Understanding Chest Pain After a Car Accident

Your seat belt did its job. It kept you from being thrown forward during the crash. But now your chest hurts every time you breathe, and you’re wondering whether the restraint that protected you also caused an injury.

Chest pain after a car accident can come from the force of a seat belt, an airbag, or the sudden impact itself. Bruised ribs and strained muscles are common explanations, but the same collision can also damage your lungs, heart, or blood vessels. And the amount of pain you’re experiencing doesn’t always reflect how serious the injury is.

Even without visible injuries, it’s important to get checked by a doctor. Severe chest pain, difficulty breathing, or fainting could signal a medical emergency, so call 911 if you experience any of these symptoms.

When another driver’s negligence causes a chest injury, the medical bills, missed work, and recovery time can add up quickly. Freese & Goss can help you pursue compensation for those losses. Call (214) 761-6623 or contact us online for a free consultation.

Why Does Your Chest Hurt After a Car Accident?

Your body continues moving forward when a vehicle stops suddenly. The seat belt restrains that movement, putting pressure across your chest and shoulder. During a more forceful collision, the airbag, steering wheel, or dashboard can also strike your upper body.

These forces can injure the ribs, breastbone, muscles, cartilage, and organs inside the chest. Even without a visible bruise, the sudden movement can strain the muscles between your ribs or damage tissue beneath the skin.

Chest injuries can cause several types of pain:

• Sharp pain when breathing: Fractured ribs, chest wall injuries, and certain lung conditions can make deep breaths painful.
• Tenderness where the seat belt crossed your chest: Bruising or damage to underlying muscles can cause soreness.
• Pain in the center of your chest: An injury to the breastbone or surrounding cartilage can cause concentrated discomfort.
• Pressure or tightness: This can accompany heart or lung injuries that require urgent evaluation.
• Pain when twisting, reaching, or lifting: Strained chest muscles and injured cartilage can make movement uncomfortable.

7 Injuries That Can Cause Chest Pains After a Car Accident

1. Bruised or Fractured Ribs

The force of a seat belt, steering wheel, or impact against the vehicle interior can bruise or fracture one or more ribs. Both injuries can make breathing, coughing, laughing, and changing positions painful.

A fractured rib typically causes sharp, localized pain, while bruising causes tenderness and swelling. Distinguishing between them can require medical examination and imaging, although certain fractures don’t appear on a standard X-ray.

Many uncomplicated rib fractures heal without surgery, but severe pain can make it difficult to breathe deeply. Broken ribs can also injure nearby blood vessels or lung tissue.

2. Chest Wall Contusions and Muscle Strains

A chest wall contusion develops when the collision damages muscles, small blood vessels, and soft tissue beneath the skin. Bruising and swelling can appear across the area where the seat belt restrained your body.

The intercostal muscles, which sit between your ribs and help your chest expand during breathing, can also be strained. Pain typically increases when you twist, reach overhead, lift something, or take a deep breath.

These injuries can make sleeping, driving, and physical work painful for weeks. After ruling out fractures or internal damage, a physician can recommend pain management and activity modifications.

3. Sternum Fractures

Your sternum, or breastbone, runs down the center of your chest and connects to your ribs through cartilage. A forceful impact against the seat belt or steering wheel can fracture it, causing pain, swelling, and tenderness in the middle of your chest.

Deep breathing, coughing, and upper-body movements can aggravate the injury. Because sternum fractures can result from substantial force, doctors also check for damage to the heart, lungs, and surrounding structures.

4. Pneumothorax (Collapsed Lung)

A pneumothorax occurs when air collects between the lung and chest wall, causing the lung to collapse partially or completely. A fractured rib puncturing lung tissue or a forceful blow to the chest can cause this injury.

Sudden, sharp chest pain and shortness of breath are common symptoms. As air accumulates around the lung, breathing becomes increasingly difficult.

Doctors sometimes monitor a small pneumothorax without an invasive procedure, while a larger collapse can require a chest tube to remove trapped air. If pressure builds enough to interfere with circulation, the condition becomes a life-threatening emergency.

5. Pulmonary Contusions

A pulmonary contusion is bruising within the lung tissue. Damaged blood vessels allow blood and fluid to collect in the lung, making it harder for oxygen to enter the bloodstream.

Chest pain, coughing, rapid breathing, and shortness of breath are common signs. As inflammation and fluid accumulate, breathing difficulties can worsen over the next several hours. Severe injuries sometimes require hospitalization, supplemental oxygen, or respiratory support.

6. Blunt Cardiac Injury

A forceful impact can damage the heart muscle or interfere with the electrical signals controlling the heartbeat. These injuries are collectively called blunt cardiac injuries.

