Motor vehicle accidents are one of the leading causes of injuries and deaths in the United States. These accidents are usually preventable by driving safely and following the law. Unfortunately, reckless drivers, adverse weather, poor road conditions, and other factors can contribute to a motor vehicle accident. Even the safest drivers are at the mercy of others.
A seat belt is a safety feature to prevent significant injuries and death in an auto accident. Although seat belts do not guarantee the wearer’s safety, they dramatically increase your chances of survival and sustaining only minor injuries during the collision.
However, wearing a seat belt can lead to a specific type of injury in a motor vehicle accident, even as it protects you from other types of damage. An abdominal injury is a common seatbelt injury. Other seatbelt injuries may include cuts on the neck, intra-abdominal injuries, or a combination of injuries known as seat belt syndrome.
What is Seat Belt Syndrome?
Seat belt syndrome is a common side effect of being involved in a car accident while wearing a seat belt, even if it’s just a lap belt. It prevents you from being thrown from your seat and experiencing more severe injuries, but the design of a seat belt can result in specific injuries.
Seatbelt syndrome is a pattern of seat belt injuries that occurs only when the injured party wears a seat belt during the accident.
How Seat Belts Work
Seat belts are simple features that play vital roles in protecting car accident victims.
A spool unravels the belt to be worn, typically across the chest diagonally and over the hips. The belt must secure these two areas for better protection during a collision. The belt has a buckle to secure it to the seat’s base. Some seat belts in the backseat, known as lap belts, only go over the person’s hips. However, these can still cause an abdominal injury.
The seat belt’s most crucial element is the spool’s locking mechanism.
If a sudden change of direction or momentum in the vehicle indicates a collision, the locking mechanism prevents the belt from unwinding further. This locks the belt so it will not move, securing the wearer’s body in place.
The seat belt ensures the person is not thrown around the vehicle’s interior, slammed into the steering wheel, or ejected from the car. Although seatbelt-associated injuries can be painful and require treatment, seatbelt syndrome is far easier to recover from than the alternative.
Common Injuries Associated with Seat Belt Syndrome
Seatbelt syndrome will range in severity depending on the intensity of the traffic accident. A more violent collision will result in more serious seat belt injuries, though they are still less severe than the damage you would suffer without wearing one. Here are some common seat belt injuries that car accident victims suffer.
Abdominal Injuries
Since a seat belt secures the person’s torso in one place, it is easy to suffer abdominal injuries after a car crash. In many cases, the belt is across the stomach, creating extreme pressure on the area of the intra-abdominal organs when a car crash occurs.
Some conditions you may suffer in this area may include abdominal wall damage, intra-abdominal bleeding, extra-abdominal injuries, bowel perforations, mesenteric tears, spleen lacerations, liver lacerations, intestinal injuries, diaphragm rupture, and lower abdomen bruising.
Some symptoms of these extra- and intra-abdominal injuries include abdominal pain, blood in stool or urine, bruising, seat belt marks on the skin, muscle strains, changes in bowel movements, and muscle stiffness.
Injury to the internal organs may not be apparent immediately. You may require a CT scan and physical examination to determine if the injury requires a trauma surgeon, making a visit to the emergency room after an accident crucial.
Chest Injuries
If the seat belt is used correctly, it should lie diagonally across the chest. Unfortunately, this design aspect can result in serious chest injuries even though it protects you from other life-threatening damage.
A seat belt injury in your chest can include rib fractures, sternum fractures, lung injuries, or bruising on the heart. Seat belt marks and bruising on the chest are also common after a vehicle collision.
You should be wary of symptoms of chest injuries. Difficulty breathing, painful breathing, significant internal chest pain, the feeling of a racing heart, prolonged soreness, and dark bruising could indicate you have severe chest damage from the seat belt.
Spinal Injuries
The spine is located in the torso area, running from the base of the skull to the tailbone. It forms the foundation of the musculoskeletal system, housing the primary nervous system pathway between the brain and the rest of the body.
This body part can easily be damaged while wearing a seat belt in a car accident. You may suffer compression fractures, herniated discs, burst fractures, or other spinal cord injuries.
Damage to your spine can be severe. Pain in your neck, shoulders, or upper back could indicate a problem with the cervical spine. Persistent back pain may result from a herniated disc, which is a rupturing or bulging of the intervertebral sacks.
If the posterior elements of the spine tear, you may experience pain, tingling, numbness, muscle spasms, or bowel and bladder dysfunction.
“Seat Belt Sign”
The seatbelt sign is an umbrella term describing the visible damage patterns on a person’s skin in a car accident. Typically, bruising and abrasion patterns across the abdomen, hips, and chest are clear signs of seat belt-related injuries.
