Amputations are some of the most serious injuries people can experience. An amputation is the removal of an extremity or limb. It causes pain and physical limitations that impact someone for the rest of their life, although there is excellent medical care available for those recovering from an amputation.
There are two different types of amputations that regularly occur. Traumatic amputations occur when some kind of incident causes limb loss. Surgical amputation occurs when medical professionals intentionally remove a body part to improve a patient’s condition. According to modern data on amputations, surgical amputation due to medical conditions, like unmanaged diabetes, is the number one cause of amputations.
However, car crashes are one of the other top reported reasons that people lose a body part. Why do car crashes sometimes lead to amputation?
A crash causes a traumatic injury
Collisions that occur at high speeds can cause extreme injuries. Especially if someone has an arm out the window or reclines in their seat instead of sitting in a traditional manner, the force of the initial collision could potentially cause a traumatic amputation. In such cases, people are at risk of complications caused by blood loss and have an elevated risk of infection. Traumatic amputations are more of a risk in collisions involving vehicles of vastly different sizes because of the force the bigger vehicle exerts on the smaller one.
A crash causes a crushing injury
Surgical amputations typically occur after trauma because medical professionals cannot treat the affected body parts. Crushing injuries in car crashes can lead to comminuted fractures where the bone breaks into numerous, small pieces. In extreme cases, it may not be possible to set or repair the bone, even with surgery and implanted support. Severe fractures, including those that involve crushing damage, sometimes necessitate an amputation.
Losing a body part will inevitably lead to massive medical expenses and lifetime medical challenges. Amputations also have a strong association with a change in income, especially if someone does physically-demanding work. Recognizing when an extreme injury necessitates a personal injury lawsuit instead of just an insurance claim could help people better cover the costs created by a vehicle collision caused by another’s negligence or intentional conduct.