Russian transportation city officials are blaming errors made by the captain as the reason for the sinking of an Indonesia-flagged vessel in the Sea of Okhotsk.
Learn More >>Exposure Injuries
Cold exposure occurs when a person is submerged in water, and can lead not just to drowning, but to several cold exposure-related emergencies, including hypothermia and frostbite.
Contrary to what most people believe, there's more than one way a person can drown. The first kind of drowning involves the complete subversion of a person in water, thereby blocking off respiration, and ultimately causing death. The second type of drowning occurs when a person is submerged in ice cold water. Here, the person doesn't have to be completely submerged in water to drown. Instead, the suddenly icy shock of the cold frigid waters, can cause the person's larynx to go into spasms. When that happens, respiration is cut off, and the person dies from lack of oxygen.
Drowning is not the only way a person can be killed from exposure. Cold exposure can cause a condition called hypothermia, in which the body temperature drops to dangerous levels. Broadly, when a person's body temperature drops to below 95°F, it is considered a medical emergency, and the person can die. Survival from hypothermia can depend on how fast the body can be brought back to normal. Fortunately, rescue agencies like the United States Coast Guard make use of sophisticated lifesaving skills that are designed to begin the process of increasing body temperatures with warm oxygen supplies and IV fluids, as soon as the person is out of the cold water or environment.
A person who has been submerged in cold water for a prolonged period of time may also have an increased risk of developing frostbite. This is a condition in which a person's tissues, quite literally, freeze. The tissue cells die off from lack of oxygen, caused by exposure to extreme cold. The skin may initially seem pale and cold. As the condition progresses, the skin may become red, painful and covered with blisters. Finally gangrene sets in, and at this point, the only option left is to amputate the affected body part.
The international maritime injury lawyers at Schechter McElwee Shaffer & Harris represent persons who have been severely injured after cold exposure. If you or a loved one has suffered catastrophic injuries like frostbite and hypothermia, due to another's negligence, contact the personal injury lawyers at our firm for a free initial evaluation of your case.
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