That is why internal injury claims demand a specific legal strategy. Our firm handles these cases the way they should be handled: with detailed medical records, qualified expert witnesses, and a trial-ready posture from day one. If you or a loved one was hurt in a crash and is now dealing with abdominal pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, deep bruising, or any other unexplained symptom, contact our Austin car accident attorneys for a free case evaluation.

What Are Internal Injuries from a Car Accident?

Internal injuries are damage to organs, blood vessels, or tissues inside the body that are not visible from the outside. In a car accident, the most common causes are blunt force trauma (chest striking the steering wheel, seatbelt compression), rapid deceleration (organs continuing to move while the body stops), and penetrating trauma (broken ribs puncturing a lung, glass or metal entering the body cavity).

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration identifies high-speed collisions, side-impact crashes, and rollovers as the crash types most likely to cause serious internal trauma. Austin’s I-35 corridor, MoPac Expressway, and dangerous intersections throughout Travis County see thousands of these crashes each year.

Common Types of Internal Injuries After an Austin Car Crash

Internal injuries from car wrecks range from contusions that heal in weeks to catastrophic organ damage requiring emergency surgery and lifelong care. The most common types we see in Austin:

Internal Bleeding (Hemorrhage)

Internal bleeding occurs when blood vessels rupture inside the chest, abdomen, pelvis, or skull. It is the leading cause of preventable death in trauma patients. Symptoms include light-headedness, severe abdominal pain, deep bruising, low blood pressure, rapid heart rate, and loss of consciousness. Untreated, it can cause organ failure and death within hours.

Ruptured or Lacerated Spleen

The spleen is one of the most commonly injured organs in motor vehicle crashes. A ruptured spleen causes massive internal bleeding and often requires emergency surgical removal (splenectomy). Patients without a spleen face lifelong infection risks and may need vaccinations and prophylactic antibiotics.

Liver Lacerations and Bruising

The liver sits in the upper right abdomen and is vulnerable to seatbelt and steering wheel impact. Liver injuries range from minor contusions to deep lacerations causing severe hemorrhage. Recovery often requires extended hospitalization, blood transfusions, and in serious cases, partial hepatectomy.

Punctured or Collapsed Lung (Pneumothorax / Hemothorax)

Broken ribs frequently puncture the lining around the lungs, allowing air (pneumothorax) or blood (hemothorax) to collect in the chest cavity and collapse the lung. Symptoms include sharp chest pain, severe shortness of breath, and bluish skin. Treatment usually involves a chest tube and weeks of recovery.

Kidney Damage

The kidneys can be bruised, lacerated, or fractured in side-impact and rollover crashes. Warning signs include blood in the urine, flank pain, and swelling in the side or lower back. Severe kidney injury may require surgical repair or, in extreme cases, dialysis.

Bowel and Intestinal Injuries

Seatbelt compression and steering wheel impact can perforate the small intestine, large intestine, or stomach. These injuries are notoriously difficult to diagnose at the scene and can release bacteria into the abdominal cavity, causing sepsis. Surgery is almost always required.

Cardiac Contusion and Aortic Injury

High-speed and head-on collisions can bruise the heart muscle (myocardial contusion) or tear the aorta — the body’s largest artery. Aortic injury is rapidly fatal in the majority of cases that do not receive immediate emergency intervention.

Pancreatic and Diaphragm Injuries

Less common but still serious, pancreatic injuries cause severe enzyme release and abdominal inflammation. Diaphragm tears can allow abdominal organs to herniate into the chest. Both typically require surgical repair.

Seatbelt Syndrome

A specific cluster of internal injuries — bowel perforation, mesenteric tears, lumbar spine fractures, and abdominal wall bruising — caused by lap belt compression during a crash. The seatbelt saves your life, but the same belt can cause significant internal trauma at high impact speeds.

Why Internal Injuries Are So Dangerous After an Austin Crash

Three things make internal injury cases medically and legally unique:

• Symptoms are delayed. Adrenaline and shock can mask pain for hours. Internal bleeding may take 24 to 72 hours — or longer — to produce noticeable symptoms.
• Severity is hidden. A patient who walks away from the crash can be in critical condition by morning. The American College of Surgeons emphasizes that trauma patients with normal initial vital signs can still have life-threatening internal injuries.
• Insurance companies exploit the gap. Adjusters argue that any delay between the crash and your diagnosis means the injury “must have come from something else.” Without strong medical documentation, even legitimate claims get denied or undervalued.

This is why we tell every client the same thing: go to the emergency room after any serious crash, even if you feel fine. That ER visit creates the contemporaneous medical record your case needs.

Warning Signs of Internal Injuries — Get to the ER Immediately

Seek emergency care if you experience any of the following after an Austin car accident, even days later:

• Abdominal pain, tenderness, or swelling
• Deep purple bruising — especially across the chest, shoulder, or abdomen from the seatbelt
• Shortness of breath or sharp pain when breathing
• Dizziness, fainting, or extreme weakness
• Blood in vomit, urine, or stool
• Severe headache, confusion, slurred speech, or vision changes
• Rapid heart rate or pale, clammy skin
• Persistent flank or back pain
• Inability to keep food or water down

Call 911 or get to a Level I trauma center such as Dell Seton Medical Center at UT or St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center. Both are equipped to handle the FAST exams, CT imaging, and emergency surgical intervention internal injuries demand.

