What Dental Injuries Can I Include in a Crash Claim?

dentist explaining dental x-ray The impact of a crash may cause victims to fracture, knock out multiple teeth or worse. Sometimes these damages may even require surgical intervention. Yet dental injuries, which happen fairly often in collisions, are rarely talked about.

Schmidt Kramer addresses this topic because dental injuries can be severe, disfiguring and expensive to treat. Victims with dental injuries need to know they may be able to include these damages in an injury claim.

Learn more about dental injuries caused by a car crash, including when they may be included in your legal claim to recover compensation.

Did you suffer dental injuries and other damages in a collision? If so, we recommend seeking legal help without delay. Our Harrisburg vehicle crash lawyers have extensive experience and are ready to help.

Call 24/7 to request your FREE case review. (717) 727-1403

When Can You Include Dental Injuries in a Crash Claim?

You may be able to include dental injuries from a crash when you file your injury claim. These damages would be calculated and included with other losses caused by the at-fault driver’s negligence. However, like most injury claims, the burden of proof is still on the victim to prove there was negligence. Victims must also be able to prove their dental injuries were directly caused by the crash and not something else.

It is important to point out that the insurance company will give you a hard time when you try to include dental injuries in a crash claim. They may say you are trying to take advantage of your situation to get money for cosmetic enhancements. They may even say your dental injuries happened elsewhere and try to cast doubt on your character and credibility. If the insurance company is successful, this is just the type of argument that can badly hurt your claim.

Hiring an experienced attorney, however, could benefit the outcome of your claim. For one thing, injury lawyers know how to deal with insurance companies and the arguments they raise. We also have extensive knowledge of all the damages that you can include in a crash claim, and we will not leave any cash on the table. Victims, for instance, could lose out on thousands of dollars by not including compensation for their dental injuries.

It is a well-known fact that victims who seek legal help often recover significantly more compensation than those who do not.

How Do I Recover Compensation for Dental Injuries After a Crash?

The most important thing you can do is get to the emergency room after being involved in a crash. If you have dental injuries, a trauma doctor will be able to diagnose the damages you sustained. This is critical to ensuring you receive the emergency medical and dental care you need as quickly as possible. However, it also helps if you decide to pursue a claim. Your entire emergency room visit gets documented in your medical records, along with any diagnostic testing, such as X-rays or MRIs, that were done.

Medical records provide hard evidence that help to link your dental injuries and other damages to the crash. Even the insurance company would have a difficult time disputing these documents.

Once your injuries have been stabilized, we strongly recommend seeking legal help without delay. Having a licensed attorney on your side provides more than peace of mind. It means you have someone who has extensive knowledge of the law protecting your rights and fighting for the compensation you need.

How Could Dental Injuries Affect a Crash Victim?

Dental injuries can leave victims with more than cosmetic damages. In fact, they can be significant enough to cause crash victims to suffer:

Severe infection
Pain or difficulty chewing
Disfigurement and scarring
Permanent loss of one or more teeth
Loss of confidence when speaking or smiling
Cosmetic damages
TMJ Disorder
And more

The impact of a collision could cause a crash victim to suffer other damages, such as internal soft-tissue injuries to the mouth, tongue and facial muscles. Victims may also sustain a facial fracture or a dislocated, fractured or misaligned jaw.

What Types of Dental Injuries Are Common in Traffic Accidents?

These are some of the most commonly-seen dental injuries victims could sustain in a crash:

One or more fractured teeth: People may mistakenly believe that fractured teeth are a minor injury. However, even a chipped or cracked tooth can leave a victim feeling disfigured. In more severe cases, victims may have sustained more than a visible fracture. For these victims, the damages may also extend to the nerves beneath the surface. If this injury is not treated, it could become badly infected. It may sometimes be necessary to remove the tooth altogether.
Tooth luxation: In a crash, a dental injury could cause damage to the tissues, ligaments and even the bone that is holding the tooth in place. The supporting tissue may get stretched or torn, and the blood supply may get cut off to the affected tooth. Sometimes this injury is bad enough to knock a tooth loose. To treat this injury, the victim will likely need to have restorative dental surgery to help save the tooth.
Dental avulsion: An avulsed tooth is what happens when a crash victim’s tooth gets completely knocked out of its socket. Sometimes, it may be possible to salvage the natural tooth. However, this procedure is more likely to be successful if it is done within 30 minutes to one hour after being knocked out. If this procedure fails, then it may be necessary to surgically replace the tooth with a new one.

How Do Dental Injuries Happen in a Crash?

A crash can cause painful dental injuries when victims strike a dashboard, steering wheel or some other hard object. High-speed crashes are often a contributing factor when there are dental, facial or jaw injuries. That said, even the force of an airbag deploying can be enough to fracture or dislodge one or more teeth.

Collisions may also cause victims to sustain injuries to their mouths or teeth indirectly. For instance, if the impact of the collision forces the victim’s mouth to suddenly clamp shut, forcefully pressing the upper teeth onto the lower teeth. This can damage teeth in many ways, but it can also cause victims to suffer a temporomandibular (TMJ) injury. This disorder can be extremely painful, making it difficult for victims to chew or eat.

Call Our Trusted Firm For Legal Help Today

After a crash that caused you to suffer from dental injuries and other damages, you may be eligible to seek significant compensation.

Find out more about your legal options in a free case review. There is no obligation or risk to you. If you choose our firm to represent you, there are zero upfront costs to pay. We also charge no fees unless we win your case.

Call Schmidt Kramer today. (717) 727-1403

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Are My Dental Injuries Covered in a Crash Claim?