3 Pedestrian Injuries You Need to Know About
Posted by admin at 12 June 2019, at 15 : 48 PM
Pedestrians, whether they are walking, jogging, running, or even sitting in public, can be vulnerable to an accident with a negligent driver. It’s important to be aware of the injuries that can be sustained as a result and stay safe.
With more and more vehicles on the road, the times have never been this worse for pedestrians. Anyone can get into an accident, whether they are crossing the street, walking carefully on the sidewalk, or even just sitting in public, because of negligent driver. If there’s a road nearby and vehicles are going through it regularly, there’s bound to be an accident.
That’s why it is important to know a good lawyer who can help you when you’re involved in a pedestrian accident. Andrew Schwing, for example, is a personal injury lawyer who specializes in pedestrian accidents. His law office helps victims get justice and appropriate compensation from negligent drivers. This is quite crucial, especially when the victim suffered terrible injuries from the accident.
You don’t want to be on the receiving end of these accidents. These injuries could permanently impair you, keep you from working or even functioning normally. To get a better idea about how bad these accidents can be, here’s a list of pedestrian accident injuries that one could suffer from. For a car owner, it’s also important to learn about this in order to be more careful while you’re on the road.
TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury)
The most important part of the body, the brain, is easily the most affected during a pedestrian accident. Just having your head bumped or violently shook can already cause a concussion. Imagine getting hit by a car and hitting your head on the hood or the concrete. The degree of damage received is magnified, often causing prolonged head injuries, and even severe medical problems that’s often untreatable. TBIs can really impair your normal activities, so working and daily functioning would be very challenging. Often, those who suffered traumatic injuries to the brain are unable to return to work and must live with a disability forever.
Even if the TBI is temporary, it could still sideline a person for weeks or even months just to recover. They need extra care, as they can’t really be relied on to take care of themselves. TBIs can cause imbalance, impairment of primary senses, headaches and nausea, and more. The best thing to do for the victim is to take time off work, recover, and continue with whatever therapy or medicine recommended. He may look fine and normal on the outside, but a brain impairment can have prolonged consequences not only to himself but also to his family and his career.
Injuries to the spine
A sudden, traumatic blow to the body, especially in the torso area, can easily dislocate or fracture vertebrae. This puts your spine at a great risk, as it could be impacted and severed. Even the smallest damage to the spine can cause life-long impairment to your mobility. The spinal cord plays a great role in a person’s mobility and functions, as it transmits the signals between your brain and body. A small nick from a simple accident like falling from your bed can have you crippled for the rest of your life.
Now imagine a car speeding down the road, suddenly hitting you and dislocating your spine. You can already imagine the stress it brings to your spinal cord upon impact. You can only pray that it doesn’t cause permanent damage, and that any impairment is temporary. A pedestrian accident can easily leave its victims paralyzed from the leg down, or worse, from the neck down. A paraplegic or quadriplegic would require a lot of help and care, as they won’t be able to do anything on their own anymore. Such an injury is a life sentence, not only to the victim, but also to their loved ones.
Fractures and broken bones
The human bone is very strong. It not only holds the body’s weight, but it also absorbs the impact of everyday movement, so that you can walk, run, and jump with ease. But that strength is nothing compared to the force of the impact of a car running at full speed. No matter how strong your bone is, a speeding metal box is definitely stronger. This is why bone injuries are common in pedestrian accidents. While common and very treatable, they’re nonetheless painful, bothersome, and even bring a lifetime of pain and suffering to the victims.
Fracture is a bone injury wherein the bone gets cracked and damaged from the impact. This requires weeks and even months to heal, limiting the mobility and function of the victim. If their work or daily routine require the use of their fractured limbs, then it means they may need to take a time-off to recover.
Broken bones, from the term itself, is easy to imagine. These are extremely painful and would definitely require more time to recover than fracture. Some instances require several operations to reattach the broken parts. The problem with both the fracture and broken bones is that even if they’ve successfully healed, there will be a lingering pain for the victims. It could range from simple discomfort, to prolonged pain that requires constant medication.
For worse cases, the impact is so bad that the bone is completely broken off, and it would be impossible to reattach and heal from. The limb gets amputated, permanently impairing the victim. This situation means the victim needs to totally readjust to a life without an arm or a leg. This affects not only their career, but also their social relationships, and can lead to further problems like depression and other mental health issues.
Other injuries include soft tissue injuries. These are bruises, lacerations, tears, sprains, and dislocations. These are common and treatable, but would still require time to recover from, and medication to manage the pain. It can keep the victims from working or engaging in their daily activities for weeks or even months depending on the severity of injury.
They could also suffer from emotional injury. The traumatic experience of getting hit or run over by a vehicle can cause a lifetime of fear and other emotional issues that could arise from the accident.
Based on the above mentioned injuries, a pedestrian accident is not something that you can take lightly. It could happen to you or your loved one, so it’s best to be prepared for that eventuality. Having a person, you can rely on to get justice and proper compensation is extremely helpful in these situations. This is also a good thing to learn about if you’re buying a car, since the consequences of your actions while driving can greatly impact the lives of others.