A crushing injury can be incredibly painful and have lifelong consequences. Unfortunately, crushing injuries are not uncommon in San Diego accidents. If you have suffered a crushing injury because of another person’s negligence, you have the right to demand compensation. Our attorneys can help you maximize the financial award you receive.
Call Injury Trial Lawyers today to schedule a free consultation with our experienced legal team. We will review your case and help you understand your legal options.
Crushing Injuries in San Diego
A crushing injury occurs when force or pressure is placed on the body by a foreign object. This can happen if you become wedged between two objects. The injury can also occur if a large, heavy object falls on top of you. There are two immediate concerns when you suffer a crushing injury: compartment syndrome and crush syndrome.
Compartment Syndrome
Your muscles and tissue rely on the steady flow of blood through the body. When you become crushed, it can be difficult for your body to circulate blood to the crushed area. The compartments that transport the blood to your muscles can become compressed. When this happens, the affected area of the body doesn’t get an adequate supply of blood. Compartment syndrome can result in weakness, limited mobility, and intense pain. Medical intervention, including surgery, is typically needed to restore proper blood flow to the injured area.
Crush Syndrome
Crush syndrome refers to shock and kidney failure that occurs after a crushing injury. When your body becomes crushed, the blood supply to your muscles and tissue can become compromised. Without blood and oxygen, your muscles begin to deteriorate and die. This process is known as rhabdomyolysis.
As your tissue deteriorates, the body releases certain byproducts including myoglobin, potassium, and phosphorus. While your body is crushed, these byproducts remain contained in the dying tissue. When the body is no longer under pressure, these byproducts release into the bloodstream. This can cause the body to go into shock and cause some of your organs, particularly your kidneys, to fail.
Crush syndrome makes it dangerous to help an accident victim right away. While it is important to relieve the pressure on the body, there may only be a short period of time to seek medical attention for crush syndrome. Serious cases of crush syndrome can require amputation or result in death.
Accidents and Crushing Injuries in San Diego
You can suffer a crushing injury anytime part of your body is placed under external force and pressure. Many accidents cause victims to sustain crushing injuries.
If someone else is responsible for your San Diego accident, you have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit for damages. Contact our personal injury attorneys for help getting the money you deserve.
Symptoms of Crushing Injuries
Crushing injuries can have many painful and debilitating consequences. The extent of the injury and the types of symptoms you may experience will depend on (a) the force of the pressure on your body and (b) which part of your body is affected. In most cases, the consequences of your injury will get worse the longer your body remains crushed.
Symptoms of a crushing injury may include:
- Bruising and swelling
- Broken bones
- Lacerations
- Chronic pain
- Limited mobility
- Spinal cord damage
- Internal organ damage
- Muscle death
- Amputation, and
- Paralysis.
If you suffer a crushing injury it is important to seek medical attention immediately. Left untreated, your injuries could become life-threatening.
Damages Available to Crushing Injury Victims
When someone else contributes to or causes your injury, you have the right to demand compensation. This demand can be made by filing a personal injury claim with an insurance company or filing a personal injury lawsuit. Either way, you are entitled to recover compensation for the harm you have suffered.
At Injury Trial Lawyers, we are committed to maximizing the compensation you receive. We work hard to make sure that all of your damages are identified and valued properly. We work closely with experts to make sure that we can back up our demand for money with hard evidence. This makes it difficult for the negligent party (or their insurer) to offer anything less than a fair settlement offer.
Our San Diego crushing injury attorneys will pursue both economic and non-economic damages, including those for:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Disability
- Reduced earning capacity
- Chronic pain
- Emotional suffering
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Embarrassment, and
- Loss of enjoyment of life.
Call us today to schedule your free consultation. We are here to help you fight for the money you need and deserve.
Shared Fault In Your Crushing Injury Accident
Did you share some of the blame for the accident that caused your crushing injury? Don’t panic. Fault will not necessarily prevent you from getting the money you need. You are entitled to damages as long as someone else is also to blame.
It is important to understand that the amount of money you can get will be reduced if you are partly to blame. Your award will be reduced by your own degree of fault. If you are attributed 25 percent of the blame, your recovery will be reduced by 25 percent. So, if you suffered $100,000 in damages, you’d only be entitled to recover $75,000.
If you share fault, you can also be responsible for damages suffered by others in the accident. Your liability is directly linked to the amount of fault you share. If you are 25 percent to blame, you could be responsible for 25 percent of another victim’s damages.
The best thing you can do if you share fault for an accident is to hire an attorney to handle your case. Our San Diego crushing injury lawyers will do everything we can to shift blame away from you. We’ll carefully investigate the accident and find evidence that limits your own personal liability. This will allow us to make sure that you maximize the financial award you receive.
Speak to our San Diego Crushing Injury Attorneys
Have you suffered a crushing injury in a San Diego accident? Is someone else to blame? If so, you may be entitled to compensation. While the money you get will not guarantee a full recovery, it can help to minimize financial stress and help you cope with the trauma of the accident. Hiring an attorney to handle your personal injury case will help you maximize the amount of money you get. Call Injury Trial Lawyers to schedule a free consultation with our skilled legal team. We’ll help you understand your rights and fight to get you the money you deserve.