Dr. Matthew White

Dr. Matthew White, M.D., director of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology at NYU Langone Medical Center, has treated a number of patients who suffered facial trauma from taxi accidents. 

He says the injury is common at NYU Langone and Bellevue Hospital.

“It’s devastating for patients,” White says. “The momentum of the force [of the crash] carries the passenger forward into the acrylic glass and slams their face right into it. There is a lot of bone trauma, so facial fractures -- things like nose fractures, cheek fractures or what we call the tripod fracture,” he added, referring to an injury that breaks the bones that support the face.

Though the resulting injuries can be grisly (one New York City woman needed 50 stitches after a 2012 crash according to White), they are extremely preventable.