Thoracic Injuries
You can think of your body as divided into three main sections, each holding crucial organs. Your head holds your brain, while your abdomen contains your digestive and reproductive organs. In the middle, you have your thorax. Your thorax contains your heart, lungs, and other vital organs.
Sustaining a thoracic injury in an accident can put your life at risk. Unfortunately, accidents can often result in these injuries. Learn more about thoracic injuries and what you should do if you suffer one as a result of another person’s negligence or wrongful conduct.
What Is the Importance of the Thorax?
The thorax is the area between the neck and the abdomen. It’s made up of the ribcage and contains a large number of muscles and ligaments.
The tissues and organs in the thorax play vital roles in your:
- Respiratory system
- Cardiovascular system
- Nervous system
- Immune system
- Digestive system
When you think about the organs in your chest, you may first think of your lungs and heart. However, there are other organs in the thoracic cavity, including the esophagus, thymus, and trachea. Damage to any of these organs can be catastrophic and can even lead to death.
The muscles in the thorax facilitate your breathing, so they play a significant role in keeping you alive. Even if your lungs are healthy, you may not be able to breathe correctly or at all if certain muscles (especially those near the spinal cord) suffer injuries.
The thorax also contains nerves that connect the brain to vital chest organs. The vagus nerve, for example, controls breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate.
Because of the number of important organs, blood vessels, nerves, and muscles in the thorax, experiencing any type of trauma to the area can result in significant health issues that can lower your quality of life. But how do thoracic injuries occur?
How Can a Thoracic Injury Occur?
Thoracic injuries can be categorized into two main groups: blunt and penetrating injuries.
Penetrating Thoracic Injuries
When something penetrates the thoracic cavity, it can puncture organs, blood vessels, nerves, or muscles. These injuries can occur as a result of a foreign object entering the body. This can happen if you fall and land on something sharp or if you’re thrown against another object in a car accident.
Penetrating injuries can also occur if one of your ribs breaks and pierces an organ. This type of injury can happen if you hit your chest against a steering wheel. Even airbags can break ribs if you slam into them with enough force.
Blunt Force Thoracic Injuries
Blunt force thoracic injuries occur when you hit your chest without creating an open wound. The force can jostle the organs, causing bruising and ripped tissues. A blunt injury can also result in cracked ribs, leading to penetrating injuries.
Slip and fall accidents can cause significant damage to your heart, lungs, and blood vessels. It’s not necessary to have a penetrating injury to suffer internal bleeding.
What Are the Most Frequent Types of Thoracic Injuries?
Although a variety of thoracic injuries can occur in an accident, here are the most frequent ones.
Pneumothorax and Hemothorax
One of the most common issues that people experience if they suffer an injury to the thoracic area is a pneumothorax, also called a collapsed lung. Your lungs require a vacuum to expand. If a penetrating injury opens a hole in the thoracic cavity, outside air fills the vacuum, pushing oxygen out of your lungs and making it impossible for them to reinflate. A collapsed lung could be fatal.
If blood or other body fluids fill the vacuum instead of air, the same results can occur. This injury is called a hemothorax.
Cardiac Tamponade
Another type of injury you could suffer is a cardiac tamponade. Around your heart, you have a membrane called the pericardium that protects the organ from infections and from rubbing against other organs as it works.
If the pericardium fills with blood or other fluids, it can compress the heart, leading to irregular beating and shock. Blunt and penetrating trauma can cause this injury.
Aortic Tear
You can also suffer an aortic tear. Your body depends on the oxygen in the blood that your heart delivers to all of your cells. As blood leaves your heart, it goes through the aorta. A large enough tear in the aorta can result in you bleeding to death in a few minutes.
Pulmonary Contusion
Pulmonary contusions are also common in serious accidents. Contusions are bruises, and they occur when blunt force trauma to the chest damages blood vessels in your lungs. Blood leaks into the lung tissue, not allowing it to take in air.
What Should I Do If I Suffer a Thoracic Injury?
Suppose that you were in an accident that was the result of someone else’s negligent or wrongful conduct, and you suffered a thoracic injury. In that case, you may be eligible to file a personal injury claim to get compensation. To do so, you should hire a personal injury lawyer.
Personal injury lawyers will investigate the accident and gather evidence to demonstrate that the other party is liable. Usually, this involves proving negligence. Your lawyer can help show that the defendant breached their duty of care toward you and that the breach led you to suffer injuries for which you can be compensated.
An attorney will also negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf. Insurers are always looking for ways to pay victims as little as they can and could rely on tactics like bullying to get you to accept a low offer. With a lawyer by your side, however, you can get better results.
If negotiations aren’t progressing, a personal injury lawyer can file a lawsuit and take your claim to court. There, they will litigate to get you a fair jury award.
Contact Our Experienced New York Personal Injury Lawyers To Discuss Compensation For Your Thoracic Injuries
A chest injury can significantly impact your health. You might need to spend days in the hospital, resulting in astronomical medical bills while at the same time missing out on work and the wages you would have received. Severe injuries can also cause significant physical and mental distress.
By hiring an experienced personal injury attorney, you can file a claim to recover economic and non-economic damages. At Rosenbaum Personal Injury Lawyers, our team of New York attorneys can help you understand your rights and begin your claim.
Schedule a free consultation to speak with a New York City personal injury lawyer.
