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Soft tissue injuries are some of the most common injuries from a car accident. Because it generally takes less force to strain soft tissues than to break bones, soft tissue damage is a frequent type of harm from car accidents. If you suffered a soft tissue injury after a car accident, our Columbia personal injury lawyers can help.
What Are Soft Tissue Injuries?
Soft tissue injuries are harm to the following:
- Muscles
- Tendons
- Ligaments
- Nerves
- Fat
Soft tissues are the connective and “other” tissues of the body aside from the bones and internal organs. The bones are the hard tissue of the body, while the internal organs make the body function. The soft tissues connect other body tissues, giving the body movement, structure, support, and feeling.
Common Types of Soft Tissue Injuries After a Car Accident
- Torn, pulled, and strained muscles
- Ligament strains and tears
- Tendon strains and tears
- Rupturing
- Lacerations, contusions
- Bruised muscles
- Sprains
- Joint, ligament dislocation
- Nerve damage, nerve dysfunction
- Muscle disorders, muscle dysfunction
Structural and functional injuries
Soft tissue injuries can be structurally or functionally harmful. A functional injury may prevent the tissue from functioning normally, while a structural injury occurs when soft tissue tears or ruptures. An injury can be multi-faceted.
Degrees of injury
Soft tissue injuries are categorized by degrees. First-degree injuries are the least serious, consisting of pulls, strains, and sprains. Second-degree soft tissue injuries are more serious and include partial tears. Third-degree injuries are the most severe, with a complete tear through the tissue.
Treating soft tissue injury
The severity of the injury may determine the appropriate treatment, including surgery.
Recovery often involves limiting activity to prevent further aggravation.
Why Soft Tissue Injuries Are Often Overlooked
Soft tissue injuries are often overlooked following a car accident for several reasons.
- A soft tissue injury usually doesn’t show in a scan or x-ray like broken bones do.
- It can be hard to prove the severity of a soft tissue injury.
- Medical professionals may see soft tissue injuries as non-life-threatening and focus on injuries they think are more urgent.
- A victim may want to downplay their injuries in hopes of a faster recovery.
- Insurance companies may try to minimize injuries to reduce compensation.
- Symptoms can be delayed.
- Symptoms can be hard to recognize. They may be subtle or explained by other causes.
- Adrenaline and other stress responses can mask pain and other symptoms.
- Cultural biases may see soft tissue injuries as less serious than other injuries.
Statistics on Soft Tissue Injuries in Columbia Car Accidents
- Whiplash is the most common injury in car accidents. One study found that 12% of people involved in a two-vehicle car accident sustained whiplash.
- It takes three to six weeks to recover from a grade 2 sprained ankle.
- Someone younger than 25 with shoulder dislocation may be more likely to dislocate the shoulder again without surgical intervention.
- Most bruises take about two weeks to heal.
- One study found that 23 of 100 people going to a level 1 trauma center for knee ligament injury were pedestrians struck by a motor vehicle.
How These Injuries Can Affect Your Daily Life
Soft tissue injuries can impact life in several ways.
They may limit mobility. Things that you used to be able to do quickly may now take more time. Limitations can prevent you from doing things that you used to enjoy, like working or taking care of your household.
Injuries are often painful, and this pain may require management and further limit your activities. In addition, physical injury can contribute to emotional anguish.
Proving Soft Tissue Injuries in a Car Accident Claim
There are several ways you can prove soft tissue injuries. Medical evaluations and tests can support your claim. Trained medical professionals can evaluate symptoms and function. When tears are complete, they can be documented with imaging. Professionals can testify to their evaluations.
Loss of function can be used to support a claim. A personal diary can track symptoms and improvement. Witnesses can testify to their observations of the person and their limitations.
Valuing soft tissue injuries for car accident compensation
An important part of any car accident or personal injury claim is valuing soft tissue injuries for compensation. The purpose of car accident compensation is to compensate victims for losses, both economic and non-economic. Soft tissue injuries can mean economic costs like medical bills, lost income, and expenses for personal help. They can also cause physical and emotional anguish.
Pain and suffering from soft tissue injuries is valued in a car accident claim by how severe it is. Sometimes, medical expenses reflect the relative severity of a person’s non-economic suffering from a car accident, but not always. Fully compensating a car accident victim means identifying soft tissue injury so that pain and suffering can be valued correctly for the claim. Many victims underestimate what their claim may be worth.
Contact an Experienced Columbia Personal Injury Lawyer
If you have been in a car accident, we invite you to contact an experienced Columbia personal injury lawyer. You may deserve compensation for soft tissue injuries. A lawyer can help.
Shealey Law Firm is taking new cases. Contact us now to talk about your case and get immediate legal help.