Signs of a blunt cardiac injury range from chest discomfort and palpitations to dizziness, low blood pressure, and irregular heart rhythms. Because these symptoms overlap with those of less serious chest injuries, doctors use diagnostic testing when cardiac damage is suspected.

An electrocardiogram (ECG) checks the heart’s electrical activity, while blood tests help identify signs of heart muscle injury. Concerning results can lead to additional testing or continued cardiac monitoring.

7. Aortic and Other Internal Injuries

The aorta is the body’s largest artery, carrying blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Severe deceleration during a high-speed collision can damage this vessel, causing life-threatening internal bleeding.

Warning signs include severe chest or upper back pain, difficulty breathing, fainting, and symptoms of shock. Suspected traumatic aortic injuries require emergency imaging and immediate medical treatment.

Why Chest Pain Can Get Worse After You Leave the Hospital

Chest pain can get worse in the hours or days following a car accident, even after you’ve been examined and released from the emergency room. Bruising, swelling, and inflammation can increase after the initial impact, making breathing, sleeping, and ordinary movements more painful.

Chest pain after a car accident might feel worse the following morning, especially when getting out of bed, dressing, or taking a deep breath. Adrenaline released during the collision can also temporarily affect how your body perceives pain.

As inflammation develops, bruising and tenderness in the chest wall can worsen. Pulmonary contusions can also cause increasing breathing difficulties as fluid accumulates inside the lungs.

Watch for changes such as:

• Pain that becomes more intense or spreads into your back or shoulder
• Increasing difficulty taking a deep breath
• New coughing, wheezing, or shortness of breath
• Dizziness, fainting, or unusual weakness
• A racing or irregular heartbeat

Severe or worsening chest pain, difficulty breathing, or fainting requires emergency care. For persistent symptoms or changes after your initial examination, contact your healthcare provider for reassessment.

If your chest injury has led to additional medical visits, missed work, or questions about who will pay for your treatment, Freese & Goss can help you understand your legal options. Call (214) 761-6623 orrequest a free consultation.

Your X-Ray Came Back Normal. Why Does Your Chest Still Hurt?

Not every chest injury shows up on an X-ray. Small rib fractures, damaged cartilage, strained muscles, and certain internal injuries can go undetected during an initial examination. Even without a visible fracture, injured soft tissue can cause substantial pain.

When symptoms persist or a physician suspects a more serious injury, doctors have several testing options:

• CT scans: Provide detailed images of the ribs, lungs, blood vessels, and surrounding structures.
• Electrocardiograms (ECGs): Check the heart’s electrical activity for abnormalities.
• Blood tests: Help evaluate possible cardiac injury or other complications.
• Pulse oximetry: Measures oxygen saturation and helps identify breathing problems.
• Ultrasound examinations: Help detect certain abnormalities, including fluid or air in the chest.

If your chest still hurts or your symptoms are getting worse, contact your doctor about whether additional testing is needed.

What If the ER Says You’re Fine, but the Pain Won’t Go Away?

Emergency departments focus on identifying and treating conditions that require immediate intervention. When you’re discharged, the medical team has determined that you can leave based on your examination and test results at that time.

Rib bruising, muscle strains, and cartilage injuries can remain painful for weeks. If your pain persists, follow your discharge instructions and arrange another medical evaluation. Explain how your symptoms affect breathing, sleeping, driving, lifting, or returning to work. Your doctor can assess whether you need additional testing, treatment, or restrictions while you recover.

When Chest Pain Becomes an Issue in Your Injury Claim

Insurance adjusters sometimes use a normal X-ray, delayed symptoms, or an emergency room discharge to argue that a chest injury wasn’t serious. They can also question whether the collision caused the pain or whether the medical treatment was necessary.

An attorney can challenge those arguments using medical records, follow-up treatment, and evidence from the collision. Photographs of seat belt bruising, vehicle damage, and information about the direction of impact can help establish how the injury occurred. Records documenting missed work, ongoing pain, and physical restrictions can also support the compensation being sought.

Still Dealing With Pain in Chest After a Car Accident? Contact Freese & Goss

Chest injuries can make even basic activities, from getting dressed to sleeping comfortably, a challenge. Injuries involving the lungs, heart, or major blood vessels can require extensive treatment and lengthy recovery, while even a painful rib injury can keep you from returning to your normal activities.

With more than 77 years of combined experience and over $1 billion recovered for clients nationwide, Freese & Goss handles serious accident claims involving extensive medical treatment, disputed liability, and lasting injuries. Our attorneys investigate how the collision occurred, examine the medical evidence, and pursue accountability from those responsible.

If another driver’s negligence caused your chest injury, call Freese & Goss at (214) 761-6623 or contact us online for a free consultation.