Car accidents can result in many different injuries, ranging from mild to severe. When you’re in an accident, it’s important to seek medical attention immediately, even if you think that you’re okay. Internal injuries, including some crush injuries, may not be immediately evident. The sooner you’re treated, the more likely you’ll be to survive and recover completely.
What are crush injuries and how do they happen?
Crush injuries occur when the body is impacted by extreme force or pressure. For instance, being pinned between two objects may lead to crush injuries. This type of injury is especially common when vehicles hit each other or another object at high speed.
Cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians are also vulnerable to crush injuries—there’s very little to protect them from injuries, unlike vehicle passengers.
Crush injuries can include visible or internal severe injuries as well as minor damage. They’re not always obvious, and can take hours or days to fully manifest.
Common crush injuries include:
- Bleeding (internal or external)
- Compound fractures
- Nerve damage
- Crushed muscles or crushed soft tissue
- Organ damage
- Lacerations and contusions
- Nerve damage
- Swelling
Risk factors include the victim’s overall age and health (children and seniors are at a greater risk), where the crush injury occurred, the force involved, whether the victim was trapped for a time and how soon after the accident the victim received care.
Why are crush injuries so dangerous?
Crush injuries are particularly dangerous because accident victims might be lulled into a false sense of security. For example, if you’re able to walk away from a collision, you might assume that you’ve managed to escape serious problems. However, delayed crush injury treatment can lead to amputation, organ failure, permanent nerve damage or even death.
Complications include hyperkalemia, when damaged cells release high (unsafe) levels of potassium into the body, which can cause cardiac arrest. They may also suffer shock and organ failure if the heart is unable to pump blood. Finally, damaged cells can be constricted or start to die off very quickly. This can result in emergency surgery, necrosis, metabolic disorders, cardiac arrest, kidney failure and death.
The first four hours after a crush injury are critical. If the patient isn’t treated in time, the risk of complications and death increase. Be sure to seek medical attention as soon as possible—then call the Law Offices of Tim Misny for help recovering compensation.
Discuss your case with an Ohio accident lawyer today
The Law Offices of Tim Misny can help you with your accident claim. When you’re the victim of negligence or recklessness, I’ll Make Them Pay!® Call my office at (877) 614-9524 so that I can evaluate your crush injury case right away.
