Most of us are taught from an early age that wearing seat belts is safer. Wearing seat belts reduces the risk of serious crash-related injuries and deaths by about half, according to the CDC. However, seat belt use is actually associated with several internal injuries. These injuries are known as seat belt syndrome. Some of these include a ruptured spleen, heart injury, gallbladder injury, and sternum fracture. The risk of abdominal injury from a seatbelt in a car accident is considered more acceptable than the risk of being ejected, which is created by not wearing a seatbelt.
Can You Rupture Your Spleen in a Car Accident?
The spleen is actually one of the most common internal organs injured in a car accident. Believe it or not, between 50-75% of all spleen ruptures are caused by car accidents. The spleen is an organ located in the upper left part of the abdomen behind your ribcage. It filters red blood cells and helps produce white blood cells to fight infection. Despite its seemingly protected area, the chest compression caused by the seatbelt locking up during a sudden deceleration auto collision can cause damage or even a tear in the spleen. It will typically result in substantial chest/abdominal pain.
Anyone experiencing significant chest pain after a car accident should go to the emergency room immediately, as a spleen injury is one of a few serious injuries that chest pain may indicate. Treatment of this sort of abdominal injury from a seat belt in a car accident may be as simple as letting the tear or bruise heal on its own, or it may require surgery.
Can A Seat Belt Cause Injury to Your Heart in a Car Accident?
While there are studies to support that a seat belt injury could result in myocardial contusion or a bruised heart, it is far more common in cases of severe impacts involving sternum fracture. Impacts with the steering wheel when not wearing a seatbelt and airbag injuries are more likely culprits of this injury. In any event, if you are experiencing severe chest pain after a car accident, you should seek emergency medical care. Elevated blood pressure or a heart contusion can lead to a heart attack or other serious issues.
Can You Rupture Your Gallbladder in a Car Accident?
Seat belt trauma in a car accident can result in the rupture of a person’s gallbladder or bruising and inflammation of the gallbladder. The gallbladder is a small organ next to the liver that stores bile the liver produces. The gallbladder is located in the upper right abdomen. When the seat belt compresses the chest, blunt force trauma to the gallbladder may result in a tear or rupture, allowing the bile to leak into parts of the body it is not meant for. This can be a life-threatening injury; thus, medical care should be sought immediately when suspected. If a rupture, or an injury likely to cause one, is confirmed, your doctor will likely remove the gallbladder and treat you with a course of antibiotics to prevent the bile from causing an infection.
Can You Fracture Your Sternum in A Car Accident?
You most definitely can sustain a fractured sternum in a car accident. A fractured sternum is not only a common injury in a car wreck, but it is also the most commonly misdiagnosed injury in emergency rooms. The sternum is a flat bone in the front of your chest that attaches to the rib cage and helps protect your internal organs, such as the heart and lungs. Most broken sternums will heal up on their own over time. However, they can cause pain for 3 months or more after an accident. Any impact severe enough to fracture a person’s sternum also risks injuring the organs it protects, and the sternum pain may mask the organ pain. Thus, it is wise to go to the hospital at once and get checked out for chest trauma injuries.
Conclusion
Wearing seatbelts can result in abdominal injuries in a car accident. However, the reality is that the risk of these internal injuries is considered far more acceptable than the risk of being ejected from the vehicle. Additionally, those injuries can serve as evidence of seat belt use in a case where the defense tries to claim you were negligent for not using your seat belt. Nonprofits like the Kailee Mills Foundation are dedicated to educating the public about the benefits and risks of wearing a seat belt. Your odds of surviving a serious crash are substantially higher if you are not ejected from the vehicle. However, victims should not take the signs and symptoms of internal injuries lightly. Call an ambulance and get checked out.
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