists negligence, you may have financial and legal recourse.
Generally, internal bleeding injuries are caused by impact to the body. These injuries can be caused by varying amounts of force.
Blunt Trauma
Blunt force trauma doesnt always result in injuries to the outside of the body, but enough compression can cause damage to internal organs and cause bleeding.
Depending on the amount of force, the lining of the organ can be torn, causing serious complications. If the individuals spleen or liver is compressed by the force and causes internal bleeding, the bleeding can flow into the abdominal cavity. If the bleeding occurs close to the kidneys, it can result in retroperitoneal bleeding.
Deceleration Trauma
The organs in the body can shift due to deceleration trauma. This can cause the blood vessels to tear away from the organ, resulting in bleeding. Oftentimes, deceleration trauma is cause of intracranial bleeding, such as epidural and subdural hematomas.
Force to the head can cause acceleration/deceleration injury to the brain. This means that the brain is moving around in the skull, causing small veins on the brains surface to tear. Even a small amount of blood on the brain can increase the pressure inside the skull and decrease the brain function.
Bone Fractures
Broken bones can also cause internal bleeding injuries. Bones contain bone marrow, which is responsible for blood production. A significant amount of blood can be lost when a bone fractures.
For example, a broken femur (thigh bone), can cause an individual to lose 350 ccs, of blood. However, it takes more pressure to fracture a flat bone. Many blood vessels that surround a flat bone such as the pelvis bone can be torn by trauma and cause massive internal bleeding.
Its imperative for car accident victims to know the signs and symptoms of internal bleeding. Occasionally, it can take days for the symptoms of internal bleeding to appear.
The symptoms of internal bleeding vary depending on the location of the injury, how much bleeding has occurred and what parts of the body are affected. Listed below are examples of internal bleeding symptoms:
If an accident victim suspects that they may have an internal injury, they should seek medical attention immediately. Left untreated, internal injuries can cause severe complications and even death.
If you or a loved one has suffered an internal bleeding injury from a motor vehicle accident, you may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and other damages. Contact a Tulsa auto injury attorney today to schedule a free case evaluation.
The Edwards Law Firm has helped countless auto accident victims recover damages for the losses that they incurred due to another persons negligence.
