10 Worst Injuries Star Trek Characters Actually Survived
1. Worf Is Crushed And Then Dies (For A While)
You have to feel for Lt. Worf in the fifth-season episode of The Next Generation, Ethics. This proud warrior is crippled by a falling cargo container while on duty, leaving him in a paraplegic state. Despite her best efforts, Dr. Crusher can do nothing for him. As he's grown up with the Klingon belief that it is better to die on one's feet, this is potentially the worst type of injury that the man could face.
Believing there to be no other option, he asks Commander Riker to aid him in his own suicide. Riker refuses, though he brings the matter to Picard. He even suggests that Worf ask Alexander, though he is unable to do so.
Enter Dr. Toby Russell, a neurological scientist who uses unproven and untested methods to achieve her ends. Between herself and Dr. Crusher, they try an experimental treatment that has a slightly severe result: Worf dies. Despite numerous attempts to revive him, he is pronounced dead and his son is brought in to see the body.
Enter Klingon anatomy.
Purely due to the fact that Worf is Klingon, he revives, with secondary systems in his own body protecting his higher brain functions. He effectively becomes Lazarus, and though it takes a while to get back to normal, he relearns to walk again.