Pedestrian Pelvic Injuries
Pedestrian Pelvic Injuries – When people drive a motor vehicle, it is important to always be aware of pedestrians who might be crossing the street or walking along the side of the road. In particular, children may not realize the danger that cars pose as they walk along the side of the road and could step out into traffic unexpectedly. When this happens, serious pedestrian injuries could result, and some of these could even become life-threatening. Some of the statistics on pedestrian safety published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) include:
- One out of every five children who are killed in traffic accidents happens to be pedestrians.
- About 20 percent of pedestrian injuries and deaths are accounted for by the elderly over the age of 65.
- Close to half of all accidents that involve pedestrians are caused by a driver who is impaired by alcohol intoxication.
- Most accidents involving pedestrians happen in an urban setting at night where a crosswalk is not present.
These statistics help to show just how serious pedestrian injuries can be. Like auto accidents, there are many different injuries that pedestrians could sustain if they are struck by a motor vehicle. One particularly severe injury that is often overlooked involves pelvic injuries. In some cases, this could even lead to internal bleeding which might be life-threatening.
An Overview: Mechanism of Pelvic Injuries in Pedestrian Accidents
There are multiple injuries of the pelvis that someone could sustain in a pedestrian accident. These typically result from an impact from the side at the level of the hip. This direct impact to the pelvis is enough to cause multiple bone fractures and internal injuries. Some pelvic injuries that people could sustain if they are struck by a motor vehicle include:
- A femoral head fracture
- A hip fracture
- Damage to the internal pelvic structures, such as the bladder, uterus (in women), and urethra
- Nerve damage, such as the femoral nerve or the obturator nerve
- Rupture of blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to the tissues in and around the pelvis
Injuries involving the blood vessels of the pelvis could be particularly severe because internal bleeding could be missed until it is too late.
Internal Bleeding from Injuries to the Pelvis
When someone sustains blunt trauma to the pelvis, blood vessels could rupture. Sometimes, this is caused by fragments of broken bones. Other times, the injury is so severe that it can break the blood vessels directly. There are lots of essential arteries that run through the pelvis such as:
- The external iliac artery
- The internal iliac artery
- The pudendal artery
- The obturator artery
- The iliolumbar artery
A rupture of any of these arteries could potentially be catastrophic. The pelvis is a wide space that can hold a large amount of blood. Female hips are also wider than male hips and can contain even more blood. Therefore, the pelvis can fill up with a large amount of blood before symptoms start to occur. Thus, following a traumatic accident, anyone with a high heart rate or low blood pressure needs to be evaluated for internal bleeding in the setting of pelvic trauma. It could be lifesaving.
Help from a Lawyer
If a pedestrian is struck by a motor vehicle and sustains serious injuries, the accident deserves to be investigated by an experienced pedestrian injury lawyer in Sacramento. Families should make sure that every detail is explored because they could be entitled to financial compensation.
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Sacramento Pedestrian Injury Lawyers
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento Pedestrian Injury Lawyer. Internal bleeding in the pelvis could lead to serious complications. If you or a loved one has suffered injuries in a car accident, call me at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400 for free, friendly legal advice.
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Pedestrian Pelvic Injuries: AutoAccident.com
Image Attribution: The photo at the start of this article is seen in its original form on Unsplash. The image has been reproduced here with permission/Pedestrian Pelvic Injuries.
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