Illustrated Medicine: Case Study

Degloving crush injury to arm from roll-over

Incident
Mr. Black was a belted backseat passenger involved in a head-on collision with roll-over. He was thrown from the vehicle and suffered significant injuries to his upper limbs.

Purpose of illustration
This exhibit was required to demonstrate his severe right upper limb crush injury with degloving, as well as his associated fractures and 3^rd degree burns. The soft-tissue and bony injuries were illustrated separately to fully communicate the extent of the trauma.

Rationale for litigation visual
Voluminous hospital reports and imaging studies noted the profound nature of Mr. Bourne’s upper limb trauma – this visual served as a summary panel for the right arm pathology.

Complications
Mr. Black required numerous upper limb surgeries, including reduction of his fractures, transplantation of skin from his thigh to cover the forearm and hand degloving, and release of elbow ankylosis that resulted from the trauma.

Other visuals demonstrated
Additional panels detailed the other surgeries performed, as well as the severe trauma to his left hand, including fractures, partial amputation of several fingers and the associated surgeries.

Outcome
The case settled at the conclusion of a two-day mediation.

“The illustrations Artery Studios creates … are always of the highest quality. They are simply indispensable as demonstrative aids in graphically illustrating both the trauma mechanism and permanency of the injuries sustained by our clients…  I highly recommend Artery Studios’ involvement in any serious personal injury case.” – Michael Lamont, Lamont Law