What You Need to Know About Internal Bleeding from a Car Accident

When a car wreck occurs, two things generally happen. First, you experience the force and impact of the collision, whether glass, an airbag, or your seatbelt holding you firm to your seat. Second, adrenaline kicks in. When the adrenaline floods your system, you may not be fully aware of the severity of your injuries during and immediately following a car crash. In fact, it may take several days for you to start experiencing pain and discomfort from internal injuries that are not visible. This is the reason why it is vital that you or your loved ones receive medical attention immediately following a car accident. At the very least, you should schedule an appointment with your local Kansas City physician within the following 24 hours and receive medical treatment to detect internal injuries that could be potentially life-threatening if left untreated.

It is not uncommon to feel perfectly fine in the aftermath of a car accident. It can take hours or days before you become aware that something is wrong. For example, you may not realize you are experiencing internal bleeding from the trauma resulting from the auto accident.

The personal injury attorneys at Townsend Law, LLC have years of experience as car accident lawyers, fighting hard for our clients and seeking the maximum compensation possible for car crash victims. We offer a free consultation for many common serious car accident injuries.

Internal Bleeding

When you have suffered an injury due to an accident, internal bleeding could be the most severe injury you experience, even more so than a broken bone. Internal bleeding from car accidents happens due to obvious injuries, such as a puncture wound, laceration, or contusions. Since these injuries are easily visible, a healthcare professional will typically render aid immediately. However, internal bleeding can also result from less severe or obvious trauma. In these cases, you may not know how to tell if you have internal bleeding and not notice the effects for several days. While some internal bleeding may begin to heal without medical attention, many cases require surgery. This is where abdominal pain (a symptom of common internal injuries) may warrant a trip to the emergency room.

Symptoms of Internal Bleeding

Since, by definition, internal bleeding is internal, it is not easily identified without the sensation of pain. However, there are signs of internal bleeding that we can look for to find, treat and prevent it from possibly becoming life-threatening.

• Lightheadedness
• Loss of consciousness
• Blood loss
• Low blood pressure
• Broken ribs from the chest cavity can puncture internal soft tissue or cause a pneumothorax (or collapsed lung)

There can also be more traumatic signs of internal bleeding, or of a much deeper problem, such as:

• Loss of conscience from blood loss from a lack of clotting or drops in blood pressure
• Severe pain from an abdominal aorta, also called an abdominal aorta aneurysm 
• Reduced ability to use the restroom or discoloration as a result of internal organ failure 

Types of Trauma

In general, two types of trauma can result in internal bleeding. The first is blunt trauma or blunt force. Blunt force trauma can occur if you hit or are hit by an object at high speed, it can damage blood vessels inside your body and cause internal bleeding. For example, if you were involved in a high-impact car accident, you might experience internal bleeding due to the force of the hit, causing you to hemorrhage.

Penetrating trauma is the second type that can result in internal bleeding. These types of injuries occur when a foreign object, such as a bullet or sharp instrument, pierces the body. Whether the trauma is a blunt force or penetrating, it is important to remember that almost any organ or blood vessel can become damaged.

Internal Bleeding Requires Medical Treatment

While some cases of internal bleeding can be mild and heal on their own, certain cases require medical care. Some of the most severe types of internal bleeding include head trauma, traumatic brain injury, aneurysm, pneumothorax, bleeding in and near the lungs or heart, tears in major blood vessels and arteries, and any damage to the abdomen area such as an abdominal aorta aneurysm.

Receiving a CT scan after a car accident can help detect internal injuries and determine what kind of medical treatment needs to be used to prevent it from becoming life-threatening. They can also detect brain damage, clotting, organ failure, internal blood loss, and broken ribs.

The issue is simply that these injuries can oftentimes not present themselves until they have become life-threatening to the car accident victim, with long-term organ damage or brain damage, organ failure, and other serious injuries that come later as a result of the car accident injuries.

If you have been involved in a car accident, it is vital that you seek medical attention as soon as possible, even if you feel fine in the first few minutes or hours. Simply because you cannot see a serious injury does not mean that one does not exist.

How A Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help

When you or your loved ones are recovering from internal bleeding from a car accident, you should only focus on healing. Having a personal injury lawyer perform a free case review can help ease the burden of working with insurance companies, medical bills, injury claims, property damage claims, or other items that should have the full attention of the person handling them, as well as someone with experience in these matters.

Our Kansas City law firm has been helping car accident victims for years to get the maximum compensation they deserve. Contact us today for a free consultation with a car accident attorney, and let our law firm fight for you and your loved ones today.