What is a Crush Injury?
As it sounds, a crush injury refers to a type of injury that occurs when a person’s body (or a specific body part) is crushed by a foreign object. As described by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), a crush injury occurs when an object causes major compression of a part of the body.
The ACEP notes that in most cases, crush injuries involve a victim’s extremities. More than 75 percent of crush injuries affect the victim’s feet or legs, while another 15 percent of crush injuries affect the arms or hands. In the remaining cases, the crush injuries affect the trunk. Trunk crush injuries have the potential to be truly catastrophic; to be sure, they can quickly turn deadly if the victim’s body is put under too much force.
How Do Crush Injuries Happen?
In general, a crush injury takes place when a person’s body is either stuck under something or stuck in between two things. However, in practice, crush injuries can occur in many different ways. In some cases, these injuries happen due to structural collapses. This is an issue in earthquake-prone regions such as Northern California. In other cases, crush injuries occur because of machinery accidents that happen at industrial workplaces. If your crush injury occurred at work, you may assume your case is limited to workers’ compensation. However, many crush injury victims have additional third-party claims against equipment manufacturers, subcontractors, property owners, or negligent drivers. These third-party claims can allow you to pursue full damages beyond workers’ compensation benefits.
Notably, one of the most common ways that ordinary people are exposed to the risk of a crush injury is due to a car accident. Even at seemingly low rates of speed, auto accidents involve an incredible amount of force. When crush injuries occur in a car accident, the results are often catastrophic, and victims always require immediate medical attention and ongoing professional support.
The Devastating Effects of a Crush Injury
The severity and extent of crush injuries vary widely depending on the specific nature of the accident. The one thing that all crush injury accidents have in common is that the victim needs emergency medical help. After receiving emergency medical care, it is critical to protect your legal rights immediately. Crush injury cases often depend on preserving accident scene evidence, equipment data, vehicle damage, surveillance footage, and witness statements. Speaking to insurance companies or signing documents too early can seriously harm your claim. In some cases, bystanders can help the victim free themselves from the situation in relatively short order, limiting the physical damage.
However, in other cases, an injured victim may be pinned under or between two objects for an extended period. When this happens, the crush injury can be especially severe. At GJEL, our dedicated Northern California crush injury lawyers have handled claims involving a wide range of different accidents. No matter the extent of your crush injuries, we are prepared to protect your legal rights.
Common crush injuries include:
- Deep bruising
- Broken or fractured bones
- The shattering of a bone
- Severe soft tissue damage
- Long-term nerve damage
- Internal bleeding
- Internal organ damage
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Amputations
- Spinal cord injuries
- Death
Crush injuries often involve complex medical conditions such as musculoskeletal destruction, vascular compromise, ischemia, nerve compression, soft-tissue necrosis, orthopedic fractures, traumatic amputations, and secondary systemic conditions like crush syndrome and rhabdomyolysis. Accurately documenting these medical findings is essential to establishing the full severity and long-term consequences of your injuries.
To make matters even more challenging for victims, crush injuries are notorious for resulting in medical complications. In many cases, a crush injury is even more severe than the initial, already serious medical diagnosis. The most common type of complication is referred to as ‘compartment syndrome’ or ‘crush injury syndrome’.
When this medical complication occurs, it is an emergency medical situation. It may even be a life-threatening issue. Blood and other bodily fluids can accumulate in an area, stopping proper blood flow to organs and tissues. In the most severe cases, crush injury syndrome can lead to the loss of key bodily functions, renal failure, organ damage, amputation, and even death.
Crush Injury Victims Deserve Full Compensation
Crush injuries often require extensive, ongoing medical support. Injured victims must be able to get fair compensation to pay for their bills and support their loved ones. If your crush injury was caused by the reckless, careless, or negligent actions of another party, you may be able to hold them legally liable for your damages. In crush injury cases, liability often extends beyond a single person or company. Depending on how your injury occurred, responsible parties may include a negligent driver, a construction contractor, a property owner, an equipment manufacturer, a subcontractor, or a third party at a worksite. Identifying all liable parties is critical in crush injury claims because these injuries often involve industrial equipment, structural failures, or high-force vehicle impacts that trigger multiple layers of responsibility.
