Though typically thought of as an injury that affects mainly construction workers, crush injuries can happen at any time, in any place and to any person.
Unfortunately, victims who suffer through this form of injury will also usually face lasting repercussions that can continue manifesting even years after the accident itself.
What is a crush injury?
Medline Plus takes a look at the impact of crush injuries. First off, it is important to know what a crush injury is. This is a form of injury that involves part of the body getting crushed beneath a heavy and/or large object, which essentially pins the victim in place or crushes the body part to the point of enormous physical damage.
Types of crush injuries
Certain types of injuries are more common depending on the area of the body impacted. For example, when the feet or hands get crushed, it is not uncommon for the victim to lose some or all of these extremities. This is due to the large amount of tissue damage that occurs, how hard it is to repair, and the death of cells caused by a lack of oxygen.
When victims suffer crush injuries to the torso, it often causes organ damage due to the blocking of blood flow or other bodily processes. In many crush victims, they will suffer damage to the kidneys, heart, or lungs in particular. It is not uncommon for victims to deal with ruptures of the digestive system, either.
As one can imagine from the description alone, these injuries can cause massive external and internal damage. Victims may end up dealing with visible and invisible disabilities for years or even a lifetime after the accident.