One of the most horrific injuries an accident victim can suffer is a degloving injury. A degloving injury is when the skin is completely pulled off the hand and arm, with only the muscles, tissues, and bones left. These injuries are extremely painful and debilitating. The medical treatments are extensive, often requiring multiple surgeries, and are very slow to heal, requiring a very long recovery time.
Even after the victim has reached full recovery, they are often left with extreme and permanent nerve damage and scarring. It is not uncommon for there to be so much damage from the injury that the only option is amputation. Even more tragic for victims and their families is that the types of accidents that cause these injuries are often so severe that the victim has also suffered additional catastrophic injuries such as brain or spinal cord injuries.
Degloving Injury Damage
There are two different types of tissue damage that a victim suffers from a degloving injury:
- In the first type of injury, the skin gets torn off, cutting off or restricting the supply of blood to the tissue underneath. Skin tissue is scraped back and usually requires multiple skin grafts.
- The second type of degloving injury is a closed injury. The tissue underneath suffers an extreme force or trauma, but unlike the other type, the skin stays intact. The trauma causes the blood vessels to break, which can result in some of this tissue to die because there is no blood supply feeding it.
Degloving Injury Accidents
There are several types of accidents that victims often suffer degloving injuries. These include:
- Motorcycle accidents: Many motorcycle crashes cause occupants to slide and scrape across the pavement, resulting in degloving injuries to the hands, shoulders, knees, and legs.
- Pedestrian and bicycle accidents: When the victim is hit, they are often dragged by the vehicle across the pavement.
- Industrial and farming accidents: Accidents involving heavy machinery, such as drill presses, grinders, and tractors, often result in degloving injuries.
- Dog bites: In extreme dog attacks, the dog tears away pieces of the victim’s skin, causing a degloving injury.
Contact a Virginia Accident Attorney
Degloving injuries are debilitating, and recovery is extensive. Not only are the physical effects of the injury overwhelming, but the financial impact can be devastating to a family’s finances. The cost of medical treatments and loss of income from being unable to work while undergoing those treatments are losses that a victim can pursue in a personal injury case against the party who caused the accident that resulted in the injury.
If you have been injured in a crash, contact a Virginia personal injury attorney to see what type of financial damages you may be entitled to. The legal team from Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp have been advocating for injured clients since 1985 and will do all we can to ensure you receive the best possible outcome under the circumstances of your case. If you would like to meet with one of our skilled attorneys to find out how we can help, call us today to schedule a free consultation.
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