“[E]xamples of medical disorders which tend to cause delayed or seemingly unrelated complications: Physical stresses from musculo-skeletal impairment [can produce arthritic conditions, back injury, heart attack, etc.]; Metabolic stresses from severe illness or injury [can produce infection, inability to control diabetes, dehydration and other fluid and electrolyte imbalances, interference with the normal heart rhythm, kidney failure, hyperthyroid crisis, etc.]; Severe injury to any vital organ such as liver, lung, heart or kidney [can reduce the functional reserve of that organ, such that it cannot tolerate subsequent major stress and will fail during a serious illness or injury; this can increase the risks from future surgery, and can shorten the life expectancy]; Lung injury reducing the capacity of the lung to maintain adequate oxygen in the blood in times of stress [can produce heart attack, brain injury, fetal brain injury during pregnancy, etc.]; Brain injury [can produce personality changes, increased vulnerability to adverse effects on the brain from stress or drugs, severe brain impairment or epilepsy following relatively minor subsequent brain injury, etc.]; Eye injury [can produce traumatic cataract, retinal detachment, traumatic glaucoma, inflammation with scar formation causing vision, inflammation in the other eye leading to total blindness, etc.]; Fracture [can produce injury of a peripheral nerve near a fracture site or at a pressure point of a cast or splint, nervous changes causing pain and limited joint motion in an extremity, interruption of bone growth in children, traumatic arthritis, failure of the bone to heal, bone infection, bone destruction, fat embolism, etc.]; Joint injury [can produce traumatic arthritis, recurrent joint dislocation, injury to internal joint structures such as to disc, to meniscus, etc.]; Paralysis or any prolonged bedrest [can produce urinary tract stones with possible permanent injury to urinary tract structures, pneumonia, blood clots in veins with possible embolism, loss of bone minerals with possible bone fractures, bed sores, etc.]; Muscle injury [can produce shortening of a muscle, causing impairment]; Injury interfering with blood supply such as sever swelling or artery disruption [can produce gangrene or can require amputation]; Extensive scar tissue [can produce infection, fibrous brands causing obstruction of tubes, such as of the bowel or ureter, narrowing of tubes, etc.]; Urinary tract injury or obstruction [can produce kidney infection which can destroy the kidney, kidney damage which can lead to toxic effects from normal dosages of drugs, kidney vascular damage which can cause hypertension, etc.]; Fallopian tube injury or infection [can produce sterility, tubal pregnancy, recurrent infection, etc.; Premature birth [can produce increased susceptibility to hemorrhage and infection in the infant; also can produce fetal lung disorders which can cause death or brain damage, or which can require high oxygen concentrations leading to blindness.”
[Stein on Personal Injury Damages [certain citations omitted]]
