May 27, 2025 | Personal Injury
“Exsanguination” isn’t a word that most people hear in everyday conversation, but it nevertheless describes something remarkably serious. It is the medical term for bleeding out; that is, losing so much blood that the body can no longer function. In many cases, it’s both fatal and fast.
It can arise in the aftermath of a car crash, an accident at work, a stabbing, gunshot wounds, or a serious fall. Whatever the cause, once major blood vessels are damaged, the clock starts ticking. A person can bleed out in less than five minutes if the injury is bad enough and if any major arteries are involved.
How Much Blood Loss Is Too Much?
The average adult holds around 10 to 12 pints of blood in their body. Losing just one or two can cause symptoms like dizziness and confusion, but when someone loses 40% or more of their blood volume, that’s a critical threshold. From there, things spiral out of control quickly, as their brain, heart, and lungs will all begin to shut down.
Paramedics know that, and emergency rooms prepare for it, but if help doesn’t get there quickly enough or the bleeding can’t be controlled, exsanguination will become the individual’s cause of death.
Exsanguination in Personal Injury Cases
Imagine that a high-speed car crash occurs in downtown Chicago, and the impact slices an artery, and the injured person bleeds out before help can arrive.
It’s the kind of damage that hits hard and fast, and it often leads to hard questions about who’s at fault and what went wrong. Who caused the accident? Were speeding or distracted driving involved? Did a company vehicle run a red light?
Indeed, when someone dies from exsanguination after an accident caused by someone else’s careless behavior, that loss becomes the centerpiece of evidence in cases where families are left behind looking for answers.
Why It Matters in Court
Attorneys will look closely at the scene to examine what could have prevented the loss of life, not in the sense of whether the accident could have been avoided, but in understanding what decisions and failures led up to it.
Perhaps a product failed, a machine malfunctioned, or safety rules weren’t followed. In these cases, the fatal blood loss links the action (or inaction) to the outcome. Medical experts might also get involved to explain how quickly someone lost blood, whether treatment could have helped, and how much pain the person likely suffered.
All of these details are what typically shape the case, particularly in wrongful death claims.
It’s Not Always Immediate
What’s arguably even scarier about exsanguination is how easily it can slip under the radar. A person might look totally fine after an accident, only to collapse hours later from internal bleeding. That kind of slow, inconspicuous bleed can throw off doctors and make it tough to figure out who’s to blame.
That delayed onset also complicates how the legal team has to prove that exsanguination was the cause of death. Documentation becomes extremely important and often involves medical scans, ambulance reports, and eyewitness accounts.
Seek Legal Help
There’s a reason the term “exsanguination” comes up in serious personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits; it marks the point where an injury turns deadly, and it shows how severe the damage was. In Chicago courts, those details matter. They shape how a case is argued, what compensation is sought, and how responsibility is assigned.
Contact our Personal Injury Law Firm at Powell and Pisman Injury Lawyers
If you’ve been injured in an accident in Chicago, IL, don’t navigate the legal process alone. Our dedicated team is here to provide the expert guidance you need to secure the compensation you deserve. Contact our experienced attorneys at Powell and Pisman Injury Lawyers for a free consultation.
We serve Cook County and its surrounding areas:
Powell and Pisman Injury Lawyers
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Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 635-5400
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