When a person sustains an injury without warning and the injury creates life-changing consequences for the victim, that victim has experienced what is known as a catastrophic injury. When people think of a catastrophic injury, the most common injury that comes to mind is a spinal cord injury.
While spinal cord injuries are catastrophic injuries, there are multiple types of catastrophic injuries. Some of the common catastrophic injuries that our Norristown catastrophic injury attorney has seen include amputations, birth injuries, brain injuries, nerve damage, and neurological damage.
A traumatic amputation is a complete or partial loss of a body part due to an accident or an injury. If a body part is completely amputated due to an accident, the part can sometimes be reattached. The possibility of reattaching a body part can happen when the severed part or residual limb has been properly taken care of. With a partial amputation, there is still some soft-tissue connection available. The partially severed limb or part may or may not be able to be reattached based on the severity of the injury.
A birth injury is a physical injury that a baby endures during the birth process. Birth injuries are more prone to happen when the baby is large, born too early or prematurely, or not head-first in the birth canal. These types of injuries can also happen when the size or shape of the mother’s pelvis makes a normal vaginal birth very difficult or when the mother has a cesarean delivery. Some of the common types of birth injuries involve swelling or bruising of the baby’s head, bleeding under one of the cranial bones, injury to the group of nerves that supplies the hands and arms, and fracture of the clavicle or collarbone.
A traumatic brain injury is a sudden injury that causes severe damage to the brain. These types of injuries are created when a person experiences a blow, bump, or jolt to the head. People can also experience a traumatic brain injury when they experience penetration to the skull from an object. Brain injuries can be mild, moderate, or severe depending on the symptoms of the injury.
Some of the symptoms of a mild brain injury include a brief loss of consciousness, headaches, lightheadedness, dizziness, blurred vision, and ringing in the ears. Some of the symptoms of a severe brain injury include a headache that worsens and does not go away, convulsions or seizures, not being able to wake up from sleep, and loss of coordination.
Nerve damage is damage or dysfunction of one or more nerves that can result in tingling, numbness, muscle weakness, and pain in the injured area. Hands and feet are the areas where nerve damage frequently begins, but other parts of the body can be affected as well.
If you or your loved one has suffered a catastrophic injury, you or your loved one are entitled to legal rights and compensation. Contact a Norristown catastrophic injury attorney today to determine whether legal action should be pursued. Call us today at 215-987-3730 or use our contact form to schedule a free consultation.
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