Crushing injuries are a common, severe form of injury that involves a body part being crushed. Crushing injuries often do irreparable damage to the injured limbs or organs. They can be costly to treat, involve lengthy recovery times, and often lead to permanent disability.
If you or a loved one have recently experienced a crushing injury, you likely have a long road ahead of you. It helps to take the time to understand how these injuries happen, how they can be treated, and the possible health complications you may face in the future.
What Is a Crushing Injury?
As the name implies, a crushing injury is a type of injury that involves a body part being crushed. Depending on the type of accident, a crushing injury can impact the bones, organs, nerves, or muscles.
Crushing injuries can range in severity and scale. A body part might be partially or fully crushed. Similarly, a crushing injury can have a smaller impact, such as a crushed toe, or a catastrophic impact, such as a crushed torso or head.
How Crushing Injuries Happen
Crushing injuries occur in many different types of situations. They usually happen in one of two ways. The first involves a person becoming trapped between two objects. One common example of this would be a factory worker whose arm is crushed between two moving parts of a machine.
The other most common situation that leads to crushing injuries involves a person becoming pinned between an object and the ground or another surface. One example of this situation is if a mechanic were working underneath a car and the car fell, pinning the mechanic to the ground.
Common Accidents That Cause Crushing Injuries
A wide range of different accident types can result in crushing injuries. All that is required for a crushing injury is a heavy object to fall on or pin down the injured person. As a result, it’s easy to see how nearly any type of accident could potentially result in a crushing injury.
Some of the accident types most commonly associated with crushing injuries include:
- Car accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Construction accidents
- Defective or dangerous products
Motor vehicle accidents and work accidents are two of the most common situations in which people experience crushing injuries, but these injuries can come about in many situations.
Even situations that aren’t commonly associated with crushing injuries can still result in this injury type. For example, crushing accidents are not a common form of medical malpractice. However, a patient could, for example, be crushed by a medical device like an imaging machine during treatment.
Symptoms of a Crushing Injury
Crushing injuries tend to be highly painful. In many instances, a crush injury can result in the crushed body part looking noticeably misshapen. In most cases, a person who has experienced a crushing injury can quickly tell they’ve been seriously injured. This can occur even if they don’t realize that their body part has been crushed.
Some of the most common initial symptoms of a crushing injury include:
- Broken bones
- Bleeding
- Bruising
- Numbness
- Tingling
- Compartment syndrome
Compartment syndrome might be the most common — and dangerous — indication that a body part has been crushed. When severe, this condition is considered to be a medical emergency and requires immediate treatment. Compartment syndrome occurs when a buildup of pressure around a muscle results in a loss of blood flow and oxygen to the injured area.
Identifying a Crushing Injury
It can be difficult to distinguish a crushing injury from other injuries. Any time you’re in an accident, you should be checked by a medical professional as soon as possible. Seeing a doctor promptly protects you from injury complications, speeds recovery time, and shields your finances if you need to recover compensation.
If your accident involved the injured body part being trapped between two heavy objects or pinned against a surface, there’s a good chance you’ve experienced a crushing injury. However, the only way to accurately identify your injury type is to have it diagnosed by a medical professional.
Treatment Options After a Crushing Injury
Treatment for a crushing injury often depends on the body part. Crushing injuries that impact the throat and lungs can make it impossible to breathe without assistance. When a crushing injury impacts the chest, back, or abdomen, it’s often necessary for emergency responders to first stabilize the injured individual’s respiratory system.
Similarly, when a crushing injury impacts major organs, immediate surgical intervention is often needed to stabilize vital functions and reduce the risk of internal bleeding, shock, and other serious medical conditions.
Once life-threatening medical complications are dealt with, the injured person’s medical team will identify the long-term course of treatment. Crushing injuries are often major medical events that take considerable time to heal. They often require surgical intervention and may lead to the need for physical or occupational therapy.
Medical Complications Associated With Crushing Injuries
A crushing injury by itself is a severe injury. This type of injury often involves hospitalization, lengthy recovery times, and costly medical treatment. However, crushing injuries also commonly lead to additional medical complications, many of which can be fatal or life-threatening.
Some common medical complications associated with crushing injuries include:
- Respiratory failure
- Heart failure
- Kidney failure
- Infection
- Sepsis
Even after a patient is initially stabilized, crush injuries may lead to long-term issues. The exact type of long-term health complications a person experiences after a crushing injury depends on the location and severity of the injury.
For example, crush injuries to the chest or torso might lead to long-term organ dysfunction or respiratory issues. A catastrophic injury that crushes the neck or spinal cord might result in paralysis, partial paralysis, limited mobility, chronic pain, or nerve damage.
Consult a Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer After a Crushing Injury
If you’ve recently suffered a crushing injury in Las Vegas, it can be hard to predict the long-term impact your injury will have on your health and finances.
Treating a crush injury can add extensive medical costs on top of the wages and benefits lost during recovery. When injuries are severe, you might face countless future medical procedures or find yourself permanently unable to return to work.
When a crushing injury harms your quality of life, De Castroverde Accident & Injury Lawyers can help. Our award-winning Las Vegas personal injury lawyers have helped countless clients recover the injury compensation they need, and we’re ready to fight for you next.
Call De Castroverde Accident & Injury Lawyers at (702) 222-9999 and schedule your consultation with an experienced Las Vegas personal injury lawyer today.