Neck Injury Attorney

What to Do When Someone Breaks His Neck

So, someone gets into an accident. You watch that little boy across the street fly down the road on his skateboard. Then, at the blink of an eye, it happens. The skateboard flips – child along with it – and the boy comes crashing onto the pavement below. How to tell if a neck injury is serious or not? Here are some tips on how to deal with a broken neck in case of an emergency.

The truth is, you can’t really tell if someone’s neck is broken or not by merely looking. You’ll have to bring the person to the hospital immediately to get an X-ray.

The important thing to remember when you’re helping someone with a possible neck injury is to NOT move him. Unless he’s trapped in a burning building or something. Even a little movement can jeopardize someone with a broken neck. Hold the person’s head in place and DO NOT MOVE IT (even if the person is wearing head gear) until the paramedics arrive.

The next thing you should do is to check the person’s breathing. If he is not breathing, both your hands on each side of the jaw and push forward to open the air passage way. Do NOT tilt the head. Begin CPR.

If the person is choking or vomiting blood, this means that you have to roll him over. Do NOT attempt to roll him by yourself. Get someone to help you. Station yourself at the head area and let the other person station himself/herself by the patient’s side. When you roll him over, make sure the head, neck and back are all in one straight line.

Feeling some sort of neck discomfort? See how sleeping in the wrong position can trigger it.