While motor vehicle crashes are one of the leading causes of injuries in this county, studies also indicate accidents are a major contributing factor to serious eye injuries. The risk factors for an eye injury are significant during a car accident and can include exposure to shattered glass on your windshield, rapid changes in velocity, and deployment of an airbag.
Researchers are calling for more studies to be done on motor vehicle-related eye injuries to help physicians diagnose, manage, and treat eye injury victims. One of the challenges they face is that car accident victims can’t often tell when their eyes have been injured. If they sustained other injuries, they might not realize that their eyes have been hurt as well. Some injuries can lead to slow bleeding in the eye, which will only become obvious to the victim when the bleeding worsens.
Since untreated eye injuries can lead to vision loss, it’s important to visit your physician immediately after a car crash, and to see if it’s necessary to schedule a visit with an optometrist or ophthalmologist. It’s also important to seek out the advice of a personal injury attorney, since an eye injury needs thorough documentation when pursuing monetary damage.
What Eye Injuries are Common After a Car Accident?
Eye injuries are more common than many people assume. They can result from many different situations, including getting punched in the face during a fight, getting hit in the face while playing sports, or being accidentally splashed by chemicals. Even in situations like this, eye injuries can initially seem minor, especially if they don’t seem to impact your vision. But there’s no question that any injury should be examined by a specialist right away.
Car accidents can be a serious cause of eye injuries, particularly trauma-related injuries that result from the face coming violently into contact with a steering wheel, airbag, or broken glass. For example, the powders used on airbags can lead to chemical burns that may initially feel like nothing more than mild irritation but can lead to permanent damage.
Broken glass can lead to lacerations, another very serious concern, or to corneal abrasions, or damage to the surface of your eye. Car accident victims can also suffer hemorrhages, or blood in the vitreous, which is the substance in the center of the eyeball, or optic nerve damage. Any kind of head injury can cause increased pressure on the optic nerve. And anyone who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident can potentially experience vision disorders related to the accident.
To summarize, these are some of the most common eye injuries after a car accident:
- Chemical burns
- Lacerations on the surface of the eye
- Corneal abrasions
- Blood in the vitreous
- Optic nerve damage
You should seek treatment and care even if you’ve been in a minor auto accident such as a fender bender. Common injuries from rear-end collisions like concussions or whiplash can sometimes lead to headaches, nausea, sensitivity to light, or blurred vision.
What are Common Symptoms of an Eye Injury?
The loss of your sight is a devastating, life-altering experience, which is why it’s important to be aware of the possible symptoms of any eye damage. Things to look for include:
- Blood in the clear part of your eye
- One eye isn’t moving as well as the other
- Difficulty seeing
- Pain in the eye that doesn’t let up
- A cut in your eyelid
If you’ve gotten metal or glass in your eye during a car accident, that’s very serious and these objects can become embedded in the surface of the eye and lead to significant damage. If this happens to you, it’s important that you:
- Don’t rub the eye.
- Use eyewash, saline solution or tap water to flush the eye out
- Go to the emergency room right away
The bottom line is that if you suffered an eye injury in an accident caused by another driver’s negligence, you deserve compensation. The impact from a car accident to your head or face can impact your vision, potentially leading to blindness. Even less severe forms of eye injury can be permanent. That’s why it’s crucial to find an experienced car accident attorney who can work to ensure you get the compensation you deserve.
Experienced Louisiana Car Accident Lawyers Near You
One of the most important things you can do right after you’ve been in a car accident is to contact an experienced personal injury attorney. Your attorney will become your trusted partner and advocate, who will work to ensure you have the evidence needed for your insurance claim and that the insurance company doesn’t try to limit how much you receive.
In Louisiana, attorneys with E. Orum Young Law have decades of experience negotiating with insurers to reach fair settlements for their clients. E. Orum Young Law strives to handle all the complex legwork necessary to pursue a successful claim so you can focus on healing. We have more than 35 years of experience protecting Louisiana drivers and are ready to fight for you.
Call (318) 303-4194 or complete our contact form for a free case evaluation. Our Trial Guarantee ensures that we will take your case to trial if you are ever dissatisfied with the initial outcome.
