A young male patient has self-extricated from his vehicle after hitting a telephone pole and rolling his car several times at a high rate of speed. He is spitting blood and has a large area of tenderness and soft tissue injury to the left side of his chest. On scene, you did not observe any paradoxical motion of the chest wall. The patient remains alert and oriented with stable vital signs, but continually complains of painful breathing. During transport, what is it essential that you do?

A) Reassess for paradoxical motion of the chest wall
B) Apply bulky dressings to the area of chest injury
C) Start positive pressure ventilation with supplemental oxygen
D) Place a nonporous dressing and ice packs to the injured area

A) Reassess for paradoxical motion of the chest wall