When bones or nerves are crushed in an accident, the road to recovery can be long and difficult. And in many cases, there’s little medical staff can do to heal such a substantial injury.
If you’ve suffered a crushing injury, it’s important to be informed. Understanding how a crushing injury impacts the body, along with possible treatment options, can help you get a better grasp of the healing process that lies ahead.
You also need to know the potential financial impact you’re about to face and what steps you can take to recover compensation.
What Is a Crushing Injury?
A crushing injury, as its name implies, is a form of injury that involves some body part being crushed, such as your:
- Bones
- Organs
- Nerves
- Muscles
- Other soft tissues
A crushing injury can involve damage to multiple parts of the body at once. For example, when a leg is involved in a crushing injury, the bones, nerves, muscles, and tissues may all suffer damage.
Crushing injuries can happen to any part of the body. That said, where a crushing injury occurs and how much of the body is affected are directly related to how severe the injury is. Crushing injuries that involve the chest, torso, head, or limbs often have a life-altering impact on the health, earning ability, and quality of life of the victim.
Nevertheless, all crushing injuries can lead to extensive medical costs, and the overall impact of the injury often depends on how the individual’s financial standing is affected.
For example, a crushed finger might not prevent an individual who works in a field like public speaking from returning to work. At the same time, though, an office worker who types frequently on a daily basis might be permanently unable to continue in their career field.
What Are Common Causes of Crushing Injuries?
Crushing injuries usually occur when a body part is pinned between two things, be they two objects, one object and a wall, or an object and the ground.
Doctors routinely treat patients for crushing injuries that occur in a variety of accident types, such as:
- Car accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Golf cart accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Construction accidents
- Defective products
- Falls
Car accidents are one of the most common sources of crushing injuries. Because they involve machinery that weighs thousands of pounds, there’s a high chance of accident victims suffering a crushing injury by being pinned against a vehicle. According to the CDC, over 110 people are killed in motor vehicle accidents every day, and thousands more suffer injuries.
Workplace and construction accidents are other leading causes of crushing injuries. In fact, they are named one of the top four types of construction accident injuries by OSHA. Caught-in or caught-between accidents are risks in any industry that puts workers in close proximity to industrial machines or equipment.
Construction site accidents can also occasionally involve a worker who falls off scaffolding. They might suffer a crushing injury due to the force of impact when their body hits the ground.
What Are the Potential Symptoms of a Crushing Injury?
The symptoms of a crushing injury can depend on the injury site and the body part that is impacted. For example, when a bone in the arm, leg, hand, or foot is crushed, it’s common for it to appear visibly disfigured.
A crushing injury involving bones in other locations, such as the ribs, might not be as easily apparent. Similarly, when a crushing injury involves tissues or nerves, it can be hard to tell at a glance that the victim sustained a crushing injury, in particular.
Some of the most common symptoms of a crushing injury include:
- Pain
- Disfigurement
- Loss of function or mobility
- Tingling or numbness
- Bruising
- Discoloration
- Swelling
The most common symptom of a crushing injury is severe pain. But even that might not be present, especially if a severely crushed nerve leads to numbness or a loss of sensation. A crushing injury that involves the chest, torso, or neck compromises the respiratory system, resulting in breathing difficulty.
No matter the symptoms, it is crucial to always seek prompt medical attention if a crushing injury is suspected. In some cases, it can be impossible to diagnose a crushing injury without medical imaging equipment.
What Are Some Potential Treatment Options For a Crushing Injury?
Given the usual severity of crushing injuries, they require immediate medical treatment. Depending on the location, nature, and severity of the injury, treatment can vary drastically, though it generally consists of surgical intervention followed by physical therapy.
With that said, all forms of crushing injury treatment begin with a medical diagnosis. A doctor will perform a physical exam of the injured area.
They may then order additional testing that includes the following:
- Physical tests
- Neurological tests
- X-rays
- An MRI
- A CT scan
- A muscle biopsy
- Urine testing
Once a crush injury is diagnosed, a medical team’s primary goal is to stabilize the injury. They will work to stabilize organ function, especially when the brain, heart, lungs, or kidneys have been injured in the accident. Medical professionals must also monitor the injured person for symptoms of crush syndrome, a serious and potentially fatal medical condition that can develop as a result of a crushing injury.
The sooner treatment begins, the better the long-term healing outcome is likely to be. Prompt treatment also helps prevent complications from arising, such as secondary illness and even wrongful deaths due to issues like organ failure or infection.
It’s hard to predict the long-term outcome of a crushing injury. This form of injury can result in severe damage to the affected body part. In some cases, it’s possible for a crushing injury to eventually result in a full recovery. In others, the outcome can be permanent, life-altering injuries.
Call Our Jacksonville Personal Injury Attorneys Today To Discuss Your Crushing Injury
A crushing injury can instantly alter your life forever. And even when a full recovery is possible, the treatment process often leads to significant medical bills and lost wages. When a severe crushing injury results in the inability to work or the need for long-term attendant care, expenses can be devastating.
Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers is a personal injury law firm located in Jacksonville, Florida. Our experienced attorneys have a combined eight decades of experience and have recovered tens of millions for the injured clients we represent.
Contact us today at (904) 396-1100 to speak with an experienced Jacksonville personal injury lawyer and discover how we can help you recover crushing injury compensation.
