Thoracic injuries impact your chest wall and the internal organs located in that area. They can be catastrophic injuries that require extensive medical care and could prevent you from working or living your life as you’d like.
If you sustained a thoracic injury as a result of another party’s negligent or wrongful conduct in Dallas or elsewhere in Texas, you may be able to pursue a personal injury claim to recover your losses. But what are some common examples of thoracic injuries, and what is the process of taking legal action after suffering one?
Common Types of Thoracic Injuries
Your chest can get injured in a wide range of situations, from a car accident to a slip and fall. The specific type of chest injury you sustain determines what symptoms you’ll experience and what kind of recovery to expect. Here are some common types of thoracic injuries to watch for after an accident:
Chest Wall Injuries
Your chest wall itself could suffer damage. Rib fractures are perhaps the most frequent chest wall injuries, causing significant pain and taking a long time to heal.
If a few consecutive ribs break, you can suffer from flail chest. This is a medical emergency that can result in severe pain and the danger of developing breathing problems because your chest wall can’t expand as needed.
You can sustain fractures to your shoulder blade or breastbone, too. These can take a long time to stabilize and could make even the simplest of movements very painful.
Lung and Pleural Space Injuries
If you suffer a pulmonary contusion, you have developed a bruise in your lung tissue. Often, people don’t think of bruising as life-threatening, but if it involves the lungs, your body can struggle with the gas exchange necessary to breathe. It could rapidly become a medical emergency, depending on the severity of the injury.
You can also sustain a pneumothorax. This occurs when air enters the pleural space, which is a space between the lining of the lungs and the lining of the chest wall.
If air enters this space, it can cause the lung to collapse. If blood fills this area instead of air, you have a hemothorax. Both of these situations require immediate attention.
Cardiac and Vascular Injuries
As a result of blunt trauma, you may experience bruising to the heart muscle. This is a myocardial contusion, and it can lead to changes in blood pressure and palpitations. More severe injuries can leave you with lasting heart damage.
It’s also possible to experience a cardiac tamponade. With this injury, blood fills the fluid sac around your heart, putting pressure on it and not allowing it to function as necessary.
One of the most severe injuries you can suffer is a tear in your aorta. An aortic rupture can lead you to bleed out rapidly, as it’s a life-threatening emergency.
Other Thoracic Injuries
A diaphragmatic tear can also happen. This is a rupture in the diaphragm muscle, which allows your abdominal muscles to enter your chest area. Another type of thoracic injury you can suffer is damage to your windpipe. It’s a severe injury that could quickly result in not being able to breathe.
Can You File a Claim After a Thoracic Injury?
If you sustained a thoracic injury because of another party’s misconduct, you may be able to recover the losses you suffered by filing a personal injury claim. This is not a simple process, however, because you will typically have to demonstrate that the other party was negligent or wrongful in their conduct.
One of the first steps in doing so is often establishing that the other party owed you a duty of care and that they breached it. You may then have to show that their behavior directly caused your injuries. Proving negligence can be challenging, especially when you’re dealing with the aftermath of a serious injury, so it’s important to get an attorney’s help if you think you need to file a claim.
An attorney can gather the evidence that can best demonstrate that you deserve compensation. They will also know how to negotiate aggressively with insurance companies. Insurers will often do everything they can to prevent you from receiving full compensation for your losses, but your lawyer can fight to protect your interests throughout the process.
Contact the Dallas Personal Injury Attorneys at Anderson Injury Lawyers for a Free Consultation
After sustaining a thoracic injury, the last thing you’re probably thinking about is filing legal paperwork. Unfortunately, if you wait too long, you may not be able to pursue a claim at all. Texas law only allows you to file a personal injury claim within two years of your accident in most cases. That’s why it’s vital to seek legal help promptly.
Don’t miss your chance to obtain the compensation you need to move forward. At Anderson Injury Lawyers, our award-winning team has earned over 1,500 five-star reviews from clients, and we take pride in our commitment to getting real answers and real results. Contact us at (214) 327-8000 and schedule a free case assessment with a Dallas personal injury lawyer to get started today.