In minor accidents, this bruising and abrasion may be the worst injuries. However, high-velocity collisions that result in seat belt sign patterns could indicate deeper issues for the injured victim.
Challenges in Diagnosing Seat Belt Syndrome
Seat belt syndrome is a difficult health condition because doctors find it challenging to diagnose the issues accurately from an initial examination. Some of the damage may be internal, and many symptoms of this condition overlap with other injury concerns. Here are some of the challenges in diagnosing seat belt signs and their associated injuries.
Hidden Seat Belt Injuries
Many of the injuries from seat belts are not immediately apparent to the human eye. Even if you can see bruising or abrasions representing a seat belt sign injury, this does not reveal any internal damage, such as an intra-abdominal injury or internal organ damage. As a result, many accident victims may avoid seeking treatment for potentially fatal injuries.
Some of the more serious injuries may manifest in the weeks or months to come, so scheduling a medical evaluation is critical after your accident. Whether you see a visible seat belt sign or not, seeing a medical professional after a car accident is always wise.
The sooner you are evaluated, the easier it will be to treat conditions like head injuries, abdominal pain, vascular injuries, skin abrasions, or vertebral fractures.
Overlapping Symptoms
Injuries from the chest or lap belt can manifest symptoms that overlap with other conditions.
For example, you could suffer a strained back muscle that is mistaken as damage to the spine since many of the symptoms overlap, such as back pain and stiffness.
If you receive medical care based on a misdiagnosis of an internal injury, your suffering could increase, or the initial condition could worsen. Delayed treatment due to confusing symptoms may put your life at risk.
This is why internal injuries from seat belts can be dangerous if you do not schedule a medical evaluation from an experienced professional.
Treatment and Recovery from a Seat Belt Injury
Injuries caused by a seat belt may require treatment for a full recovery. Even if the only damage is the seat belt sign on your skin, it is essential to seek a full assessment at your local emergency department. Early diagnosis is crucial to ensure your injuries don’t cause complications or death.
Medical Evaluation and Diagnostic Testing
The most important step is an accurate evaluation of your serious injury. Medical imaging tests are often used to identify internal injuries after a car accident. X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs are the most common imaging tests to help medical professionals diagnose your injuries.
Other diagnostic tests could include blood work, urine samples, ultrasounds, EMGs, neurological assessments, and physical examinations can also help identify the issue.
Whether you suffered abdominal wall damage, blunt trauma to the chest, abdominal aorta issues, damage to internal organs, or torn soft tissues, these testing methods can create an accurate diagnosis to build a treatment strategy.
Treatment Options
Once the diagnosis stage is complete, medical professionals will create a treatment plan to help you recover and manage pain. Conservative measures may include methods like pain management medication and physical therapy.
However, if you suffered a more serious injury, such as an abdominal wall tear, surgical intervention may be required. For minor injuries associated with seat belt use, rest and hot/cold therapy may be enough for a full recovery.
Rehabilitation and Long-Term Effects
Although seat belts save lives, they can still leave victims with life-altering injuries. Some seat belt syndrome conditions may require ongoing rehabilitation to regain normal function and quality of life.
For example, you may have severe damage to your spine, requiring months of therapy to build muscle while the area heals. Rehabilitation may be necessary to prevent complications from your injuries from causing further damage.
These methods are usually reserved for more serious iterations of seat belt syndrome. If you face rehabilitation and physical therapy, follow your doctor’s orders to ensure you don’t exacerbate the problem.
Seat Belt Syndrome Legal Claims
If you have suffered from abdominal pain, visceral injuries, or a delayed diagnosis from seat belt use during a car accident, you may have a legal case for compensation. When someone else’s negligence causes your suffering, you should contact an auto injury attorney and file a claim against them to recover compensation for legal damages.
Proving Causation
For a car accident lawsuit to be successful, you must prove multiple elements. One of these requirements is causation. You must demonstrate there is a clear link between the defendant’s actions causing the accident and the injuries you suffered with seat belt syndrome.
Seeking Compensation for Damages
The purpose of a personal injury lawsuit is to seek compensation for legal damages. Numerous damages may be associated with your seat belt injuries, including lost wages, medical care expenses, future medical costs, emotional distress, pain and suffering, and loss of quality of life.
The Role of a Personal Injury Lawyer
A personal injury attorney plays an essential role in your case. We will investigate the accident, assess legal damages, gather evidence, negotiate with insurance companies for fair compensation, and represent you in court.
At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, we have vast experience supporting victims of seat belt syndrome after car accidents. Our team can help you navigate the complexities of these cases while pursuing maximum compensation for your suffering.
If you would like a free consultation to discuss your case with a Chicago auto injury lawyer, call 888-424-5757 or complete our online form.