Being in a car accident is frightening, but this fear is doubled when you’re pregnant. Changes in the body during pregnancy can make women more susceptible to injury. Additionally, a crash during pregnancy can hurt the child you’re carrying.
This article helps women and their families understand the unique dangers and injuries that even minor car accidents can cause during pregnancy. It also explains how pregnancy can complicate your personal injury claim. Finally, it helps pregnant women understand how an Alabama car accident attorney can help.
Injuries and Risks to the Mother and the Pregnancy After a Car Accident
Pregnancy changes the body in many ways. Here’s how it can affect the mother during a crash.
Looser connective tissue
During pregnancy, a hormone called relaxin loosens the body’s ligaments and other connective tissues. This allows the body to stretch as the baby grows. However, ligaments also keep the body – especially joints – stable. Normally, when the body experiences a jolt, the surrounding ligaments and muscles work harder to stabilize the area. But the looser ligaments of pregnancy mean that joints in the neck, spine, and elsewhere are not fully able to absorb the shock of impact during an accident. As such, pregnant women are more susceptible to injury during accidents.
Seat belt issues
Seat belts are designed to rest across the shoulder and hips. However, as a pregnant belly grows, seat belts can start to sit higher than they should. As a result, pregnant women are at higher risk for abdominal and lower back injuries, sometimes called “seat belt syndrome.”
Shifted center of gravity
As your pregnancy adds weight, your body adapts by moving it forward. This shift in weight changes your balance and posture, making it easier to strain the neck, back, and hips during a crash.
Masked Pain
After a crash, not all injuries appear immediately. Inflammation – your body’s injury response – can cause swelling that can keep injuries hidden. Pregnancy often causes fluid buildup in tissues.
After a crash, this fluid can lead to additional swelling that can increase inflammation and lead to symptoms like pain, numbness, or tingling showing up hours or days after the accident.
The fetus also faces several risks. In fact, the uterus doesn’t even need to be directly hit for the unborn baby to be harmed. Sudden deceleration — like hitting your brakes hard to avoid a crash — can stress the uterus and placenta even in a minor accident.
Injuries to the fetus can include:
- Placental abruption
- Direct fetal trauma (e.g., fractures and organ injuries)
- Premature labor and birth
- Oxygen deprivation (Hypoxia)
- Uterine rupture or laceration
- Miscarriage/Stillbirth
Medical Care, Monitoring, and Follow-Up After a Car Accident During Pregnancy
Everyone should see a doctor after a car accident – even a minor one. However, this is particularly true during pregnancy.
After a crash, your medical team will make a treatment plan for you and the baby. What they do will depend in part on how far along you are in the pregnancy. For example, after 20 weeks, part of the plan might include fetal monitoring to check for contractions or changes in the baby’s heart rate.
In most cases, in addition to serious injuries, the doctors will look for concerning signs like early contractions, bleeding, abdominal pain, abnormal monitoring results, and high blood pressure.
One test that is different during pregnancy is imaging. Tests like X-rays and CT scans use radiation that can harm both mother and child. However, your doctor may decide that the risk of radiation is less than the risk of not being able to treat your injury.
How Pregnancy Changes Your Car Accident Claim
To win a personal injury case, you and your Alabama accident attorney will need to prove that the other driver was negligent. To do that, you’ll have to prove your injuries. You’ll also have to prove that the other driver had a responsibility to act in a reasonable or lawful way, that they instead acted in an unreasonable or unlawful way, and that their actions caused your injuries. If you can prove negligence, you’ll be entitled to compensation for any economic, emotional, and other losses caused by the accident.
Pregnancy can make this process more complicated. Insurance companies often try to blame your injuries on the pregnancy rather than the accident. They might also argue that it was a “minor” crash with no visible injuries. They may even suggest that because you had a healthy baby, no real harm occurred. If you don’t keep all of your doctor’s appointments, you’ll give the insurance company the opportunity to argue that your injuries weren’t that serious.
Fortunately, documentation can help you respond to the insurers’ claims. Your medical records will show exactly how the accident affected you and your baby. Keep records of all visits to the emergency room or urgent care, as well as any new or previously scheduled OB-GYN visits after the accident. Make special note of fetal monitoring, ultrasounds, or visits with prenatal specialists.
Pregnancy also complicates compensation because in addition to the mother’s health care costs, the responsible driver will also have to cover the costs of pregnancy care, such as fetal monitoring. While this is a good thing, in some circumstances, your financial losses may be more than the other driver’s insurance policy. Your Birmingham accident lawyer can help you handle this situation.
Protect Your – and Your Baby’s – Rights After a Car Accident During Pregnancy
At Collins Law, LLC, we understand how frightening and stressful a pregnancy-related car accident can be. We also understand how Alabama law applies to these cases and how insurance companies approach them. Our goal is to help you focus on your health and your pregnancy while we handle the legal side.
If you have questions or concerns after a car accident during pregnancy, you don’t have to face them alone. Our team can help you with workers’ compensation and personal injury claims related to your car accident. Call us today at 205-588-1411 or use our online form to learn more about how we can help your family.
