The Danger of Car Accident Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

A car crash can cause severe, life-threatening internal injuries. When you suffer abdominal trauma, an abdominal aortic aneurysm is one potential internal injury that could threaten your life.

What Is an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm?

The aorta is a major blood vessel that runs from your heart through your chest and abdomen to provide blood to different parts of your body. An aneurysm occurs when part of the aorta becomes enlarged.

According to the Mayo Clinic, you may experience aortic aneurysm symptoms, such as:

• Constant pain in your abdomen or side
• Back pain
• A pulsing sensation near your bellybutton

However, you may experience no symptoms unless your aortic aneurysm ruptures.

After a car crash, your medical team should screen you for an aortic aneurysm if you suffered any abdominal trauma. The screening process may include an abdominal ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI.

Once an abdominal aortic aneurysm is confirmed, you may consider different treatment options. Often, two treatment options are presented:

• Medical monitoring. If your abdominal aortic aneurysm is relatively small and doesn’t appear to have a significant risk of rupturing, then your doctor may recommend regular doctors’ appointments and repeat diagnostic tests, such as ultrasounds, to determine if your aneurysm is growing or at risk for rupturing. Additionally, any other medical conditions that you have that could contribute to a ruptured aneurysm may be monitored and treated.
• Surgery. The size of your abdominal aortic aneurysm may make medical monitoring insufficient. Instead, you may need surgery to prevent a life-threatening rupture. Two surgical options include an open abdominal surgery where the part of the aorta that has the aneurysm is removed and replaced with a graft. Recovery from open abdominal surgery usually takes at least one month. Alternatively, your medical team may recommend endovascular surgery which is less invasive. During an endovascular repair, a graft is placed at the aneurysm site to reinforce the aorta and prevent rupture.

A ruptured aortic aneurysm requires emergency surgery to prevent life-threatening blood loss.

Protect Your Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Car Crash Recovery

An abdominal aortic aneurysm may or may not be the only serious injury you suffer in a car crash.

If someone else’s negligence caused your car accident injuries, then you should take steps to protect your possible recovery. Specifically, you may:

• Call the police immediately after your crash. The police will secure the accident scene to prevent secondary crashes, investigate the accident, and make sure everyone who is hurt gets medical care.
• Gather evidence from the accident scene, if you can. If possible, you can take pictures of the accident and make note of witness names and contact information.
• Get medical attention as soon as possible. Some injuries, including aortic aneurysms, can occur with symptoms. Prompt medical attention can ensure that your injuries are treated as quickly as possible.
• Notify the insurer, but be cautious talking to insurance adjusters. Insurance adjusters want to maximize insurance company profits by paying you as little as possible. Anything that you say to an insurance adjuster may be misinterpreted and used against you.
• Call a lawyer for help. You won’t have to guess whether you are taking the right actions if you have a lawyer advising you.

Our car accident lawyers can help you protect your legal recovery. Insurance companies know that we mean business and are often willing to settle our clients’ claims fairly. However, if the insurer refuses to do what is right, then we will not hesitate to go to court to protect your recovery of past and future damages, including:

• Healthcare costs. Whether you have regular doctors’ appointments, ultrasounds, CT scans, and MRIs, or you need surgery and follow up appointments, your healthcare costs may be significant.
• Lost income. Any income that you can’t earn because of your injuries should be part of your recovery. Your lost income may be a partial or complete loss of income, and it should include wages, raises, bonuses, benefits, and income from self-employment.
• Pain and suffering. Aortic aneurysms can cause significant physical pain and emotional suffering.
• Other expenses. Any costs you incur because of the crash, such as transportation costs and household help, should be part of your recovery.

Have You Been Injured In A Wisconsin, Illinois or Iowa Car Accident?

If you've been injured in a car accident you should speak to an experienced car accident attorney as soon as possible. You can contact us online or call our office directly at 800.800.5678 to schedule your free consultation with one of our car accident lawyers. We have been helping car accident victims since 1964 and service clients throughout Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa.