Trauma care can save lives of auto accident injury victims

On Behalf of | May 13, 2013 | Uncategorized |

In addition to first responders, the most important actors in the post-accident process for a serious accident are the medical providers. In Georgia and throughout the nation, the subject of auto accident injury is more visible right now because May is National Trauma Awareness Month. That is why an ABC news affiliate in Augusta visited the Georgia Regents Trauma Center to see more precisely how trauma doctors are saving lives every day.

Reporters interviewed one 22-year-old man who was in a car accident about two years ago. He was airlifted in critical condition to the trauma center in Augusta while his life was teetering on the brink of death. Doctors at the trauma center had to perform brain surgery, which included opening the young man’s head to decrease the brain swelling. He pulled through and today attributes that miraculous survival to his doctors at the trauma facility.

Trauma from car accidents is a major contributor to the death statistics across the country. Fortunately, the Georgia trauma facility has a significantly higher rate of survival than the national average. As a trauma center, the institution is geared to act quickly and efficiently with a focus on people needing critical emergency care.

The trauma center is technically open to people within 50 miles of its Augusta location. However, people are airlifted in from throughout Georgia and surrounding states. They treat people with serious personal injury from a wide variety of traumatic events, not just car accidents. About 80 percent of all trauma injuries are form auto accidents and falls. It’s reported that the number one cause of death for people age 1 through 44 is from trauma.

In Texas and elsewhere, medical providers are immediately involved in the survival and recovery of an individual who has an auto accident injury, or for any other kind of traumatic injury. Medical attention and continuing care, including extensive therapy and additional surgical procedures, can be required in many cases of serious personal injury. In addition to the critical role of the medical provider, there are others who play a major role in the post-accident process. The most important is the injured person’s legal counsel, who will guide the individual through the claims process with understanding and efficiency.

Source: wjbf.com, “WJBF Extra: Inside The Georgia Regents Trauma Center,” Mike Miller, May 2, 2013