Houston Chest Injury Lawyer
A Houston chest injury lawyer helps accident victims of serious chest trauma recover compensation for serious injuries involving the ribs, sternum, lungs, heart, and internal complications. These injuries frequently occur in car accidents, 18-wheeler collisions, workplace accidents, falls, and other incidents involving significant blunt force trauma or penetrating injuries. Depending on the severity, chest injuries can require emergency surgery, hospitalization, respiratory treatment, and long-term medical care.
At Sneed & Mitchell LLP, our Houston chest injury lawyers represent individuals who have suffered fractured ribs, broken sternums, collapsed lungs, pulmonary contusions, internal bleeding, and other serious thoracic injuries because of another person's or company's negligence. Our attorneys specialize in catastrophic injuries investigate how the injury occurred, identify responsible parties, and develop evidence supporting the full extent of our clients' medical expenses, lost income, physical pain, and future medical needs.
Our Firm Is Uniquely Designed to Handle Serious Chest Injury Cases
Sneed & Mitchell LLP is built to litigate serious injury, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death cases throughout Texas. Our attorneys have the resources, medical experts, and litigation experience necessary to develop complex chest injury claims for settlement and trial.
Medical Specialist Network. We work with medical professionals experienced in rib fractures, sternum fractures, pulmonary injuries, cardiac trauma, and other serious conditions.
Causation Experts. Our attorneys consult qualified specialists to evaluate how an accident caused chest trauma and whether the injury resulted in permanent complications.
Accident Reconstruction and Liability Experts. We work with engineers, reconstructionist, and other professionals to determine how an accident occurred and identify responsible parties.
Future Damages Analysis. Serious chest injuries may involve ongoing treatment, respiratory limitations, chronic pain, and reduced earning capacity. We develop evidence supporting future medical expenses and other long-term losses.
Proven Catastrophic Injury Results. Our attorneys, including Brit Mitchell and Niles Sneed, have secured eight-figure recoveries and more than $200 million in settlements and verdicts for injured clients.
No Fee Unless We Win. We handle personal injury cases on contingency, so clients pay no attorney's fees unless we successfully recover compensation.
Serious chest injury cases require more than proving that a collision or accident occurred. We build each case around the medical evidence, the responsible parties, and the full impact the injury may have on our client's health, employment, and quality of life.
Chest Trauma Is Very Common Here In Houston, Texas
Thoracic (chest) trauma is a suprisingly common reason for emergency room visits here Houston, and account for about 25% to 30% of all major trauma center admissions. The most common mecahnism of injury was blunt force, which commonly occurs in vehicular accidents, fall injuries, crush accidents, physical assault, and explosions. Trauma to the chest is also the second leading cause of unintentional trauma that is a primary contributor to mortalititty across the world. For these reasons, it is incredibly beneficial for Houstonians to have access to major facilities like Ben Taum and Memorial Hermann's Red Rude Trauma Institute.
The Types of Chest Injuries Victims Experience
Chest injuries range from painful fractures and soft tissue damage to life-threatening conditions involving the lungs, heart, and major blood vessels. Because the chest protects vital organs, significant trauma can cause multiple injuries simultaneously, including damage that may not be immediately apparent.
Common chest injuries involved in personal injury lawsuits include:
Rib Fractures. Broken ribs can cause severe pain, restrict breathing, and lead to complications involving the lungs and surrounding tissues.
Sternum Fractures. A fractured breastbone often results from significant blunt force trauma, including impacts against steering wheels, seat belts, or other objects during collisions.
Pneumothorax (Collapsed Lung). Air entering the space between the lung and chest wall can cause the lung to collapse, sometimes requiring a chest tube or emergency treatment.
Hemothorax. Blood accumulating around the lung can interfere with breathing and may require drainage or surgery.
Pulmonary Contusions. Bruising of lung tissue can impair oxygen exchange and lead to respiratory complications.
Flail Chest. Multiple rib fractures can destabilize part of the chest wall and significantly interfere with breathing.
Cardiac Contusions. Blunt force trauma can injure the heart muscle and may cause abnormal heart rhythms or other complications.
Chest Wall and Muscle Injuries. Damage to muscles, cartilage, nerves, and connective tissue can cause persistent pain and restricted movement.
Severe chest trauma may also involve damage to the diaphragm, major blood vessels, or other internal structures. These injuries can require treatment from trauma surgeons, pulmonologists, cardiologists, and other medical specialists.
What Accidents Commonly Cause Serious Thoracic Injuries?
Chest injuries frequently result from accidents involving direct impact, compression, falls, or penetrating trauma. Our Houston personal injury lawyers investigate chest injuries arising from several types of incidents.
Car and Truck Accidents
Motor vehicle collisions are a major cause of blunt chest trauma. During a crash, a driver's or passenger's chest may strike the steering wheel, dashboard, seat belt, or another part of the vehicle.
High-speed collisions involving commercial trucks can produce significant forces capable of causing multiple rib fractures, sternum fractures, pulmonary contusions, and internal organ damage.
Our attorneys investigate vehicle damage, crash reconstruction evidence, electronic vehicle data, surveillance footage, driver conduct, and other evidence to establish liability.
Workplace and Industrial Accidents
Houston's construction, manufacturing, warehouse, maritime, and industrial industries expose workers to heavy equipment, machinery, elevated work areas, and other hazards. Chest injuries can occur when workers are struck by equipment, crushed between objects, fall from heights, or become involved in machinery accidents.
These cases may involve employers, non-subscribers, equipment manufacturers, property owners, or other companies. Whether a worker can pursue a personal injury lawsuit may depend on workers' compensation coverage, third-party liability, and other applicable laws.