To be clear, recovering full compensation for a crush injury is never easy. Crush injury claims often take longer than minor injury cases due to ongoing medical treatment, delayed diagnosis of complications, and the need for expert testimony. While some cases resolve through settlement, others require litigation to fully account for future medical care, lost earning capacity, and permanent impairment.
In California, strict deadlines apply to crush injury claims. In most personal injury cases, you generally have a limited time to file a lawsuit, and that deadline can be shorter if your injury involved a government entity, a public roadway, or a workplace accident. Missing the statute of limitations can permanently bar you from recovering compensation, no matter how severe your injuries are. Often these legal claims are defended by aggressive insurance carriers. Insurance companies may attempt to delay claims, dispute the severity of crush injuries, challenge causation, or argue that complications such as compartment syndrome or nerve damage are unrelated. Having experienced legal representation helps protect you from these tactics. Insurers try to limit a victim’s settlement offer.
Insurance companies frequently argue that crush injury victims were partially at fault to reduce payouts. Under California’s comparative fault rules, you may still recover compensation even if you share some responsibility for the accident, though your recovery may be reduced. Determining fault accurately is critical in high-value crush injury cases.
Injured victims should always be represented by a skilled Bay Area personal injury attorney. A qualified attorney will be able to help you put together the case to establish liability and prove the full value of your damages. Proving a crush injury case typically requires detailed medical records, imaging studies, surgical reports, expert medical opinions, accident reconstruction, OSHA or safety investigations, and documentation linking the compressive force directly to your injuries. Strong evidence is essential to counter insurer challenges and undervaluation.
At GJEL, our California crush injury lawyers are dedicated to helping injured victims maximize their compensation. The value of a crush injury case depends on factors such as the degree of tissue destruction, fractures, nerve damage, vascular injury, amputations, internal organ damage, permanent disability, and future medical needs. Cases involving prolonged compression or crush injury syndrome often result in significantly higher compensation due to long-term medical and functional consequences.
We can help you recover for:
- Emergency room fees
- Long-term medical costs
- Visits to specialized
- Outpatient services
- Prescription drugs
- Medical equipment
- Rehabilitative treatment
- Disability compensation
- Lost wages
- Diminished earning potential
- Pain and suffering
- Disfigurement
- Reduced quality of life
- The wrongful death of a family member
When a crush injury results in death, surviving family members may be entitled to pursue a wrongful death claim. These cases involve different legal considerations, eligible claimants, and recoverable damages than injury claims, making experienced legal guidance essential.
Contact Our California Crush Injury Attorneys Today
At GJEL, our compassionate California crush injury lawyers are standing by, ready to help you and your family fight for full financial compensation. If you or a loved one was injured in a crush accident, you must seek immediate legal assistance.
For a free, no-obligation consultation, please contact GJEL today. We have main offices throughout the Bay Area and Northern California, including in Oakland, San Jose, Fresno, Hayward, Walnut Creek, and Orinda. Crush injury claims are often filed in local California courts where the accident occurred. Familiarity with local venues, judges, and defense strategies can play an important role in how these complex cases are handled and resolved. In addition, our law firm operates many satellite offices and client meeting locations to ensure that we can provide convenient legal service to you and your family.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Andrew (Andy) R. Gillin is a founding partner of GJEL Accident Attorneys and has practiced personal injury law in California state and federal courts since 1970. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School and co-founded GJEL in 1972. Over the course of his career, Andy has helped hundreds of injured plaintiffs recover compensation, including multiple seven-figure settlements and verdicts. He specializes in serious injury and wrongful death cases and holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, with recognition from Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America.
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