The liver is in charge of over five hundred tasks to keep your body running properly. This important organ acts as a filter in the body and gets rid of dangerous toxins, helps maintain blood sugar levels, helps with blood clotting, and performs other vitally important functions. The liver is the second largest organ in your body (second only to your skin), but it may be an organ that you give little thought to until something goes terribly wrong.
Kentucky Car Crashes Can Cause Liver Injuries
The liver and the spleen are the two most commonly injured organs in car crashes. The spleen, however, is an organ that you can live without and it may be safely removed. The liver—for the reasons described above—is essential.
Liver injuries from car crashes may be classified as:
- Low-grade. Low-grade liver injuries include blood clots, shallow lacerations, or other injuries that do not require surgery.
- Severe. Severe liver injuries include ruptured blood clots, deep lacerations, and other injuries that require surgery. For example, surgery may be required if the liver is bleeding or if the bile ducts are damaged. In these cases surgery is important because internal bleeding and bile leakage may be fatal.
Symptoms of a Liver Injury After an Auto Accident
It may be difficult for you to determine whether your liver was hurt in a car crash on your own. The symptoms of a liver injury may be vague or delayed. However, when liver injury symptoms do occur they may include:
- Pain and tenderness in the upper right part of the abdomen
- Rapid heartbeat
- Fast and shallow breathing
- Lightheadedness
If you experience any of these symptoms or if your abdomen came in contact with the steering wheel during the crash, it is important to see a doctor as soon as possible so that a diagnosis can be made and, if appropriate, a treatment plan can be started.
Liver Injuries Are Medical Emergencies
Your doctor will examine you in order to determine if you have a liver injury, also known as a blunt trauma hepatic injury. In order to make a diagnosis, your doctor may perform or order one or more of the following:
- A physical exam to see if the liver is tender or swollen
- Blood tests to see if you may have internal bleeding
- Diagnostic tests such as a CT scan or ultrasound to see if the liver is swollen, torn, bleeding, or otherwise injured
Treatment will depend on the exact type of injury you suffered, but may include surgery. If left untreated, a liver injury can be fatal.
Get the Recovery You Deserve If You’ve Suffered a Liver Injury in a Car Wreck
A liver injury can leave you with significant medical bills, lost time from work, out-of-pocket expenses, physical pain, and emotional suffering. You deserve compensation for all of these car crash damages.
However, the insurance company or the driver responsible for paying your damages is unlikely to provide you with a fair recovery unless you fight for it. Instead, the insurance company or the driver is going to try to minimize the amount it has to pay to you. You can help protect your fair recovery by working with an experienced Louisville injury lawyer as soon as possible after your crash.
Our Louisville car accident legal team, which includes our lawyers, our staff nurse, and our paralegals, are here to help you through each stage of your claim and we will fight for the full and just recovery you deserve. To learn more about your rights, please reach out to us today to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation.
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