Car crashes can cause many different types of injuries. When collisions involve two vehicles of vastly different sizes or high speeds, one vehicle may end up crumpled or otherwise structurally compromised.
In those cases, people inside the vehicle are at risk of crush injuries. Crush injuries may not be as visually dramatic as open fractures or as immediately debilitating as a complete spinal cord injury. However, they can cost people tens of thousands of dollars or more in medical care and may even endanger their lives.
What is a crush injury?
A crush injury occurs due to the application of intense pressure to body parts. Crush injuries to the limbs and extremities are common, but people can also suffer crush injuries to the torso. There is the immediate trauma of the injury to consider. The crushing force of the crash can break bones, damage muscles and injure nerves. The aftermath of a crush injury can also be severe.
Damaged muscles can produce toxic compounds that can endanger a person’s life. They may be at risk of renal failure. They may also experience an assortment of other challenging secondary symptoms as their body reacts to the damage.
Crush injuries are often so severe that health care professionals must amputate the affected body part. Other times, people require a lengthy hospitalization and surgery, as well as rehabilitative support, to heal after sustaining a crush injury.
The total cost of a crush injury is likely far beyond what a standard insurance policy can cover. Filing a personal injury lawsuit may be necessary for those who sustain crush injuries in car crashes caused by other drivers.
