C2 Fractures/Hangman’s Fracture After a Car Accident in San Diego

C2 Fractures/Hangman’s Fracture After a Car Accident in San Diego

The Hangman’s Fracture, also known as the C2 fracture, is a particularly dangerous and deadly spinal cord injury. It can occur in a car accident.

If you suffer this injury, always discuss your rights with a San Diego car accident lawyer with experience handling spinal injury claims.

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What is the C2 Fracture?

The C2 hangman’s fracture is a traumatic spinal cord injury impacting the axis vertebrae. This is a bilateral fracture of the C2 vertebrae located in the neck. It can occur in several ways, including due to the hyperextension of the spinal cord. 

One of the most common reasons why this can happen is a vehicle accident. It occurs when the accident hyperextends the neck, pulling it out of place significantly. This dislocates or fractures the cervical bones. In short, it results in a broken neck.

The C2 vertebrae is the axis in the spinal column that allows your head to move from one side to the other. When this vertebrae breaks, it can lead to complete paralysis from the neck down. In some situations, the brake can be so significant that it causes death.

Common Symptoms of a Hangman’s Fracture

It is hard to imagine how a car accident can create such a deadly condition, but it is not as uncommon as it may sound. Because this is a severe fracture of the vertebrae, the symptoms are typically very evident. In the most severe cases, a person cannot move any area below the neck, meaning they cannot move their body, arms, legs, or any other component below the net.

There is often significant damage to the spinal cord or, in some cases, the spinal cord has been severed. This makes it impossible to control or feel sensations below the neck. It also means a person can lose some bodily functions, including breathing. Muscles might not work, so they can atrophy. In addition to that, most people with the most severe form of this condition are unable to speak.

There are some situations where the fracture to the vertebrae is minor, which means the cord is not severed. This can still lead to significant injury, but people may still move around and function because this condition does not fully paralyze them.

The following are some of the most common C2 fracture symptoms in minor injuries:

• Loss of sensation of some or all of the feeling below the neck.
• Neck pain and immobility
• Tenderness and pain
• Double vision
• Swelling in various areas of the body
• Pain located at the base of the skull
• Numbness
• Loss of consciousness

If doctors suspect someone has damage to these areas of the body, they will perform a series of tests to determine what is occurring. This may include CT scans, MRIs, and X-rays. This will allow for the proper diagnosis and determination of what, if any, type of treatment may be an option for the individual.

You can learn more about the Hangman’s fractures at the National Library of Medicine website. What is most important, though, is to understand your personal level of complication and severity and how that will affect your health and future.

How C2 Spinal Cord Injuries Occur

Though several conditions can cause Hangman’s neck, some situations are more likely than others to bring it on. For example, a person may slip and fall at just the right level and cause a broken neck, especially when falling from heights.

However, some of the most common reasons for neck injuries to occur have to do with car accidents. The violent movement of the neck back and forth can lead to damage and fracture of the C2 vertebrae, causing this type of injury.

Other conditions that may cause C2 spinal fractures include:

• Truck accidents
• Pedestrian accidents involving vehicles
• Motor vehicle accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Playground accidents
• Sports-related accidents
• Construction site accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Swimming and diving accidents

If you or your loved one has been diagnosed with a C2 spinal fracture, there might be various factors that led to this condition. The key is to get help immediately after any type of accident like this to minimize the risk of an undetected, tiny fracture that can worsen into a serious, life-threatening condition.

Is a C2 Spinal Fracture a Type of Personal Injury?

If a person or business caused an accident that led to this type of fracture, you might have a personal injury due to negligence or recklessness. In this situation, you can seek compensation for your losses from the negligent and liable parties.

To obtain personal injury compensation for a C2 spinal cord injury, you must prove that the other party was responsible for the incident and the resulting injuries. Typically, evidence at the scene and additional data may help prove this is the case.

To prove negligence, you must prove the following four components:

• A person who caused the injury owed you a duty of care. In a car accident, if they got behind the wheel of the car, they promised to keep other drivers on the road safe.
• The person breached that duty of care in some way, such as being distracted, intoxicated, or fatigued behind the wheel.
• The breach caused your injury to occur. For example, the driver swerved and struck your car, causing your injury because they were distracted.
• You sustained injuries and damages as a result of the incident. In this case, you suffered a life-threatening injury in a C2 spinal cord fracture.

