Suffering an eye injury in an accident comes with the risk of significantly damaging or losing your sight. If another party caused this injury as a result of negligence or wrongful conduct, one of the legal options you may have is to file a personal injury claim to recover your losses.
Learn more about common types of eye injuries and what your next steps should be.
Most Common Eye Injuries From Accidents
Eye injuries are common in a variety of accident types. Whether you’ve been in a car accident, a slip and fall, or a workplace incident, there are legal remedies for the following injuries.
Corneal Abrasions
Corneal abrasions are scratches that occur on the surface of the eye’s outer layer. The cornea is highly sensitive because it has numerous nerve endings, so any injury to the area can be highly painful. If you suffer this injury, you may feel grit in your eye and experience hazy vision.
Anything that scratches your eye can cause this. If you’re in a motorcycle accident, for example, and get flung onto the road, debris can scrape against your eye and harm the cornea. You may need antibiotic treatment due to the risk of infection.
Orbital Fractures
In accidents where you sustain blunt trauma to an eye, you can suffer a break in the orbital bones surrounding the socket. You can experience swelling that makes it difficult to see, blurred vision, bulging eyes, or sunken eyes. It’s also possible to experience numbness in the area that travels all the way down to your cheeks and nose.
Some of the most common causes of these injuries are trauma from airbags and falls.
Chemical Burns
Being exposed to any kind of corrosive substance can severely damage your eyes. These types of injuries can occur if you work with chemicals or if you are not aware of the dangers of certain household cleaning products. Chemical burns need to be rapidly addressed, or they could cause irreparable damage.
Retinal Detachment
One of the most severe eye injuries you can suffer is retinal detachment. This occurs due to violent trauma, which causes the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye to pull away from its underlying layer. A tear or hole in the retina as a result of trauma often allows fluid to pass behind it, causing this layer to separate from the back of the eye.
Getting prompt medical care is essential for preserving your sight. Typically, you will need laser surgery to address this separation.
Hyphema
Hyphema refers to a bleed that occurs in the anterior chamber of the eye, which is between the cornea and the iris, as a result of blunt force. You can have blurred or fully blocked vision. The most common cause of these injuries is trauma. To treat it, you will need emergency care and, potentially, surgery.
Legal Options After An Eye Injury In Las Vegas
If the eye injury you sustained occurred because of another party’s misconduct, you may be entitled to begin a civil action against them. A personal injury claim allows you to recover the losses you sustained if you can demonstrate that the other party owed you a duty of care that they breached.
An example would be if you were on your motorcycle and the driver of a passenger vehicle ran a red light, crashing into you and causing you to suffer an eye injury that required surgery. The driver owed you a duty of care to drive safely and lawfully.
By running a red light, they breached that duty. Since their actions resulted in an injury that caused distress and medical expenses, you can file a claim against the person.
How Long Do I Have To File A Personal Injury Lawsuit In Nevada?
Keep in mind that you don’t have an unlimited time to take legal action. Nevada has a statute of limitations of two years for most personal injury lawsuits. This may seem like a long time, but it’s not when you’re dealing with a serious injury. If you miss the deadline, you will be prevented from recovering your losses.
Reach Out To De Castroverde Law Group For A Free Consultation With A Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer
After sustaining an eye injury that another party’s misconduct caused, it’s time to act quickly. One of the first steps you should take is to reach out to an attorney who can fight for your rights. At De Castroverde Law Group, our team of Las Vegas personal injury attorneys can guide you through every step of the personal injury process.
We bring over 100 years of combined experience and dedication to the table so that you don’t have to go through this alone. Contact us today at (702) 222-9999 for a free consultation with one of our attorneys.
