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Can an auto accident blind you?

On Behalf of | Aug 1, 2019 | Auto Accident Injuries

Unfortunately, the answer to the above question is yes. Should your eyes or head become injured in a West Virginia car accident, it could render you partially or totally blind either temporarily or permanently.

Ideal Eyecare explains that both a direct eye injury and a blow to your head could cause you to suffer retinal detachment. When this happens, your retina(s) become(s) partially or totally detached from the back of your eye(s), resulting in some or all of the following symptoms:

  • A sudden decrease in your vision
  • The appearance of a gray curtain in front of your eyes
  • Peripheral vision shadows or darkness
  • Light flashes in your vision
  • “Eye floaters” that impede your vision

Need for surgery

While retinal detachment may not cause you much if any pain, it can lead to total and permanent blindness without surgical intervention. In other words, retinal detachment represents an eye emergency for which you must seek and obtain immediate diagnosis and treatment from an experienced ophthalmologist. Your best chances of retaining your vision consist of undergoing one of the following procedures within 24 hours of the time you sustain your injury:

  • Cryopexy
  • Pneumatic retinopexy
  • Laser surgery
  • Scleral buckle

Your ophthalmologist will recommend one of the above after (s)he assesses your injury and its severity.

It goes without saying that blindness represents one of the most severe disabilities from which you can suffer. Retinal detachment, in addition, is only one of the injuries your eyes could sustain in a car accident.

This is general educational information and not intended to provide legal advice.