Blindness Following a Cervical Fracture: Case Review
I’m Ed Smith, a Personal Injury Lawyer in Sacramento. For most people, their ability to see the world around them is an important part of their quality of life. This gives them the ability to interact frequently with their family and friends while feeling included in the daily activities around them. Unfortunately, some people can lose their sight in traumatic ways, leading to permanent medical disability that will change their life forever. A recent case report discussing a patient who had their sight damaged following a motor vehicle accident was published in the medical literature.
How Does a Cervical Fracture Occur?
One of the many ways that people can lose their sight is through damage to the brain’s blood flow following a fracture of the cervical vertebrae. The cervical vertebrae are the bones in the spinal column that live directly beneath the brain. These vertebrae are responsible for protecting the spinal cord and vertebral fractures in this region can cause some serious damage to the spinal cord and associated structures. There are many different ways that someone can suffer a vertebral fracture of the cervical section. One of the most common ways is that someone could dive into a pool and strike their head on the bottom of the pool. Not only does this lead to fractures of the cervical vertebrae but often is concurrent with a traumatic brain injury. Serious vertebral damage could even lead to a wrongful death situation. Another common mechanism of cervical vertebrae fractures is through an execution by hanging. If the knot is positioned in the right place, the individual would suffer a cervical fracture of the neck, leading to rapid death; however, someone doesn’t have to be hung to suffer what has been termed a “Hangman’s Fracture.” A group of medical professionals had a patient who suffered this type of fracture in a motor vehicle accident and actually suffered cortical blindness. They published the results of this case for everyone to learn from.
The Case Report
A patient who was 40 years of age was involved in an auto accident and presented to the local emergency department. He had been involved in the accident about five hours prior to his arrival in the ED and had also been unconscious for around thirty minutes after the accident. He had some sharp pains in his neck as well as in his abdomen. His heart rate was mildly elevated and his blood pressure was dropping, so he received a blood transfusion in the emergency department. A few minutes after he arrived, he suddenly started screaming that he was unable to see. He said that he was blind in both of his eyes and did not notice any changes in his vision when flashlights were flashed in front of his face. Despite this, his pupils were changing their dilatory size in response to those flashlights. He was still able to move his eyes in all directions and he had no acute changes in his mental status, such as seizures or other neurological events. Because of his neck pain, he was immobilized in a neck collar and taken to radiology for imaging. Scans revealed that he had fractured his C2 vertebrae, called a Hangman’s fracture. A follow-up angiogram combined with the CT scan did not demonstrate any damage to the blood vessels in the spine; however, a follow-up MRI scan demonstrated some limited diffusion in the occipital lobe, the region of the brain that controls vision. The blood vessels in the brain were considered normal. He was stable from a hemodynamic perspective for the duration of his stay and his vision started to improve over the next couple of days. After two weeks, the patient reported that his vision had returned to normal.
Quality of Life Issues Moving Forward
In this case, the patient was able to regain his vision following a traumatic auto accident; however, other individuals may not be so lucky. When someone suffers a Hangman’s Fracture, it is not unusual for the bone to sever the vertebral artery that supplies blood to the brain. If this happens, the patient could lose their ability to see because the blood flow to the occipital lobe could end up disrupted. Patients suffer a Hangman’s Fracture often do so with an extreme hyperextension and compression injury combination and could lose their sight without any other warning of neurological dysfunction, making these injuries particularly challenging to pick up. Blindness can be a frightening and life-changing condition for anyone to deal with, even if it’s temporary. After seeking medical attention, it can be helpful to talk to an experienced personal injury lawyer in Sacramento about all of the options that are available.
Experienced Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Personal Injury Lawyer in Sacramento. If you are struggling with your vision after a car crash, please reach out to my team for advice free of charge or obligation. Our office’s phone number is and our toll-free line can be reached with (800) 404-5400.
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