Liver, Kidneys, and Lungs: More Important and Susceptible Than You May Think
Why are accidents so dangerous? The answer is simple: as humans, we have a lot of important and vital organs, and those organs aren’t protected by much. Our bodies have no armor, and we are upright, exposing the most vital organs in our body.
Obviously any injury to our bodies can be devastating and life threatening. But there are some organs that, if injured, can cause us immediate and catastrophic damage. These are the organs that are vital to sustaining life.
The Kidneys
One risk of kidney injury is that the kidneys actually sit a bit below our rib cages, so they do not get the benefit of whatever protection the ribs provide. Kidney injuries also sit farther to the backs of our bodies than you may think, meaning that trauma or injury to the back, particularly the power back, can cause injury to our kidneys.
Injury to kidneys can lead to the need for a kidney transplant, and damage to kidneys can manifest with visible blood in urine, as well as the development of infections or loss of the ability to control the bladder. In some cases, the body can become toxic, if the kidneys aren’t able to properly process waste.
Because blood in the urine may not show up immediately after an accident, many people may not even realize that blood in urine is related to the accident or kidney damage.
Your Liver
You may not think of the liver as being vitally important—but it is. The ability to metabolize fluids and medicines, and to digest is vital. The liver helps make nutrients like proteins that are necessary to life.
Like kidneys, the liver isn’t projected, and may be more vulnerable than kidneys, because the liver lies in the belly area, farther to the front of the body. This means any impact to the stomach area—such as, for example, a steering when or other part of a car that goes into the abdomen—can end up causing serious liver damage.
The Lungs
Our lungs are at risk for injury in an accident, because unlike many other organisms, they can be injured in different ways. They can be injured, of course, by direct impact to the sternum area—but they can also be injured by the ingestion of fumes into the lungs, many of which are common after an accident.
Chemicals from the airbags, from the engine, or from any part of the vehicle that gets scraped or burned off, can be breathed in, causing injury.
Lungs can even be injured just by the normal operation of a seat belt (which though dangerous, is certainly less dangerous than not wearing a seatbelt at all).
Lungs are protected by the rib cage—but the opposite problem is that this means that when ribs are fractured, they can end up puncturing and damaging lungs.
Injuries to organs after an accident? Get the help you need today. Call the Boston personal injury lawyers at The Law Office of Joseph Linnehan, Jr. today at 617-275-4200 for help and a free consultation.
Sources:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3898124/
webmd.com/lung/lung-injuries#1
