The very first motor vehicle safety lesson that every child typically learns is to always wear a seat belt. Parents usually put children into special safety restraints, but once they move into normal seats, children still have to consistently wear a safety restraint whenever they are in a motor vehicle.
Ideally, young people who are raised understanding the importance of seat belts will consistently wear them as adults. A large number of the fatalities that occur in modern collisions involve people who don’t have this safety restraint in place at the time of a crash. There is a little question that seat belts save lives. However, they can potentially cause injuries as well. The three injuries listed below are among the most common injuries associated with seat belts.
Injuries to the neck and throat
Depending on where a seat belt falls on someone’s body and what position someone was in inside the vehicle, the seat belt could apply direct pressure to their throat during the abrupt stop that occurs during the crash. People may experience bruising caused by vascular injuries and, in rare cases, cervical spine fractures. Improperly-positioned seat belts could also damage the windpipe and impact someone’s breathing.
Injuries to the clavicle and chest
Oftentimes, the seat belt causes injury across the shoulders or chest as it restrains someone during a Collision. People may break their clavicle or collarbone. Not only is that a very painful fracture, but it can require a lengthy recovery when compared with other broken bones. Thankfully, researchers have found that injuries to the neck and chest have only minor association with significant medical concerns, even if the recovery is long and painful.
Abdominal injuries
The worst-case scenario for a seat belt injury involves the seat belt damaging the abdomen or lower torso. The pressure can cause damage to solid organs like the spleen or liver, as well as the visceral organs like the pancreas and kidneys. Injuries to the bowels are somewhat common and can cause life-threatening medical complications. People may also experience internal bleeding in the abdomen that could cause major secondary side effects.
Those with injuries caused by seat belts may overlook these issues at first and may eventually require emergency medical care because of their injuries. Understanding how people get hurt in car crashes may help people avoid mistakes when attempting to identify such injuries in themselves or the passengers in their vehicles.