How Internal Injuries Are Diagnosed

Internal injuries cannot be ruled out by visual examination alone. The diagnostic workup typically includes:

• FAST exam (Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma): A bedside ultrasound that detects free fluid or blood in the abdomen, pericardium, or pleural space.
• CT scan with contrast: The gold standard for identifying solid organ injury, internal bleeding, and bowel perforation.
• Chest and pelvic X-rays: To identify rib fractures, pneumothorax, hemothorax, and pelvic ring injuries.
• Laboratory studies: Hemoglobin, hematocrit, lactate, and lipase levels help identify ongoing bleeding and organ damage.
• Diagnostic peritoneal lavage or exploratory laparotomy: Used in severe trauma when imaging is inconclusive but clinical suspicion remains high.

Insurance carriers routinely challenge claims when these tests are not in the medical record. Our attorneys work directly with treating physicians and qualified experts to make sure every piece of diagnostic evidence is preserved and presented properly.

How We Prove Internal Injury Claims in Austin

Winning an internal injury case requires more than a medical record. It requires connecting the crash to the injury, the injury to the damages, and the damages to a dollar amount the defense cannot credibly attack. Our process:

1. Crash Reconstruction

We secure the police report, scene photos, dash cam and intersection camera footage, vehicle inspection data, and event data recorder downloads. Accident reconstruction experts establish the speed, angle, and force of impact — the mechanism of injury that explains the internal trauma.

2. Complete Medical Documentation

We collect every ER record, imaging study, operative report, and follow-up note. When the initial workup is incomplete, we coordinate with treating physicians to get the testing your case needs.

3. Medical Expert Testimony

Trauma surgeons, emergency physicians, radiologists, and internal medicine specialists explain to the jury exactly what happened inside your body, why the symptoms were delayed, and what your future care will look like.

4. Life-Care Planning and Economic Analysis

For catastrophic internal injuries — splenectomies, organ resections, permanent functional loss — a life-care planner projects the cost of future medical care, rehabilitation, medications, and home modifications. A forensic economist reduces those numbers to present value for trial.

5. Insurance Defense Preemption

We anticipate the standard internal-injury defenses — “delayed symptoms,” “pre-existing conditions,” “low property damage” — and address them head-on with evidence. Adjusters who see a properly built file are far more likely to settle than litigate.

Compensation Available for Internal Injuries in Texas

Texas law allows car accident victims to recover both economic and non-economic damages. In an internal injury case, those typically include:

• Past and future medical expenses — ER bills, surgery, ICU stays, blood transfusions, follow-up imaging, rehabilitation, prescription medication, and ongoing care.
• Lost wages and diminished earning capacity — time missed during hospitalization and recovery, plus future income lost if the injury prevents you from returning to your previous occupation.
• Pain and suffering — physical pain, mental anguish, anxiety, and PTSD that often follow severe internal trauma.
• Loss of enjoyment of life — inability to participate in activities you enjoyed before the crash.
• Permanent impairment — compensation when an injury (such as loss of a spleen or partial loss of lung function) causes lasting functional limitation.
• Loss of consortium — available to spouses for damage to the marital relationship caused by serious injury.
• Punitive damages — in cases involving gross negligence such as drunk driving or street racing, available under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.003.

Texas Laws That Affect Your Internal Injury Claim

Two-Year Statute of Limitations

Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003, you have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. Missing this deadline almost always ends your right to recover, regardless of how strong your case is. Claims against government entities can have much shorter notice deadlines — sometimes as little as six months. Learn more in our guide on how long you have to file a car accident claim in Texas.

Modified Comparative Fault (the “51% Bar”)

Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 33.001, you can recover damages as long as you are 50% or less at fault for the crash. Your award is reduced by your percentage of fault. At 51% or more, you recover nothing. Insurance carriers routinely try to push fault onto injury victims to reduce or eliminate payouts. See our overview of how Texas fault laws affect your car accident claim.

The Eggshell Plaintiff Doctrine

Texas law holds the at-fault driver responsible for the injuries you actually sustained — not the injuries a “hypothetical healthy person” would have sustained. A pre-existing condition (prior abdominal surgery, blood thinners, age-related fragility) does not reduce your recovery and often increases it because complications are more likely.

Minimum Auto Insurance Requirements

Texas requires minimum auto liability coverage of $30,000 per person / $60,000 per accident — nowhere near enough to cover a serious internal injury case. The Texas Department of Insurance provides detailed information on coverage requirements. When the at-fault driver is underinsured, we pursue additional sources of recovery: umbrella policies, uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage on your own policy, commercial policies if the driver was working, and third-party defendants.