If you can prove these four elements, then you can hold the other party responsible for your injuries and all the associated losses.

Not everyone with C2 injuries will suffer paralysis. Some people do not have the worst level of injury, but they still incur losses that a lawyer can recover for them.

What Compensation Can You Seek in a Personal Injury Claim for a C2 Spinal Injury?

The financial compensation you seek depends on how this injury impacted you. Whether you have minor or more severe losses, your car accident attorney will calculate how this injury impacted you and will continue to affect you into the future. That is what your case is worth: the financial representation of the losses you have suffered.

The losses are likely numerous and typically start with medical expenses.

This may include:

• Emergency medical care you received at the time of the accident
• The ongoing medical care you need in the hospital or recovery center
• Rehabilitation costs
• Ongoing pain management
• In-home health care you needed
• Long-term care center treatment costs
• Complication-related costs, such as from infection
• Secondary surgeries

Many people with C2 spinal cord injuries will need more than one medical procedure. Some may need ongoing procedures throughout their lifetime to improve the impacted area. Others lose all function of their body under the vertebrae, which then requires a very different set of medical care needs.

Ongoing Needs and Costs

Having proper financial support is critical for those with a much longer road to recovery. Your car accident case needs to consider what type of care you may need for the years to come.

Some of the factors your lawyer will examine include:

• Loss of income and future income
• Loss of earning capacity
• The personal care needs you may have in the future, including long-term, dependent care
• The impact of pain and suffering on your life into the future
• Your inability to engage in activities you enjoy
• Loss of quality of life
• Mental anguish
• Traumatic outcomes and suffering

It can be very challenging to understand what all of these types of losses are worth. However, your car accident attorney can determine a financial value that aligns with your losses.

Speaking to Your Doctor

One of the steps your attorney will take is to understand your likely progression and future needs as a result.

This may include answering questions such as:

• How much will your C2 injury improve?
• What type of permanent limitation is likely to occur?
• What types of medical procedures may you need in the future to maintain your health?
• What types of alternative or experimental procedures may help you improve?
• How much pain will you be in on a constant basis, and will this improve?
• Does this injury impact your lifespan?

Your doctor will use their best judgment to offer opinions on your long-term outcome. In addition, your car accident attorney will speak to medical experts who can offer their opinion of your injuries and potential for full recovery. This information then factors into your claim for your personal injury losses.

What Is Your Potential for Recovery?

A big question that your car accident attorney will focus on is your ability to recover from a C2 spinal fracture. Full recovery may be possible in some situations. Some people with very minor symptoms may not even need surgical intervention.

What makes the Hangman’s fracture so problematic is that it can be very difficult to tell from the onset what the long-term outcome will be. It takes time, healing, and surgical intervention for many people to see any level of improvement.

During this time, you may need to wear a neck collar. Other times, you may need to remain in the hospital to monitor your vitals while your body heals and inflammation reduces.

The costs of diagnosing and treating a C2 fracture can overwhelm you. When someone else causes your injury in a crash, their insurance should cover all your losses, including future expenses. Knowing how much compensation you deserve without a professional assessment requires a car accident lawyer’s analysis.

Never accept an offer to resolve your injury claim until a skilled car accident calculates your losses. These can be high-value claims, and insurance companies will often grossly undervalue your settlement.

Adjusters work to minimize the effects of your injury, which then decreases their offer. They might tell you to trust them, they are on your side, and you don’t need an attorney. This is not the reality of the situation. They want you to accept a low settlement and move on, unable to seek more at a later date.

If you accept too little, you cannot obtain more when you realize you have uncovered losses. Always have legal advice before accepting any offer of financial recovery.

Explore the Legal Options Available to You With a San Diego Car Accident Attorney

Turn to a car accident attorney in San Diego for first-hand, skilled support after such a devastating injury. Allow your attorney to learn as much as possible about what occurred, your recovery potential, and who is at fault.

With that information, you may seek compensation from those who owe it to you. If you suspect you are the victim of negligence, the right car accident law firm in San Diego can help you.

Work closely with your lawyer to determine your rights to recovery and legal options for seeking it. Contact an attorney near you to learn more about how they can pursue fair and full compensation for a Hangman’s fracture or C2 spinal cord injury.