In a car accident, blunt force trauma can cause painful, disabling, and life-threatening injuries. But other types of crash trauma frequently lead to severe injuries.
Laceration trauma that pierces, slashes, punctures, or cuts is often caused by broken glass. Broken glass injuries are common in car accidents and often involve a car's windshield, windows, or items inside the cab.
The damage can be minor or severe. Injuries include everything from scrapes to deep cuts, facial lacerations, punctured organs, eye damage, and severed nerves and limbs. Nerve damage can reduce control of mobility, as well as body and brain functions. Shards in the eye can cause blindness.
7 types of broken glass injuries from car accidents
There are many ways a crash victim can sustain a broken glass injury. They could be caught under falling shattered glass. Their skin could rub against shards in an ejection. Or they could injure themselves while escaping the wreckage. For example, an injured crash victim might endure deep cuts to the palm of their hands if they grab onto the broken glass around a car window for balance. Here are 7 of the most common broken glass car accident injuries,
- Cuts and lacerations. Deep glass cuts can sever muscles, ligaments, tendons, or nerves. Damage may need to be surgically repaired to restore body function and control. In addition, disfigurement due to glass lacerations may require plastic surgery.
- Catastrophic broken glass injuries. Frayed or severed spinal cord nerves, brain punctures, and lacerations to major arteries and veins are examples of catastrophic broken glass injuries. These injuries can be life-threatening and lead to extreme damage like paralysis or decreased brain function.
- Eye injuries. Glass fragments of any size may become lodged in an accident victim's eyes. Infections and other consequences, like vision loss and even blindness, can result.
- Severe shock. A person who has lost a lot of blood loss may experience shock. In this condition, organs do not receive the blood and oxygen they need to function properly. This can result in death or lasting organ damage if not treated.
- Skull penetration. If a glass projectile hits the brain, the fracture or puncture could develop into a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
- Penetrating neck wound. Any piercing of the neck or throat is potentially fatal. This type of cut requires immediate medical treatment to protect the sensitive neck structure's nerves and veins.
- Amputation. A piece of glass can enter a weak spot on the body and sever an artery, necessitating the amputation of the limb that was injured. Glass cuts can also result in illnesses like tetanus and MRSA, which in extreme cases may require amputation.
Most minor glass injuries will heal on their own if they are kept clean and rested. However, more serious broken glass injuries may require stitches, surgery, stents, or skin grafts in addition to proper bandaging and mobility assistance equipment. Depending on the severity of the injuries and whether the infection is a factor, recovery can take weeks or even months. If multiple surgeries are necessary, recovery could take years.
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If you were injured or a loved one died in a Cuyahoga County car accident, you deserve compensation and justice. We can help you pursue it. Contact Merriman Legal, LLC to schedule a free case consultation to learn more about your compensation options. Don't delay. A member of our team is available 24/7 to hear from you.