A crush injury of the larynx or cervical trachea can occur in head-on collisions when the neck is hyperextended and strikes the steering wheel or dashboard; this has been called a "dashboard injury". The larynx and cervical trachea may also be injured in front-on collisions by the seat belt.Although the mechanism is not well understood, TBI due to blunt trauma is widely thought to be caused by any combination of three possible mechanisms: an increase in pressure within the airways, shearing, and pulling apart. The first type of injury, sometimes called an "explosive rupture", may occur when the chest is violently compressed, for example when a driver strikes the steering wheel in a vehicle accident or when the chest is crushed. The pressure in the airways, especially the larger airways (the trachea and bronchi), quickly rises as a result of the compression, because the glottis reflexively closes off the airways. When this pressure exceeds the elasticity of the tissues, they burst; thus the membranous part of the trachea is more commonly affected by this mechanism of injury than cartilaginous portions.The second mechanism may occur when the chest is suddenly decelerated, as occurs in vehicle accidents, producing a shearing force. The lungs are mobile in the chest cavity but their movement is more restricted near the hilum.
Adults
Trauma recovery model
Judith Lewis Herman, in her book, Trauma and Recovery, proposed a complex trauma recovery model that occurs in three stages: 

Establishing safety
Remembrance and mourning for what was lost
Reconnecting with community and more broadly, societyHerman believes recovery can only occur within a healing relationship and only if the survivor is empowered by that relationship. This healing relationship need not be romantic or sexual in the colloquial sense of "relationship", however, and can also include relationships with friends, co-workers, ones relatives or children, and the therapeutic relationship.Complex trauma means complex reactions and this leads to complex treatments. Hence, treatment for C-PTSD requires a multi-modal approach.It has been suggested that treatment for complex PTSD should differ from treatment for PTSD by focusing on problems that cause more functional impairment than the PTSD symptoms. These problems include emotional dysregulation, dissociation, and interpersonal problems. Six suggested core components of complex trauma treatment include:
Safety
Self-regulation
Self-reflective information processing
Traumatic experiences integration
Relational engagement
Positive affect enhancementThe above components can be conceptualized as a model with three phases. Every case will not be the same, but one can expect the first phase to consist of teaching adequate coping strategies and addressing safety concerns. The next phase would focus on decreasing avoidance of traumatic stimuli and applying coping skills learned in phase one. The care provider may also begin challenging assumptions about the trauma and introducing alternative narratives about the trauma. The final phase would consist of solidifying what has previously been learned and transferring these strategies to future stressful events.