Crush injuries often result in permanent disabilities. They occur when a body part is severely compressed between hard surfaces. Common causes include truck accidents, automobile collisions, industrial accidents, building collapses, machine malfunctions, and falling construction materials. Those with crush injuries typically require extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation and may face long-term losses in mobility and agility.
If you or a loved one has experienced a debilitating injury in Chicago, don’t hesitate to contact a skilled Chicago Crush Injury Attorney for expert legal guidance and support in pursuing the compensation you deserve to help with recovery and medical expenses. Call today (312)766-1000.
What is a Crush Injury?
Almost immediately, the body part that is crushed or compressed begins to lose oxygen and blood flow. Over several hours, ischemia, a condition caused by inadequate blood flow to the injured part of the body, starts. The loss of blood flow can cause the impacted body tissue to die. Immediate and prompt emergency medical assistance is required to minimize complications and preserve as much tissue as possible.
Common Causes of Crush Injuries
Crush injuries can happen at any time and in any place, but they are most common in and around construction sites and in transportation accidents involving trucks, cars, and other vehicles. Compression injuries are more likely to occur in the following common scenarios:
- Transportation incidents: Crush or pinch injuries can occur in collisions involving passengers, pedestrians, and bicyclists.
- Machinery with unguarded moving parts: A machine that is not adequately guarded, turned off, or disabled when not in use or de-energized during maintenance or repairs may start up unexpectedly and cause a crush injury to a worker.
- Buried in or by debris or equipment: Workers can be crushed when an unprotected trench or excavation caves in. Crush injuries can also occur if the structure, building, or house collapses while workers or other people are inside. Scaffolds around buildings collapse, and walls can collapse during demolition, injuring any workers or pedestrians present and crushing and burying them underneath the debris or equipment.
- Pinned between objects: Workers can be pinned between equipment and a solid object and between materials and shoring in a trench.
Symptoms of Crush Injuries
The National Institutes of Health’s U.S. National Library of Medicine MedlinePlus identifies this type of injury as occurring when force or pressure is put on a body part due to being squeezed between two heavy objects. The symptoms of crush injuries are as follows:
- Severe Bleeding (internal and external);
- Bone fractures and breaks;
- Lacerations to various parts of the body;
- Nerve injury;
- Smashed fingers;
- Bruising to various parts of the body;
- Open wounds;
- Dizziness, nausea, and
- Secondary infection.
What to Do After a Crush Injury in Chicago?
If you or someone else suffers a crush injury, seek emergency medical help immediately by calling 911. Stop any bleeding by applying direct pressure and covering wounds with a moist cloth or bandage. If the injury involves a limb that has been trapped for less than 15 minutes, remove the crushing force if it is safe to do so. If the limb has been trapped for longer, wait for professional help to avoid severe complications, such as crush syndrome. Keep the injured person calm, warm, and monitor their vital signs until help arrives. Avoid moving them unnecessarily to prevent further injury.
Consulting a skilled Chicago crush attorney can help protect your rights and ensure you receive proper compensation for medical and recovery expenses.
Complications From Crush Injuries
Two main complications from crush injuries may lead to permanent and severe damage. They are as follows:
- Compartment syndrome occurs when increased pressure in an arm or leg causes serious damage to muscles, nerves, blood vessels, and tissue. Severe cases will require amputation of the limb to prevent further tissue death.
- Crush syndrome occurs when damaged tissue starts producing harmful byproducts like lactic acid and potassium, which enter the victim’s bloodstream. Also known as rhabdomyolysis, crush syndrome may lead to renal (kidney) failure and heart arrhythmia when the chemicals interact with the victim’s blood.
Many Crush Injury Patients Need Psychological Support
Crush injuries are often quite severe. If the victim experiences tissue death, an amputation of the affected limb will be necessary to preserve life and prevent subsequent infection. Rehabilitation therapy tends to be long and slow. Suppose the victim is adjusting to the amputation of one or more body parts. In that case, he or she will need psychotherapy to help cope with permanent injuries like limited mobility or problems with dexterity. Victims may also not be able to work in their field because the injured body part is needed to perform his or her job tasks.
Crush Injury Patients Need a Long-Term Pain Management Plan
Drug addiction is common among crush injury victims because the pain that people feel is constant and severe. Pain management must be addressed, and victims may need assistance finding painkiller drugs that will not lead to opioid or other narcotic addiction.
Legal Help for Victims
Depending on the circumstances of your accident and accompanying crush injuries, you may have multiple remedies available for serious crush injuries suffered in a construction accident, car accident, or premises liability accident. Property owners and other third parties, such as subcontractors, manufacturers, and other entities, may also be responsible for safety hazards, falling debris, or defective equipment that causes crush injuries.
Our Chicago Crush Injury Attorneys Can Help
To learn if you have a potential claim or lawsuit against a party that caused your crush injuries following an accident, contact the Chicago crush injury lawyers at Blumenshine Law Group by phone or text at (312) 766-1000 or email at [email protected] today.
The consultation is free. You can also visit our website to learn about our extensive litigation experience and record of success. Request a free, confidential appointment online. If you can not immediately travel to our offices, we can come to you.