How Insurance Companies Attack Internal Injury Claims

Internal injuries are the textbook claim insurance adjusters love to deny. The most common defenses we see:

• “The crash was too minor to cause that injury.” Property damage estimates do not measure forces inside the body. Low-speed and side-impact crashes can absolutely cause organ damage, and biomechanical experts can prove it.
• “You waited too long to seek treatment.” Adjusters use any gap between the crash and the diagnosis to argue the injury came from something else. Medical literature on delayed-presentation trauma rebuts this defense.
• “It’s pre-existing.” Almost everyone has some degenerative changes or prior medical history. Texas law allows recovery for aggravation of pre-existing conditions, and treating physicians can distinguish old findings from new, crash-related damage.
• “You’re partly at fault.” Even small percentages of fault reduce your recovery dollar-for-dollar. Adjusters push this aggressively in internal injury cases because the damages are so high.
• Quick lowball offers. Insurance carriers know that internal injury patients face mounting bills and lost income. They offer a fraction of the case value early, hoping financial pressure forces acceptance before the full picture is known.

Never give a recorded statement to the at-fault driver’s insurer and never sign a release without an attorney’s review. A 10-minute call with our office is free and can prevent six figures of permanent damage to your claim.

Related Car Accident Injuries We Handle in Austin

Internal injuries rarely happen in isolation. The same crash forces that rupture a spleen often produce skeletal and soft-tissue trauma. Other Austin car accident injury types we handle include:

• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) — often paired with internal bleeding in high-impact crashes.
• Spinal cord injuries — can occur alongside abdominal trauma in seatbelt-syndrome cases.
• Broken bones — rib fractures commonly accompany lung and liver injuries.
• Herniated discs and soft-tissue injuries — frequently develop alongside abdominal trauma.
• Whiplash — common in rear-end collisions that also produce seatbelt-syndrome internal injuries.

Austin Crash Types That Commonly Cause Internal Injuries

Some crash configurations produce internal trauma at significantly higher rates than others. We frequently handle internal injury cases involving:

• Head-on collisions — combined vehicle speeds create devastating deceleration forces.
• T-bone (side-impact) crashes — vehicle doors provide minimal protection, leading to crushed ribs, organ damage, and pelvic fractures.
• Rear-end collisions — often produce seatbelt-syndrome injuries even at moderate speeds.
• Multi-vehicle pile-ups — secondary impacts compound internal trauma.
• Hit-and-run accidents — require UM/UIM coverage strategy when the at-fault driver is never identified.

Why Choose Kelley Wolff Injury Attorneys for Your Internal Injury Case

Trial-Ready Approach to Every Case

We prepare every internal injury claim as if it will be tried, not settled. That posture moves insurance carriers off lowball positions early. Our founding attorneys Travis S. Kelley and Colin Wolff have decades of combined experience handling complex injury claims in Austin and throughout Central Texas.

Direct Attorney Access

You will work directly with the attorney handling your case — not a paralegal, not an intake assistant. Phone calls and emails get returned promptly. You will understand every step of the process as it unfolds.

Medical Network That Strengthens Your Claim

Internal injury cases depend on the quality of your medical documentation. We work with trauma surgeons, emergency physicians, and specialists across the Austin area who understand both the medicine and the legal evidence requirements.

No Fee Unless We Win

Every car accident case is handled on a contingency-fee basis. You pay nothing upfront. We advance the costs of investigation, experts, and litigation. Our fee comes only from the settlement or verdict we obtain for you. If we do not win your case, you owe us nothing.

Local Knowledge of Austin Roads, Courts, and Hospitals

We know the dangerous intersections on Highway 290, the I-35 chokepoints, the MoPac trouble spots, and the Travis County civil courts where your case may be tried. Local knowledge translates into faster investigation, stronger evidence, and better outcomes.

What to Do After an Austin Car Accident with Possible Internal Injuries

Six steps that protect your health and your claim:

1. Call 911 and accept transport to the ER. Even if you feel fine. Internal injuries hide behind adrenaline.
2. Request a complete trauma workup. Insist on a FAST exam and CT imaging if you have any abdominal, chest, or pelvic complaints — or if the crash mechanism warranted it.
3. Document everything. Photos of the scene, the vehicles, your seatbelt bruising, and any visible injury. Save discharge paperwork and follow-up instructions.
4. Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance. Politely decline and refer them to your attorney.
5. Follow up with every recommended specialist. Gaps in treatment hand the insurer ammunition for denial. Keep every appointment.
6. Contact an attorney as soon as possible. Evidence disappears — surveillance video gets overwritten, vehicles get repaired, witnesses move. Our guide on what to do after a car accident in Austin walks through this in more detail.

Contact an Austin Internal Injury Attorney Today

Internal injuries from a car accident are too dangerous — and too easily disputed by insurance companies — to handle without an experienced attorney. The window for evidence preservation and proper medical documentation closes quickly.

Call Kelley Wolff Injury Attorneys at (512) 470-6068 or request your free case evaluation online. We answer the phone 24/7. We handle internal injury cases throughout Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Georgetown, San Marcos, Bee Cave, and surrounding Central Texas communities.

No fee unless we win your case. No pressure. Just an honest evaluation of your claim and a clear explanation of your options.