When you think of injuries resulting from a car crash, it’s unlikely that an eye injury comes to mind. It is a reality that many car accident victims face.
A European study published in 2020 that looked at over 84,000 individuals with head injuries revealed that at least 2.2% of them suffered vision damage. Over 28% of those eye injuries resulted from motor vehicle accidents.
Eye injuries that can result from car accidents
Some research shows that certain eye injuries are more common among car accident victims than others, such as:
- Vitreous hemorrhages
- Retinal detachment
- Optic nerve damage
Each of these conditions has some pretty unique symptomatology. Here’s how to recognize that you may have a problem with your vision following a wreck:
- People with a retinal detachment often experience floaters, reduced peripheral vision, a flashing light or shadow-like sensation across their visual field or blurred vision.
- Those experiencing optic nerve damage may experience a bulging of their eyes, partial or complete loss of vision, double vision, blurred or dimming vision (especially related to colors) and nonreactivity to light.
- Some of the earliest symptoms of a vitreous hemorrhage include floaters and blurry vision. If left to progress, patients may begin seeing black dots in their visual field before ultimately losing the ability to see.
The symptoms outlined above are far from comprehensive. There’s no replacement for seeing either an optometrist or ophthalmologist following an automobile accident if you have any concerns, you might have suffered an eye injury. The quicker you address a potential problem, the better your chances are of saving your eyesight.
Addressing visual acuity issues can be costly. It can limit your ability to return to work so that you can support yourself as well. You may be entitled to compensation for your injuries, depending on how your incident occurred.