Car Accident Injuries That Require Surgery

Surgeries from a car accident can result in both significant financial costs and other collateral consequences. Schauermann Thayer Injury Law works for you to recover every dollar that you are owed through the legal process.

Emergency room treatment is expensive enough after a car accident. Your medical expenses can multiply exponentially when you must undergo surgery. The responsible driver must pay for the damages that they have caused, assuming that you can prove that their negligence caused your injuries.

If you have been injured in a car accident, the Washington car accident lawyers at Schauermann Thayer are standing by and ready to fight for you during the legal process. Contact us today to learn what we can do for you. 

Examples of Car Accident Injuries that Need Surgery

The trauma of a car accident subjects your body to unnatural forces. Either you have suffered some kind of severe impact on your body or a sudden and sharp movement. Some injuries may even require surgery. Here are some car accident injuries that may need surgical treatment.

Soft Tissue Injuries

Soft tissue is practically any tissue in your body that does not calcify into bones or teeth. These include muscles, tendons, and ligaments. The sudden motion of a car accident can result in unnatural and awkward movements that can tear or sprain soft tissue. In some cases, a soft tissue injury may heal with rest and therapy. Soft tissue injuries, such as ligament and muscle tears may require surgery to repair the muscle, the ligament, or the cartilage.  

Orthopedic Injuries

Your body may make an impact with the dashboard or steering wheel during the crash. You may be thrown from the car in serious crashes. The trauma of a car accident can cause broken bones and fractures. Common car accident injuries include broken legs, arms, and ribs. You may need surgery to repair and set a serious bone break. The doctor may need to use pins, plates, or screws to keep the bone in place while it heals from the break. 

Traumatic Brain Injuries

A car accident may cause trauma to your brain, either through direct impact on your head or a sudden and violent motion that causes the brain to smash against the skull. Brain injuries cannot always be healed, but they can get worse because of pressure on the brain. Doctors may need to repair a skull fracture or remove blood clots and pools. Brain surgery is an extremely delicate procedure with a long recovery time. Depending on the severity of the brain injury, you may need to relearn some functions, if they can come back at all. 

Neck and Back Injuries

Car accidents can injure your neck and back in numerous ways. One common car accident injury is a herniated disc, which is when the rubbery disc between your spinal cord bulges through the exterior casing. The bulging disc can create pressure on the spine, leading to pain and numbness in your extremities. Other serious injuries that may necessitate surgery include whiplash and spinal stenosis.  Neck and back surgeries from a car accident can involve surgical stabilization–i.e. surgical fusion of the vertebrae–dissection of the anatomy around the injured disc to relieve pressure on the nerves, or other procedures.  

Plastic Surgery

Your skin can be seriously damaged in many ways from a car accident. You can suffer severe burns from a car accident or cuts and lacerations. You may have excessive scarring after the accident that needs to be repaired. You may need surgery to remove scar tissue. Plastic surgery is most common when accident victims suffer facial injuries because that is the most visible part of your body. 

Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal cord injuries are among the serious harms that you can suffer from a car accident. The trauma to your head and neck can cause vertebrae to compress and damage the spinal cord. There can be direct trauma to the spinal cord itself. A spinal cord injury impacts the brain’s ability to send messages to your limbs to move. You could lose function below the site of the injury. While surgery may not completely heal a spinal cord injury, doctors may need to stabilize the fractured backbones or relieve pressure on your spinal cord. Over time, you may undergo a more experimental surgery to help you regain some function. 

After most surgical procedures, your life will not immediately return to the same as it was before your injury if it ever does at all. You may need to undergo an extensive period of rehabilitation, with physical and occupational therapy. 

When you undergo surgery, your damages are much more than medical bills. You may also miss time from work and deal with pain and suffering. It is up to you to maximize your financial recovery in a car accident settlement. An experienced car accident attorney will review your case and help determine how much you should seek when you file a claim or lawsuit. 

Contact a Portland Car Accident Attorney Today

If you have been injured in a motor vehicle crash, you need to retain counsel immediately. Contact the Portland car accident lawyers at Schauermann Thayer to discuss your case today. You can call us at 360-695-4244 to schedule a free initial consultation, where we will review your case and get to know you. You owe us nothing unless you win your case.