Chest Injuries After a Car Accident in NYC

Many car accidents cause chest injuries to the occupants in the vehicles. As your car collides with another vehicle or a fixed object, you will likely get thrown forward and backward from the sudden impact. You might hit your seat belt, door, dashboard, steering wheel, or airbag.

You will likely suffer only a minor chest injury. But in rare cases, the impact could cause life-threatening damage to your vital organs, leaving you incapacitated or even permanently disabled.

If you’ve sustained chest injuries after a car accident in New York City, NY, contact the Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers for a free initial consultation at (212) 564 2800.

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How an NYC Car Accident Lawyer Can Help You Pursue Compensation for Your Chest Injuries

The Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers opened in 2007 to represent car accident victims in NYC. Our New York City car accident attorney has over 25 years of experience, including over a dozen years defending insurance companies against personal injury claims.

Our team uses its vast knowledge and experience to get the best possible outcomes for injured clients.

If you hire our NYC personal injury law firm for help after your car accident, we’ll:

Gather evidence proving every element of your claim, including liability and the value of your damages
Handle filings, communications, and all other aspects of your case
Negotiate with insurance companies and other adversaries as we work towards a fair settlement
Protect you against victim-blaming
Represent you in court if we cannot reach a fair agreement

Car accident injuries can require expensive medical treatment and prevent you from earning a living.

Contact the Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to discuss your car accident injuries and the compensation you can seek.

How Common Are Chest Injuries After a Car Accident in NYC?

The NYC crash statistics portal reported over 100,000 car accidents in 2022. Of these, 24,435 car crashes caused at least one injury, and 104 crashes caused at least one fatality. In total, these crashes killed 113 people and injured another 35,254.

But the NYC crash statistics portal does not report the types of injuries these motorists suffered.

A past study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that the risk of a chest injury varies depending on the type of crash:

In rollover crashes, 6%–9% have minor chest injuries, and 29%–32% have serious chest injuries
In driver’s side impacts, 6%–16% have minor chest injuries, and 49%–50% have serious chest injuries
In head-on crashes, 9%–15% have minor chest injuries, and 37%–39% have serious chest injuries
In rear-end crashes, 5%–9% have minor chest injuries, and 18%–19% have serious chest injuries

Impacts to the driver’s side of the vehicle have the highest risk of causing a chest injury. Rear-end crashes have the lowest risk.

How Do NYC Car Accidents Cause Chest Injuries?

Chest injuries in car accidents usually result from blunt trauma to the chest. This type of trauma happens when the chest hits a solid object without suffering an open wound. Hitting the seat belt, airbag, door, steering wheel, or dashboard qualifies as blunt trauma.

Chest injuries can also result from hyperextension. These injuries happen when the twisting and bending of the body during a crash stretch and tear the tissues.

What Types of Chest Injuries Can Occur in Car Accidents?

Collisions can cause several types of chest injuries, including:

Bruises

Bruises happen when you rupture blood vessels under the skin. These injuries cause discoloration, swelling, and pain. The impact of a seat belt can bruise your chest.

Chest Strain

Strains happen when the tendons or muscles in your chest hyperextend. The stretching damages the cells and can even tear the tissue.

Chest strains can produce:

Pain
Swelling
Weakness
Stiffness and muscle spasms

Strains usually heal within four to six weeks with home care.

Broken Ribs

Broken ribs can result from a powerful blunt impact. Symptoms of broken ribs include pain, particularly while breathing, and swelling. A broken rib will heal within six to eight weeks.

Collapsed Lung

If an object pierces your chest cavity, air can get pulled into your chest. The air then squeezes the lung, causing it to collapse. A collapsed lung requires emergency treatment to avoid permanent lung damage or even death.

Liability for Chest Injuries After a Car Accident in New York City

Under New York’s no-fault auto insurance system, you must first seek compensation from your PIP auto insurer. You can receive insurance benefits regardless of who caused the crash, hence the name “no-fault.”

If you suffer a serious chest injury, New York law allows you to pursue a claim against the at-fault driver. To win your claim, you must prove that the at-fault driver was negligent in causing your accident. Negligence means that the other driver failed to exercise reasonable care while driving.

Negligent drivers bear liability for chest injuries directly and indirectly related to the negligence as long as you can prove causation. Suppose another driver ran a red light and caused you to swerve and crash head-on into a light pole. You can recover compensation for your chest injuries even though the at-fault driver did not hit you.

Schedule a Free Consultation With Our New York City Car Accident Lawyers To Discuss Your Chest Injuries

A chest injury can disable or kill you. Contact the Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to discuss the compensation you can seek for your chest injury.