Catastrophic injuries can come at any moment and sometimes no matter how careful you are, you can still be a victim due to others’ actions.

But what are catastrophic injuries?

Catastrophic injuries refer to injuries and illness that disrupt a person’s life and capacity to make a living. The damages caused by these injuries can be devastating to a victim both physically and emotionally.

In addition, catastrophic injuries not only affect the victims but their families as well. Victims who may need long term medical treatment can seriously put a dent on their finances. There is also an enormous amount of effort needed, like supervision that is required to take care of the patient.

To create a more positive future for these victims, they may seek legal help in pursuing a personal injury case against those who are responsible for their injuries.

There are different types of injuries that a person can sustain during an accident but there are three that are most common.

Paralysis

This refers to the total loss of muscle function to a single or various muscle groups. According to statistics, 44% of spinal cord injuries are caused by motor accidents while falls cause the most spine injuries for people aged above 45.

This catastrophic injury is usually caused by injuries resulting to damages to the head and the spinal cord.

In an accident damages to the brain can be caused by a fall or a blow to the head while spine damages are usually caused by trauma due to a fall.

Treatment of paralysis may depend on the type of paralysis. For example, paraplegia happens when there is damage to the lower spine while quadriplegia occurs as a result of damages to the upper spinal cord. Knowing the origin of the injury is the first step of the treatment.

Unfortunately, not all paralysis is treatable and some are permanent.

Amputation

This catastrophic injury refers to the loss of a body part. It could be a finger or a toe, an arm or a leg, or other body parts as a result of an injury or trauma.

According to statistics, 68.6% of all amputations are attributed to trauma. Reattachment may or may not be a possibility.

There is a lot of complication with regard to this type of injury.

Bleeding, shock and infection are just a few. Victims may also experience phantom limbs.

This refers to some patients still feeling the missing part of their body. They may feel that the lost body part is still connected and they may feel itch, pain or even movement.

Burn

In the United States alone, there are 2.4 million burn injuries that are reported each year. This catastrophic injury is commonly caused by:

• Scalding – burns as a result of contact with an open flame or heated objects

• Chemical burns – burns as a result of chemical reaction like with battery and acid.

• Electrical burns – burns as a result of exposure to electricity

If you sustained catastrophic injuries as a result of an accident, seek legal help from lawyers who are experienced in handling similar cases.