Car crashes can cause massive damage to a vehicle and, therefore, major injuries to the people inside. Modern vehicles boast design features to keep passengers safe. Engineers even try to control the way that vehicles may crumple during different types of collisions. The use of special materials, careful design features and crash testing can minimize the harm caused by a collision.
At higher speeds, crashes are likely to cause catastrophic damage to a vehicle. The potential compression of the vehicle due to the force of the crash could cause crushing injuries to an occupant’s extremities. People’s body parts can incur major damage due to how the vehicle’s shape changes during a crash.
In many cases, a crushing injury can be very painful. It can also lead to catastrophic medical and financial challenges for the injured individual. A crushing injury could potentially cause drastic, lasting financial issues for those affected. What makes a crushing injury so likely to be catastrophic?
The risk of amputation
One of the reasons that crushing injuries are often catastrophic is that they cause too much damage to the affected tissue. Medical professionals may determine that the damage is too severe to make treatment and full recovery an option. Medical amputation in a surgical setting is sometimes the only realistic means of addressing the damage caused by a crushing injury. The amputation of a limb or extremity is likely to forever alter someone’s functional abilities and generate a lifetime of medical expenses.
The potential for lasting damage
Even in cases where medical professionals believe they can treat the affected body parts, patients may have lingering symptoms long after treatment ends. Crushing injuries frequently cause nerve damage, which may mean uncomfortable sensations that occur frequently or sporadically for the rest of someone’s life.
Damage to the tissue could also limit someone’s use of the injured body part. A crushing injury is likely to affect not just someone’s current finances but also their long-term earning potential. They may experience mental health challenges caused by the chronic pain that could linger after they complete treatment for the injury.
Those coping with a crushing injury after a car crash may have major financial losses to cover. Looking into every option for compensation can help those affected by serious injuries mitigate the costs at issue.
