Chest Pain After a Car Accident: When to Call 911, Possible Causes and Who Pays

Call 911 now if your chest pain is sudden and crushing, squeezing or tight, or feels like pressure; spreads to your jaw, left arm or between your shoulder blades; or comes with shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness, sweating or a racing heart. That’s from MedlinePlus, the National Library of Medicine’s health site.

If your chest hurts after a car accident and you’re worried about both your health and the bills, that’s a hard place to be. Chest pain after a crash can come from a strained muscle, a bruised or broken rib, or an injury inside the chest. Only a doctor who examines you can tell which. Get it checked, and mention the crash.

This guide isn’t medical advice. It shares what health agencies and medical journals say.

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When is chest pain after a car accident an emergency?

MedlinePlus says to call 911 if:

• you have sudden crushing, squeezing, tightening or pressure in your chest;
• the pain spreads to your jaw, your left arm or between your shoulder blades;
• you have nausea, dizziness, sweating, a racing heart or shortness of breath;
• you have sudden, sharp chest pain with shortness of breath, especially after a long trip, bed rest or other lack of movement, and especially if one leg is swollen or more swollen than the other;
• you have angina that is suddenly more intense, comes on with lighter activity, lasts longer than usual or occurs at rest; or
• you’ve been diagnosed with a serious condition such as a heart attack or pulmonary embolism.

MedlinePlus also says to get emergency help for:

• Signs of shock or internal bleeding: confusion, clammy skin, dizziness or lightheadedness after an injury, paleness, a rapid pulse, shortness of breath or weakness. Chest pain and belly pain with swelling can also be signs of internal bleeding, which can very quickly become life threatening.
• Severe chest pain. Blunt trauma to the chest, such as hitting the steering wheel in a crash, is a listed risk for a tear in the aorta, the large blood vessel leaving the heart.
• Belly pain after a recent injury to your abdomen. A belt mark can cross the belly as well as the chest.

What can cause chest pain after a car accident?

Any organ or tissue in your chest can be the source of pain, including your heart, lungs, muscles, ribs, tendons or nerves (MedlinePlus). Chest injuries can come from the force of a car accident, and certain ones may be life threatening (MedlinePlus). These are possibilities to raise with a doctor, not a way to diagnose yourself. Only a doctor can tell the cause:

• A muscle strain or inflamed cartilage. Strain between the ribs, and inflammation where the ribs meet the breastbone, can both cause chest pain (MedlinePlus).
• A bruised rib. Car accidents are a common cause. Breathing, coughing, laughing or sneezing can make it hurt more, and depending on the force, you may also have broken ribs or damage to the lungs, liver, spleen or kidney (MedlinePlus).
• A broken rib. It can be very painful because your ribs move when you breathe, cough and move your upper body, and rib fractures often come with other chest and organ injuries (MedlinePlus).
• A collapsed lung. A rib fracture is one injury that can cause it. Symptoms include sharp chest or shoulder pain that gets worse with a deep breath or cough, and shortness of breath (MedlinePlus).
• Injury to the heart, blood vessels or other organs. The force that breaks a rib can also injure blood vessels, the lungs, the heart or the diaphragm (Dilday and Haut, 2024).
• An air bag. A small 2023 pilot study on air bag burns says the bag’s force can cause injuries, along with heat and chemical burns, and that chemical burns can go unnoticed at first (Schalet and others). It didn’t study chest pain, so treat it only as a reason to show a doctor any skin damage.

What does a seat belt mark on your chest mean?

A seat belt mark, which doctors call the seat belt sign, is bruising across the chest or belly from the strap (Abbas and others, 2011). That review lists possible chest, heart and lung injuries with shoulder-and-lap belts, and says breastbone and collarbone fractures have been reported as a complication of seat belts.

A seat belt mark can go with an injury inside your body (Masudi and others, 2017), but the mark alone can’t tell you whether you have one. Only a doctor can, so get it checked. And keep buckling up: seat belts reduce serious crash injuries and deaths by about half (CDC).

Can chest pain show up days after a car accident?

It can, or it can get worse. For late symptoms of every kind, see delayed injury symptoms after a car accident. For the chest:

• Seat belt injuries. One review says research has shown many became apparent several days after the crash, in patients whose first belly exam seemed harmless (Masudi and others, 2017).
• Bleeding around the lung after a rib fracture. In a large U.S. study, a small share of people admitted with a rib fracture came back to the hospital with it, days to weeks after the injury (Ouwerkerk and others, 2023).
• Pneumonia. Painful shallow breathing can raise your risk (MedlinePlus).

