Eye Injuries Following Car Accidents

Suffering a Projectile Eye Injury

Car accidents are well-publicized because of how frequently they occur and their potential to cause severe injury or even death. Although people do not drive anticipating that they are going to be involved in a serious accident with injuries, collisions are still more common and more dangerous than many people realize. According to some statistics published by Aceable:

  • About one out of every three car accidents involves drunk driving.
  • Close to 20 percent of auto accidents involve one or more distracted drivers, including texting and driving.
  • One-third of auto accidents involve speeding.
  • More than 10 percent of car accidents occur in poor weather.

Based on the statistics above, it is clear that car accidents have the potential to cause significant traumatic injuries. While bone fractures and traumatic brain injuries receive a substantial amount of attention (and rightly so), other injuries should never be overlooked. One example of an often overlooked injury involves projectiles that cause damage to the eyes.

Mechanism of Projectile Damage to the Eyes 

According to a recently published review article, there are several mechanisms through which someone could sustain projectile damage to the eyes. Some of these examples include:

  • Flying debris, such as glass, metal, or wood, travels through the cabin at the time of the accident.
  • A direct impact of the airbag.
  • Particulate matter that is released when the airbag inflates.

When these examples make contact with the eye, they can cause different injuries. This ranges from minor irritation to a complete rupture of the globe.

Treatment of Eye Injuries in a Car Accident

The treatment of eye injuries from projectiles in a car accident will depend on the type of injury. Some of the examples include:

  • Foreign Body: If a small object is stuck in the eye, causing irritation, the treatment is to irrigate the area with a sterile saline solution to wash out the foreign body. If this doesn’t work, small tweezers could be used to remove it.
  • Bone Fractures: If the eye bones have been fractured, surgery could be required to assemble them. This requires a highly trained surgeon because the structure of the face could have been altered.
  • Retinal Detachments: A particularly severe injury that could result is called a retinal detachment. This happens if the retina is removed from the back of the eye. Surgery is needed to put it back in its place.

Complications of Eye Injuries from Projectiles

Several different complications might result from a projectile injury of the eye. However, the most severe difficulty is the potential loss of eyesight. This could result from direct damage to the retina, the development of glaucoma, or a complete rupture of the globe. At first, people may not notice that something has happened to their vision; over time, their sight could start to deteriorate to the point that they can no longer see. This can have profound impacts not only on their quality of life but on their family and friends as well.

Assistance from a Lawyer

Injuries to the eyes should always be taken seriously because permanent vision loss can lead to significant quality of life issues. If people lose sight, they could lose the ability to work, which could put their family under considerable stress. When a loved one has severe injuries in an auto accident, it is a good idea to take the time to meet with a personal lawyer in Sacramento. Take the time to look over every detail with a trained professional because you and your loved ones could deserve financial compensation.

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Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyers

I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer. The projectiles launched in a car accident could lead to serious eye injuries. If you or a loved one has suffered injuries in a car accident, call me at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400 for free, friendly legal advice.

I am a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

You can visit our verdicts or settlements page to see our past cases.

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Eye Injuries Following Car Accidents: AutoAccident.com

Image Attribution: The photo at the start of this article is seen in its original form on Unsplash. The image has been reproduced here with permission/ Eye Injuries Following Car Accidents.

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