Loss or amputation of a limb is an extremely traumatic injury. The injury itself can cause life-threatening blood loss or put someone in shock, which is also very dangerous. Emergency trauma care is necessary, and someone could spend days, if not weeks, in the hospital.
Individuals who experience a traumatic amputation during a car crash could lose a large amount of blood and are at high risk of a severe infection. Traumatic amputations at car crash scenes are often quite dramatic and terrifying for the people involved.
Someone who has lost a limb may have extensive limitations on their daily functions until they receive rehabilitative support and possibly prosthetic limbs or wheelchairs. They may find that they have to change professions, meaning that they will both lose out on income during their recovery and have reduced earning potential when they can return to work.
Car crashes only trails behind diabetes as one of the main causes of amputations in the United States. Why do motor vehicle collisions lead to limb loss?
Crashes can cause traumatic amputations
The brute force involved when two vehicles collide may be all that is necessary to sever a body part. People who are not in enclosed vehicles when a crash occurs or who get thrown from a vehicle could easily suffer a laceration that severs a body part.
Doctors may have to amputate later
Many amputations related to car crashes don’t occur during the wreck but later at a hospital. Crushing injuries, in particular, have a strong association with surgical amputation later. If the damage to the bone or surrounding tissue is so severe that doctors cannot repair it, the only way to prevent continued tissue degradation and other health risks will be to amputate the injured body part.
In both cases, the emergency medical care that the patient requires will likely cost tens of thousands of dollars. They will have a lengthy recovery ahead of them, and the lasting consequences of the amputation may affect their ability to live independently or continue working a job. Learning more about severe injuries caused by motor vehicle collisions can help those hoping to protect themselves and their loved ones or who require financial support after a crash.
