Blunt Force Trauma & Personal Injury Lawsuits

Blunt trauma can cause a range of debilitating, painful, and lasting injuries. Depending on what causes this injury, blunt force trauma can impact several areas of the body — and it can happen on the roads, at work, at home, and elsewhere.

When it does, some type of negligent action is usually to blame, and victims can be left with lots of questions about their rights and the options for recovery.

To help them start to pick up the pieces, here’s a closer look at the causes of blunt trauma, who may be liable, and what injured folks should know to protect their rights and interests as they move forward.

What Is Blunt Force Trauma?

Blunt force trauma, or simply blunt trauma, describes the injuries that occur when some object forcefully makes contact with any part of the body. With these types of injuries:

• Moving objects can strike or fall on people.
• Objects can be stationary while people are moving, crashing into the still object.
• Both people and objects may be moving before colliding with each other.

Generally, the faster objects and/or people are moving before the moment of impact, the worse the injuries tend to be. Similarly, heavier objects — as well as head-on impacts — typically result in more severe blunt force trauma injuries.

Depending on where the points of impact occur, some of the injuries that victims can end up with include:

• Bruising
• Lacerations
• Nerve damage
• Internal bleeding
• Organ damage or ruptures
• Severe bone fractures
• Neck and back injuries
• Traumatic brain injury (TBI)

How & Where do Blunt Trauma Injuries Occur?

Accidents that cause blunt trauma injuries can happen almost anywhere. Specifically, these accidents can include (and are not limited to):

• Motor vehicle accidents: From car crashes and 18-wheeler wrecks to motorcycle wrecks, bus accidents, and beyond, traffic collisions can leave victims inside and outside of vehicles with blunt trauma, the worst of which can be life-threatening or deadly. Driver negligence is a leading cause of auto accidents in Texas and throughout the U.S.
• Work accidents: Explosions, crushing accidents, and slip and falls are just a few of the occupational accidents that can cause workers to sustain on-the-job blunt force trauma. Safety training failures, equipment maintenance failures, and other forms of negligence often contribute to work-related blunt trauma.
• Accidents at risky properties: From public to private properties, failures to maintain safe premises or warn visitors of on-site risks can lead to accidents and blunt trauma.
• Accidents with dangerous equipment or products: When faulty or defective products malfunction, they can explode, collapse, fall, or otherwise fail to work, potentially causing injuries like blunt force trauma.

No matter where blunt trauma injuries occur, they usually happen because something has gone wrong, mistakes have happened, or some party has failed to take the necessary safety precautions.

When Can Blunt Force Trauma Victims File a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Victims may have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit when:

1. Blunt force trauma has been primarily caused by another party’s negligence: If victims were partly at fault, they may still be eligible to collect compensation in Texas, depending on their degree of fault (and as long as they are not primarily at fault).
2. The accident or injury diagnosis occurred within the past 2 years in Texas: This is the statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Texas. While this is mostly cut and dry, there can be some exceptions to the rule.
3. Victims have not already accepted a settlement for their injuries: Insurance companies can be underhanded about how they try to get victims to “accept” settlements. So, don’t cash any checks they send over if you’re a blunt force trauma victim and you get an unexpected check from an insurance company.

There are several other factors to consider when assessing the viability of suing over blunt trauma, and victims can get answers about their rights and the available legal remedies by talking to a personal injury lawyer.

Do I Need to Talk to a Personal Injury Attorney?

It’s prudent to consult an experienced personal injury lawyer if you are concerned about your recovery, you’re looking to get justice, and you don’t want to gamble with your rights or a potential claim as you proceed.