Hi, my name is Tracy. My husband was in a car accident several weeks ago. A truck ran a red light on the highway and slammed into my husband's vehicle. My husband was struck on the driver's side, specifically the driver's door. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance. The doctors took x-rays of his chest and left shoulder. He had no broken ribs or fractures, but later on, my husband complained about severe chest pain. It hurt him to cough, laugh, or even clear his throat. He returned to the hospital about a week later because of the severe pain, and the second set of x-rays revealed pneumonia. However, there was no evidence of pneumonia on his first x-ray (day of car accident).

Could the pneumonia be the result of the car accident? Could trauma to his chest during the accident have caused the pneumonia? What’s your opinion on this? Are the two related?