Severe chest pain or shortness of breath belongs on the 911 list above. Otherwise, contact a provider if chest pain doesn’t go away or lasts longer than 3 to 5 days. With a rib injury, do the same for pain that stops you from breathing deeply or coughing despite pain relievers, a fever, or a cough or more mucus, especially if it’s bloody (MedlinePlus).

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What will a doctor check for chest pain after a crash?

Expect questions about where the pain is, how it feels, when it began, and whether breathing, coughing or bending makes it worse. Tests depend on the likely cause and your other medical problems or risk factors (MedlinePlus). They may include:

• A physical exam, including listening to your breathing (MedlinePlus).
• A chest X-ray, the usual test for a rib fracture. Some small fractures show up only on a CT scan or MRI, and those scans or an ultrasound can also help show other internal injuries (Dilday and Haut, 2024).
• Blood tests and an electrocardiogram, a recording of the heart’s electrical activity, when a collapsed lung is suspected (MedlinePlus).

A bruised rib rarely needs imaging to confirm it (MedlinePlus), so a visit without a scan doesn’t mean you weren’t hurt. Healing takes about 4 to 6 weeks for a bruised rib and at least 6 weeks for a rib fracture (MedlinePlus). Don’t wrap your chest: MedlinePlus says you shouldn’t have a belt, binder or bandage around it, because it keeps your ribs from moving when you breathe or cough, which can lead to pneumonia.

How do you document chest pain for a claim?

With prompt care and consistent records. The other driver’s insurer will look at whether your injuries are directly related to the crash, so it’s in your interest to back up your claim with as much information as you can (Utah Insurance Department). These are practical habits, not legal requirements:

• Tell every provider about the crash, where the belt or air bag hit you, and when each symptom began.
• Photograph belt marks and bruises soon after the crash and as they change, with the date.
• Keep a short daily note: pain when you breathe or cough, sleep, and what you couldn’t do.
• Keep one folder for records, bills, work notes and mileage.
• Go back if anything changes, and keep your follow-ups. In practice, a gap in care can give an insurer room to argue that something else caused the pain. That’s an argument, not a rule of law.

Hold off on signing a release until you know how badly you were hurt. A release usually takes the form of a contract that concedes a right (Cornell’s Legal Information Institute). Utah’s insurance department, for one, warns that signing one in an injury claim means agreeing that the amount offered is the only amount you will ever receive from the other driver and their insurer (Utah Insurance Department). See what to say when an insurance adjuster calls and how to preserve evidence after an accident.

Who pays for chest pain treatment after a car accident in Michigan?

Usually your no-fault auto coverage, whoever caused the crash, though your policy may have a medical limit or an opt-out. Elsewhere, it depends on your state and coverage; see who pays your medical bills while your claim is pending.

Does wearing a seat belt hurt your claim?

No. Michigan’s seat belt law penalizes not wearing a required belt, which “may reduce the recovery for damages,” but by no more than 5% (MCL 257.710e(8)). PIP benefits are due without regard to fault (MCL 500.3105(2)).

If you were belted, a dated photo of the mark can, as a practical matter, help back that up. If you weren’t, answer truthfully and read how Michigan’s seat belt law affects an injury claim.

What to do next

1. Call 911 for any danger sign above. Otherwise, see a doctor promptly and say you were in a crash.
2. Show the doctor any belt mark or burn, and report new symptoms.
3. Start your folder and daily note.
4. In Michigan, send your auto insurer written notice well inside one year of the crash.
5. Get advice before you sign a release or give a recorded statement. Get a free case review, or compare Michigan injury lawyers near you, and get any fee agreement in writing.

What waiting can cost

• Your health. Internal bleeding can very quickly become life threatening (MedlinePlus).
• Your benefits. Without written notice or a payment within one year of the crash, a lawsuit for PIP benefits can be barred (MCL 500.3145(1)).
• Your claim. Michigan’s general three-year deadline to sue runs from the injury (MCL 600.5805(2)).

What a good outcome looks like

Your chest gets checked, and your records show the crash, the marks and how you healed. PIP pays what it owes, every notice goes out on time, and you settle only once you know how badly you were hurt. From wondering whether a sore chest matters to knowing it’s been checked, written down and inside every deadline.

For more, see our checklist of 10 things to do after a car accident, recovering after a car accident and the car, truck and motorcycle accident guides.

Updated November 2, 2026

This guide is general information, not legal advice, and laws change. For advice about your situation, talk to a lawyer licensed in your state. Reading this page or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.