Common Seatbelt Injuries: Seatbelt Bruises, Chest Pain (2025)

What Are the Most Common Seatbelt Injuries?

In any accident, the combination of your seat belt and the force of the accident can lead to a few different types of injuries. Collectively, these injuries are sometimes referred to as “seat belt syndrome.”

Seat belt syndrome injuries can be very mild, life-threatening or anything in between. Many of them have delayed symptoms that may not seem serious at first. The best thing to do if you suspect an injury is to consult your doctor or go to the emergency room as soon as you can.

These are some of the most common seat belt injuries after a crash:

Seat Belt Sign Trauma

You may not be familiar with the term “seat belt sign,” but you would likely recognize one if you saw it. This is when the force of an accident is so severe that it leaves a seatbelt-shaped bruise or abrasion (or a collection of both) on your body.

It takes tremendous force to create a seat belt bruise like this, and if you notice one, there is a significant chance that you are suffering from internal bleeding. Internal bleeding often has few symptoms at first, but it can rapidly become fatal. If there’s a chance you have it, you should dial 911.

Abdominal Organ Damage

Many of the organs in your abdomen aren’t protected by your ribcage, and that leaves them vulnerable to injury. When it comes to seat belt injury, the most common organ injuries are to the small intestine, but your stomach, kidneys and other organs can be hurt, too.

A seat belt injury to the lower abdomen can be extremely serious. If you suspect an injury like this, you should seek immediate medical attention.

Chest and Rib Injuries

After a seat belt injury, chest pain and rib pain are fairly common. Because so much of the seat belt rests in your chest area, there are several types of potential injuries:

• Rib or sternum fracture
• Seat belt injury to female breasts
• Muscle or tendon tears

You should never try to diagnose chest pain yourself. If you have chest pain after any car accident, you should dial 911.

Is It Safer to Not Wear a Seat Belt?

Given the fact that seat belts can cause serious injuries, you might be wondering — is it safer not to wear a seat belt? While seat belts can sometimes cause injuries during car accidents, you are statistically much safer wearing a seat belt than you are without one.

Three-point seat belts (the kind seen in modern cars) started appearing in 1973. Since then, fatal car crash injuries have been reduced by a stunning 50%.

However, to keep yourself as safe as possible after a car accident, you should be on the lookout for signs of seat belt injuries. Many of these injuries don’t appear right away, especially if you’re still in shock or are experiencing an adrenaline rush from the accident.

If you start to notice signs of a seat belt injury (or any other injury), you should seek medical care as soon as possible. Even if the injury turns out to be relatively minor, early intervention will likely speed up the time it takes to heal.

Can You File a Lawsuit for Seatbelt Injuries?

A significant portion of personal injury lawsuits filed each year are due to auto accidents. If you were not at fault for your accident and suffered a seat belt injury during the process, you can generally file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver.

However, if you live in a no-fault insurance state, you may need to prove that your injury meets your state’s “serious injury” threshold in order to sue.

It’s also important to clarify that in most cases, seat belt injury lawsuits are not filed against the manufacturer of the seat belt. These types of injuries don’t generally happen because the seat belt malfunctioned; they happen because another driver caused an accident.

If your seat belt injuries were caused by an actual malfunction of the seat belt, you may be able to file a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer.

Have You Been Hurt in a Car Accident?

Car accidents are some of the most terrifying experiences you can live through. As you may have already discovered, suffering an injury during a car accident only prolongs the nightmare.

If you’ve suffered seat belt injuries in an accident you didn’t cause, you might be able to seek compensation. An experienced car accident lawyer can take a look at your case and tell you whether they believe filing a lawsuit is in your best interests.

The whole process starts with finding the right car accident attorney. But what if you don’t know where to start? Fortunately, you don’t have to conduct your search alone. At ConsumerShield, we know that navigating the legal landscape when you’re already injured can be confusing, exhausting and frustrating.

That’s why we’ve made it our mission to connect people like you with nearby attorneys who can meet their needs. Getting started is easier than you think — fill out our contact form below for a free case review!