If you have endured injury due to a motor vehicle accident, you will know first hand how much pain and suffering an accident can inflict on ones body, finances and life. Although vehicle accidents are a common and daily occurrence, the damage and injuries they inflict depend on severity of the accident and other circumstances.
Many victims of road accidents report injuries to the knee, hip and thigh, these types of injuries can cause serious and often lifetime debilitation. Knee, hip and thigh injuries are often the result of front impact accidents where a person's legs may be injured from a steering wheel, or dashboard disintegration, at the time of impact or by being thrown around the vehicle due to rolling. Drivers and front passengers are the most common victims of these types of injuries. Because the knees, hips and thighs play an integral role to stabilizing the body and mobility, if this area is subjected to injury it can often result in painful, expensive and long-term hospitalization and rehabilitation.
Knee Injuries Resulting From Vehicle Accidents
The type of knee injury that may occur will depend on the type of accident and the trauma in which the knee has been subjected. A knee may become jerked or jolted suddenly, be impacted by a dashboard or steering wheel or may hit a window or roof, if the vehicle rolled.
A knee that has received an impact may suffer from Posterior Collateral Ligament injury, or PCL. Pain associated with this is swelling, pain and buckling of the knee. Many victims of road accidents can also suffer from dislocated knees, ruptured tendons, knee fractures and severe twisting and hyperextension to the ligaments. Another injury, that is often a result of front-end crashes, is fractures to the tibia, or the shinbone.
The most common knee injury is damage to the Anterior Cruciate Ligament or ACL. This important ligament provides stability to the knee; someone who may have suffered from this damage may feel pain and swelling, buckling of the knee and one may even hear the knee "popping". If this ligament has ruptured, the person may be in excruciating pain and suffering from severe disability, which may become permanent.
Thigh Injuries Resulting From Motor Vehicle Accidents
Just like the knee, the thigh can receive impact damage caused by a motor vehicle accident. A common thigh injury is a fracture to the femur bone, which is the bone that extends from your knee to your hip. Damage to this area can affect the entire knee-thigh-hip alignment in the human muscular system and must be treated correctly to avoid permanent damage.
Another possible thigh injury is fractures to the femur, which often result in pins being surgically installed to ensure this crucial bone heals correctly. Surgery can be costly and may require extensive rehabilitation.
Hip Injuries due to Road Accidents
Hip injuries are also a common injury, which may result from front-end collisions. There are many types of hip injuries, those that are near to the joints and femur bone and those that may affect the pelvis. These injuries may be fractures from the femur leading up to the pelvis, dislocation of vital hip joints and extensive bruising.
All types of hip injuries would leave the victim in a great deal of pain. Treatment may include surgery, which may involve screws and plates surgically inserted to insure the joints mend and, sometimes, a full or partial hip replacement may be required. After surgery, hospitalization may be lengthy, including restricted mobility and long-term rehabilitation, which may result in assistance throughout the whole recovery process. Additionally, medical and psychological costs are often costly.
Contact a Personal Injury Attorney in Your Area to Learn More
In addition to the extensive muscular damage that can be caused to lower limbs resulting from motor accidents, patients often need regular pain relief. Lower limb injuries are often caused by collisions that occur to the front of a vehicle, whether it is head on or side impacted. The extent of the damage depends on the force of the impact and other considerations such as where the impact occurred, safety devices used and the way in which the vehicle responded to the accident.
Injuries from motor vehicle accidents can often be extensive and painful. They can impact a person's life from mobility and the ability to function, to obtrusive surgery, great expense and long-term rehabilitation that may be required to ensure the vital areas of the knees, thighs and hips are given the best opportunity to heal.
Article provided by Brodie & Friedman, P.A. Please visit our Web site at http://www.bocaratonpersonalinjuryattorneys.com/.