After three patients were sent to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta during a three-month span in 2017 with similar catastrophic eye injuries, the chief of ophthalmology of the hospital decided to investigate if there was a connection between them. He completed a research paper on the injuries that was recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association of Ophthalmology. He found that the patients’ side mirror may have caused the injuries.
About the Injuries
The three patients were all involved in traffic accidents before they came to the hospital. They had each been driving with the passenger window down. Then, when the patient was involved in a collision, the rear-facing sideview mirror on the passenger side shattered. This sent shards of flying glass into their face, leading to devastating eye injuries.
All three men survived the accident, but they had significant eye damage and vision loss. The glass fragments penetrated the eyeball structure of each patient. Each patient had two surgeries. One was an “open globe” repair.
There are currently about 12 similar cases reported in medical literature.
Possible Solutions to the Eye Injury
The doctor noted that glass in windshields and passenger widows is shatter-resistant while the glass in the sideview mirrors is not. The doctor believed the first step to prevent the problem was to make sideview mirrors just as shatterproof as passenger windows and windshields. Another possible solution would be to apply an adhesive film on the sideview mirrors in older automobiles. Additionally, the doctor reported speaking with an official of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration about the issues.
Damages for Car Accidents Victims
When a person is injured in a motor vehicle accident, he or she can pursue compensation for the full extent of injuries. Eye injuries may require multiple surgeries and ongoing medical treatment that can be expensive. Accident victims may also suffer other injuries from shattered glass, such as traumatic brain injuries if the glass penetrates their skull or deep lacerations. Any medical expenses linked to the accident, including physical therapy and emotional counseling for the mental distress the accident caused. Over-the-counter medications and wound dressings and transportation to doctors’ appointments may also be compensatable. Speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer to determine the full extent of your damages.
