Amputation or limb loss is a severe injury. People who lose body parts can expect major medical and financial challenges afterward in most cases. Car crashes are one of the leading causes of traumatic amputations in the United States.
High-speed collisions and crashes involving particularly large vehicles can result in people losing body parts. When amputations occur at the scene of a crash, people readily recognize that it is an emergency. The injured person needs immediate medical care to protect them from extreme blood loss. They are at risk of infection and likely face a long road to recovery.
While people might generally expect every amputation to be instantaneous, amputations sometimes actually occur after the crash.
Medical amputation may follow a major wreck
Not all amputations related to car crashes are traumatic. In other words, limb loss does not necessarily occur during a crash. In some cases, amputation is the best course of action for a patient’s optimal medical recovery.
In scenarios where a crash causes major fractures, such as comminuted fractures where the bone breaks into many tiny pieces, amputation may be the only realistic treatment option available. Compound fractures can also cause such serious damage that amputation is the best option. Crush injuries, in particular, have a strong association with medical amputation after a wreck.
If health care providers determine that the damage to the bone or nearby tissue is too severe to treat, a surgical amputation can help patients recover in the long run. Technically, surgical amputations tend to be safer than traumatic amputations. After all, they take place in a sterile surgical environment.
That being said, there are still many complications that can follow successful surgical amputations. People may have nerve damage and may require extensive physical and occupational therapy to learn how to work and live independently after limb loss. In many cases, amputation results in a massive increase in lifetime medical expenses. It can also have a strong negative impact on an individual’s earning potential.
Seeking appropriate compensation after sustaining catastrophic car crash injuries may require litigation. The expenses generated by amputation are often beyond what insurance can cover. Those recovering after a major crash injury may need help pursuing reasonable compensation for their losses.
