Accidents: Medical Coma

Car accidents continue to kill and injure thousands of Americans every year. To a certain extent, we think we are prepared for the outcomes of a car accident; best case scenario, there are no injuries, and maybe our insurance cost goes up a little. If we’re less lucky, we sustain a short-term or even a long-term injury that must be treated with medical care and possibly physical therapy. Worst case, we are killed.

But there is actually a space between long-term injury and death that most Americans never contemplate. After an accident, medical professionals might be forced to put a person into a medically-induced coma. A medically-induced coma:

• Is triggered using a barbiturate until the patient’s brain patterns match the brain patterns of a person in a long-term coma
• Is used to allow the body to heal from trauma
• Is reversible
• Is not sustained for longer than six months

Some people do not heal while under the effects of a medically-induced coma, and are pulled off life support. Some people take weeks or even months to heal. Even in the best case scenario, an individual who has been placed in a medical coma will have a serious readjustment period while the drugs wear off and their body continues to heal from trauma.

Medical care is, in general, expensive, and the range of treatments needed after a car accident can quickly bankrupt a person. If you or someone you love has suffered trauma due to someone else’s negligence, you will have to find a way to pay for your treatments. Please contact a qualified attorney who can help you hold the negligent responsible for their actions, and help you pay for the medical care you deserve.