Eye injuries are some of the most serious types of physical harm. They often cause long-term problems with vision that affect daily activities and overall quality of life. To minimize their impact, it helps to know the causes, treatment, and legal options available after an eye injury that you received because of someone else’s negligent behavior.
What Are Common Causes of Eye Injuries?
Eye injuries can happen in a variety of settings. Here are some of the most common causes.
Workplace Accidents
Working in certain industries, including construction, manufacturing, and landscaping, comes with an inherently higher risk of eye injuries. Employees are frequently exposed to hazards like flying debris, chemicals, and dangerous materials. Tampa has a robust construction industry, and workers often use heavy machinery, power tools, and toxic substances.
Some of the more common eye damage situations in these settings include:
- Foreign objects (e.g., dust or wood chips) scratching the eye and causing irritation
- Chemical burns affecting the eye and causing severe trauma, even in small amounts
- Blunt trauma from heavy tools or falling objects hitting the eye and leading to bruising, eye socket fractures, and even vision loss
Jobs in these industries tend to require eye protection while in the workplace. However, if safety procedures are lax or go ignored, your chance of injuring your eyes rises considerably higher.
Car Accidents
In a crash, a person’s face could come into contact with any surface inside the car, such as the steering wheel, airbag, or even shattered glass. Regardless of what hits the eye, the accident can cause serious damage.
While they do save lives in many situations, airbags also put people in danger of eye injuries. For instance, they can cause blunt-force trauma to the eye. Direct impact on the eye could cause swelling, bruising, as well as more severe issues like retinal detachment.
Airbags also put you at risk of experiencing penetrating injuries to your eye. Shards of glass and other sharp objects can stab the eye and potentially lead to permanent damage if not treated immediately.
Additionally, the chemicals and dust from the airbag being deployed can lead to severe eye irritation. The condition is called airbag keratitis, and a person can suffer from redness, blurred vision, and decreased ability to see. Medications will be needed to avoid vision loss.
Sports and Recreational Activities
Tampa is a hub for outdoor sports and other recreational activities, and these come with certain risks. Athletes who play sports like baseball, basketball, and football could be struck in the face with the ball, players’ elbows, and other equipment. Even cycling and swimming can lead to eye injuries if the person doesn’t take the proper precautions.
Scratches and impact injuries are common in these settings, which can lead to a variety of problems like corneal abrasions and detached retinas. If the blow is hard enough, it can cause a fracture or break around the eye socket.
Household Accidents
A surprising number of eye injuries happen at home.
Everyday activities expose people to several potential dangers that can damage their vision, including:
- Chemical exposure from cleaning products
- Sharp objects
- Hot oil or grease
- Hot tools like curling irons
- Debris that shoots out of the lawnmower
- Tripping hazards
- Power tools
- Bungee cords
- Woodworking
For some of these, it’s highly recommended that you wear eye protection. Obviously, that’s not doable all the time, so just keep in mind how such activities can damage your vision and be as careful as possible.
Acts of Violence
Unfortunately, far too many Tampa residents encounter violent people. Whether you experience a fistfight, an assault, or domestic violence, physical confrontations often lead to serious eye damage. Blunt force trauma, cuts, bruises, and socket fractures are common in these kinds of situations.
What Are the Symptoms of Eye Injuries?
Eye injuries vary widely in severity, but most share similar symptoms that shouldn’t be ignored. These include:
- Blurred vision
- Pain or discomfort in the eye
- Redness
- Swelling
- Light sensitivity
- Visible cuts or punctures
- Blood in the white part of the eye (subconjunctival hemorrhage)
- Double vision
- Loss of vision
- Watery eyes or excess tears
- Discharge from the eye (bloody or otherwise)
- Sudden increase in floaters
- Seeing stars or flashes of light in your vision
- Unequal pupil size
- A feeling that there’s something in your eye
- Pain with eye movement
- Inability to move the eye normally
If you experience any of these symptoms after an accident, have them checked out by a doctor as quickly as you can. An ophthalmologist or optometrist will take a look at your eyes to see whether they’ve been injured or not. If they have, these professionals can guide you toward the best kind of treatment for your situation.
What Are the Potential Treatment Options For an Eye Injury?
Treatment for an eye injury depends on its type and severity.
Minor ones like scratches on the eyeball or small foreign objects are generally easy to treat and might involve:
- Flushing: Running water or a saline solution through the eye to clear out what’s causing the irritation
- Antibiotic Eye Drops: Applying medicine to the eye to reduce the risk of infections
- Eye Patch: Covering the eye with a protective patch to keep irritants away during healing
More severe injuries, like retinal detachment, socket fractures, and deep cuts, might need surgical intervention. Laser surgery can repair the retina and prevent vision loss, while reconstructive surgery can restore both function and appearance. A vitrectomy (removing the vitreous gel from the eye) might be needed to repair damage caused by trauma.
What Are Your Legal Options After Suffering an Eye Injury in an Accident?
Have you received an injury to your eye because of someone else’s negligence? If so, you might be able to collect compensation for your medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, and any other expenses that resulted from the accident.
Common scenarios where legal action might be warranted include:
- Workplace Accidents: Especially if your employer didn’t offer adequate safety equipment or keep a safe working environment
- Car Crashes: If the other driver caused (or was mostly responsible for) the car accident
- Product Liability: Defective products that contributed to your injury, including faulty protective eyewear or malfunctioning airbags
- Premises Liability: Hazardous conditions on someone else’s property, whether public or private
In any of these situations, it’s important that you collect all relevant evidence and talk to a Tampa personal injury attorney. They’ll help you figure out if you have a viable case and guide you through the next steps.
Protect Your Vision and Your Rights – Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer If You Need Help With an Eye Injury Claim
Trauma to the eye can have life-altering consequences. If you’ve been hurt in an accident that led to an eye injury in Tampa, FL, contact Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers today at (813) 223-6200. We’ll set up a free evaluation of your case and help you fight for the compensation you’re entitled to.
