What Are the Risks of Crush Injuries After a Car Accident?
The human body is strong and resilient, but it will never win in a battle against a multi-ton automobile. You could suffer a wide range of injuries in a car accident, including crush injuries. Crush injuries occur when the body experiences enormous force or pressure from an outside object. Outcomes vary quite a bit, depending on which part of the body is hit, how fast the object was moving, and how heavy the object was. In some cases, these injuries can be fatal.
It is crucial to fight for fair compensation after a car accident. The team at Peake & Fowler can help you. Give us a call at 803-788-4370 to set up a consultation at your earliest convenience.
How Crush Injuries Happen
The term “enormous force or pressure” is fairly broad, and for good reason—crush injuries happen in many different ways, and your body can suffer harm in an alarming variety of ways in a car crash. Crush injuries may occur when:
- You slam into your dashboard or steering wheel at high speed
- You are pinned between your car and the road, median, or guardrail
- A much heavier vehicle strikes yours and crumples your car around you
- You are hit head-on by a car while walking or riding a bicycle
- You are thrown from your vehicle and hit the ground with significant force
- An object from either vehicle hits you at high speed in a crash
As you can tell, crush injuries require significant weight, high speed, or both. Because of this, the faster both cars are driving and the heavier the other vehicle is, the more likely you are to suffer a crush injury.
Crush injuries can leave you with a wide range of serious injuries, some of which are detailed below.
Limb Damage
If one or more of your limbs are crushed or pinned in an accident, you are on a very tight timeline if you want to have any chance of saving it. Limb ischemia occurs when the arteries of the lower limbs are blocked, preventing blood from reaching the affected extremity. This can cause rapid cell death in the affected area, and if you don’t receive treatment right away, amputation may be necessary.
Even with immediate treatment, an amputation may be required. Should you save your limb after a crush injury, extensive medical treatment may be required. Afterward, you may need physical therapy to regain strength and mobility in the affected area.
Damage to Your Organs
Your organs can suffer significant damage after a crush injury. Blunt force trauma can cause ruptures in the affected organs, often leading to internal bleeding. In some cases, ruptured organs can be surgically repaired. In others, internal bleeding can be fatal or the injury may lead to organ failure. This is why any pain or discomfort after a car crash warrants immediate medical care.
Internal Bleeding
Internal bleeding is always an emergency. When you begin bleeding out into your body’s cavities, the body will pump more blood to the site in order to try to maintain blood flow. This can only last so long before your body exhausts its entire blood supply. Internal bleeding is often identified by a patient’s fatigue, extreme paleness, purple bruising, and coldness.
Loss of Nerve Function
If your nerves are crushed during a car accident, you could experience a temporary or permanent loss of nerve function. In some cases, nerve function causes numbness, tingling, or weakness. In other cases, victims can still feel sensations in the affected area but they are unable to control it as they did before. Loss of sensation and mobility are common.
Crush injuries can impact you long-term or even change how you use your body for the rest of your life. You should always get checked out by a doctor after a car accident. Doing so could help you get the prompt treatment you need for a full recovery.
Choose Peake & Fowler for Your Personal Injury Claim
If you’ve been left with crush injuries after a car accident, it’s time to talk to the car accident attorneys at Peake & Fowler. We’ll investigate your accident and advocate for you with the insurance company. Schedule your consultation now by calling us at 803-788-4370 or filling out our contact form.
