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Lacerations are some of the most serious injuries endured in auto accidents and can have immediate and long-lasting consequences for the victims who suffer them. The Chicago car, truck and motorcycle accident attorneys of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC recognize the debilitating nature of these injuries and the emotional and financial toll they have on victims and their families. When representing clients who have been injured in auto accidents, it is our goal to make sure that they are able to recover their costs in the immediate future as well as those they may incur many years later.
Not All Lacerations are the Same
A laceration is defined as any deep cut that requires medical attention, but the location of the wound and where the laceration occurs has an impact on how the victim must be cared for and his or her prognosis. During an accident, there are many ways in which a person can be cut— whether by debris, contact with the road, pieces of sharp metal or broken glass. Of the many forms of lacerations that can occur in car accidents, our Chicago auto injury lawyers have found that these wounds fall into four categories.
- Cut lacerations occur when an object cuts the victim’s skin, such as when the victim comes into contact with sharp glass or metal during the accident. These wounds are the most common form of crash-related lacerations.
- Over-stretching lacerations occur when the skin is torn from expansion during a crash. Human skin is extremely flexible. Its elasticity makes skin resilient. However, when skin is stretched too far, it can tear or break, causing a deep cut that exposes the skin's underlying tissue. This type of injury can occur when a body part is caught between two objects that are moving in opposite directions, like when a motorcycle falls onto a motorcyclist who has been struck by a vehicle moving on an opposing trajectory.
- A grinding compression is often referred to as a degloving injury when victims lost their entire hand in motorcycle accidents from being dragged along the asphalt. Although grinding compression injuries can happen to other parts of the body, it most commonly occurs to hand and arm when skin is peeled away when it brushes against a hard surface for a considerable distance.
- Split lacerations are some of the most serious and painful injuries suffered in car accidents and are usually accompanied by additional wounds. They occur when the body part is crushed between two objects and the skin and muscle tissue below ruptures during the crushing injury.
Complications Associated with Lacerations
While blood loss is the most immediate concern associated with lacerations, the extent of the injury can leave victims debilitated for months or years to come. The loss of blood can send victims into shock requiring immediate medical attention to ensure they do not die at the scene of the accident. Survival is merely the first step in a long process of recovery for many of our Chicago auto injury lawyers’ clients, however. Here are some of the additional complications and concerns many victims face.
- Scarring and disfigurement. Every car accident is as unique as the injuries they cause. In fact, the extent of the injury is often dependent on whether the victim was driving a car, a truck or a motorcycle. That said, every accident has the potential to cause wounds that leave long-lasting marks on the body and the victim's psyche. When these scars are visible and alter the victim's appearance, they can dimish self-confidence, cause depression and serve as a constant reminder of a horrific event. Some scars can be treated or removed, but not without multiple surgeries that are often considered as cosmetic procedures that are not covered by health insurance companies.
- Infections. The skin is a barrier that guards the body against most dangerous microorganisms that could cause harm. Open wounds invite bacteria, viruses, and parasites to harbor in the surrounding tissue and the blood. Whenever doctors treat a patient suffering with lacerations, cleaning and disinfecting the wound is a priority to prevent or limit the spread of an infection. In recent decades, some bacteria and parasites have developed a resistance to medicine or may spread quickly throughout the body because they cannot be contained. If an infection cannot be destroyed with antibiotics, the overgrowth of bacteria could cause septic shock that could take the life of the victim or require amputation of an infected leg or arm.
- Nerve damage. Over time, with proper treatment and care, damaged muscle and skin tissue can be repaired, but the damage to nerves is usually permanent. If a deep laceration injures a nerve, the victim might experience a loss of feeling, loss of motor function or painful sensations in the affected area.
- Loss of life. An excessive loss of blood, serious medical complications and infected lacerations caused by the accident can lead to the death of the victim from their wounds. When this occurs, the victim’s family may seek compensation by filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver at fault for causing the accident.
Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC provide award-winning legal services to thousands of clients across Illinois. If you have suffered serious laceration injuries during a car, truck or motorcycle accident, our personal injury attorneys understand your need for justice and financial compensation required to cover your financial losses. Contact us today to arrange a risk-free consultation with one of our lawyers. We can discuss your case, can collect the information and gather evidence to successfully resolve your financial recompense case.
Our Chicago car, truck and motorcycle accident attorneys work solely on a contingency fee basis, which means we will only collect our fee after we’ve secured compensation on your behalf. You’ll never pay us upfront for our legal services, which are free if we cannot negotiate a settlement or win your case in court.