Falls and Dangerous Property Conditions
Slip and fall accidents, defective stairs, broken railings, unsafe balconies, and other property hazards can cause serious chest injuries.
A person who falls against a hard surface may suffer fractured ribs, a broken sternum, or internal injuries. Our attorneys investigate maintenance records, prior complaints, inspection reports, surveillance footage, and other evidence to determine whether a property owner or another responsible party failed to address a dangerous condition.
Why Chest Trauma Can Be More Serious Than They Initially Appear
A chest injury can become life-threatening when trauma damages the lungs, heart, blood vessels, or other internal structures, even when the initial symptoms appear manageable.
For example, fractured ribs may be accompanied by a pneumothorax or pulmonary contusion. Significant chest trauma can also cause internal bleeding, respiratory distress, or complications requiring intensive care.
Some patients experience ongoing pain when breathing, coughing, lifting, or performing ordinary physical activities. Others develop complications requiring additional treatment, rehabilitation, or prolonged recovery. Medical evaluations may include chest X-rays, CT scans, electrocardiograms, oxygen monitoring, and other diagnostic testing. The severity of an injury often depends on both the damage to the chest wall and whether internal organs were affected.
Anyone experiencing significant chest pain, shortness of breath, coughing blood, fainting, or worsening symptoms after an accident should seek immediate medical attention.
What Compensation Can You Recover for a Chest Injury in Texas?
Under Texas law, victims are able to recoverable damages economic damages, noneconomic damages, and at times, exemplary damages from the at-fault party.
1. Economic Damages
Economic damages include any measurable, out-of-pocket, or documented financial costs, and includes the following:
Medical Expenses: Your past medical bills, whether paid or incurred, along with any future medical needs or ongoing care that can be reasonably anticipated.
Lost Wages: Income any times you missed from work as a result of your injuries.
Loss of Earning Capacity: This involved a person's diminished ability to earn a living moving forward.
Property Damage: The replacement or repair cost of and property that was damaged in the accident, such as a vehicle, laptop, phone, tools, or suppplies.
Out-of-Pocket Costs: Transportation to medical appointments, home modifications, or replacement services.
2. Non-Economic Damages (Subjective Losses)
Non-economic damages are subjective, but just as important to properly quantify since it considers the emotional and physiological toll of the accident on the victim.
Physical Pain and Suffering: This includes your past and future physical agony or discomfort related chest injury and recovery process.
Mental Anguish: Emotional distress, trauma, anxiety, or grief caused by the incident.
Physical Impairment: Lasting limitation or inability to perform normal daily activities or hobbies.
Physical Disfigurement: Any permanent scarring visual impairments caused by the chest injury.
Loss of Consortium: Damage to your marriage or companionship due to the harm you suffered.
3. Exemplary / Punitive Damages
This form of damages are awarded to punish a defendant and deter future misconduct rather than compensate the victim. A jury determines the amount of the punitive damages aware here in Texas, and it requires a showing of gross negligence, malice, or fraud. There are statute caps though, and there limits are codified under Chapter 41 of the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code.
It is important to note that Texas follows the doctrine of Modified Comparative Fault, meaning that you can recover compensation as long as you are not deemed 51% at fault in cause the case. If you are found to be 50% or less at fault, your overall amount of damages is reduced by your exact percentage of fault.
How Our Houston Chest Injury Lawyers Investigate These Cases
A successful chest injury lawsuit requires proving how the accident occurred, who was responsible, and how the incident caused the diagnosed injuries.
Our attorneys investigate the circumstances of the accident and preserve evidence before it disappears. Depending on the case, this may include photographs, surveillance footage, vehicle data, incident reports, maintenance records, witness statements, corporate documents, and deposition testimony.
Medical evidence is equally important. We review emergency department records, diagnostic imaging, surgical reports, hospital records, specialist evaluations, and other documentation showing the nature and progression of the chest injury.
In serious cases, our lawyers may work with accident, engineers, trauma surgeons, pulmonologists, cardiologists, and other experts to explain the mechanism of injury, medical causation, and future consequences.
Insurance companies may argue that chest pain is temporary, that a fracture has healed, or that ongoing symptoms are unrelated to the accident. Detailed medical evidence can be necessary to establish why the injury continues to affect the client's health, employment, or daily activities.
How Long Do You Have to File A Lawsuit in Texas?
Most Texas personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the date the injury occurred. This general deadline is established under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003.
However, exceptions and different deadlines may apply to claims involving governmental entities, medical malpractice, maritime injuries, and other specialized circumstances. Some claims also require notice before the ordinary limitations period expires.
Waiting can make a chest injury lawsuit more difficult to prove. Surveillance footage may be overwritten, vehicles repaired, dangerous property conditions corrected, and witnesses become unavailable.
Our Houston chest injury attorneys investigate potential claims early to identify responsible parties, preserve critical evidence, and determine the applicable filing deadlines.
Speak With a Houston Chest Injury Lawyer at Sneed & Mitchell LLP
If you suffered fractured ribs, a broken sternum, a collapsed lung, pulmonary contusions, or another serious chest injury because of negligence, our Houston chest injury lawyers can investigate your accident and explain your legal options.
Sneed & Mitchell LLP represents victims of serious chest injuries throughout Houston and Texas, including injuries caused by car accidents, commercial truck collisions, workplace accidents, and dangerous property conditions.
We handle personal injury lawsuits on a contingency fee basis and offer free consultations.
Call 713-800-6676 to speak with Sneed & Mitchell LLP, The Injury Team®, about your chest injury case.
