Common Types of Catastrophic Injuries and Their Consequences

Catastrophic injuries are the type of injuries that can result in long-term, life-changing consequences. Medical professionals will likely categorize an injury as catastrophic if it involves something as significant as loss of vision, loss in the ability to breathe normally, loss in the ability to walk normally (or at all), and the like. The injury does not have to be permanent to be classified as catastrophic. For instance, if an employee loses his or her sight for a prolonged period of time after a head injury, but not permanently, the injury fits in the category of catastrophic.

Some of the most common types of catastrophic injuries are mentioned below:

Traumatic brain injury

Sustaining a blow to the head is a common occurrence in various environments, including car accidents, at work, and playing contact sports like football. The impacts to the head incurred by victims can result in a life-changing traumatic brain injury.

Symptoms of brain injuries include:

• Speech difficulties
• Reduced coordination
• Back and forth mood changes
• Loss of memory
• Seizures
• Headaches
• Cloudy/blurred vision
• Balance problems
• Confusion of the mind
• Severe depression

Some patients only experience these symptoms for period of days. Others may endure them for an entire lifetime.

Spinal cord injuries

The brains sends signals to the spinal cord, from which they are sent to other parts of the body. If you have injured your spinal cord, whether in a car accident or fall, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:

• Loss of bladder control
• Loss of bowel control
• Balance issues
• Breathing problems
• Mobility issues
• Reduced or lost sexual function

Partial or total paralysis is also a possible side effect of a spinal cord injury, depending on the severity and location of the injury.

Severe burns

Severe burn injuries often occur due to fires and explosions. When the burns are of a catastrophic nature, an individual will find it difficult to perform daily, routine activities at home or at work. In severe cases, burn victims must resort to skin grafts in order to recover from the destruction of the skin and even deeper layers that occurs.

Eye injuries

Tulsa residents can sustain injuries to one or both eyes through accidents at work, home, or elsewhere. Victims may suffer loss of vision, either in whole or in part. The type and extent of the eye damage will dictate whether the eye simply needs washed out or requires a delicate surgical procedure. In some cases, victims never completely recover their vision.

Loss of limb due to amputation

Drivers and passengers in car wrecks along with certain workers who are employed in dangerous industries are at risk of suffering significant damage to the arms and legs. When damage to a limb is severe enough, the doctor may deem it necessary to perform an amputation to prevent infection from moving to other parts of the body. Victims of amputation often must endure years of physical therapy along with the emotional toll the loss can inflict.

Have you sustained a catastrophic injury in the greater Tulsa area due to another party’s negligence? If so, our catastrophic injury attorneys at Biby Law Firm can fight for the financial compensation you are entitled to under the law. To schedule a free, no-obligation consultation, call us today at 918.574.8458 or fill out our contact form and send us a message.