If you’ve been injured in a Philadelphia car accident, your doctor may have diagnosed you with soft tissue injuries. After a car accident, it’s normal to feel confused about what steps to take next. Should you talk to a car accident lawyer? Is your case serious enough to merit a claim? Are soft tissue injuries serious?
The reality is that the “soft” in soft tissue injury doesn’t mean the injury won’t cause you a great deal of pain and suffering, as well as expensive medical bills. A soft tissue injury can be life-changing. If you’ve suffered a soft tissue injury in a car accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your pain, lost wages, medical bills, and other damages. It’s important to speak with a Philadelphia car accident lawyer to ensure you safeguard your legal rights.
What Is a Soft Tissue Injury?
Generally, a soft tissue injury involves damage to the connective tissues in the human body. The main types of soft areas include the muscles, fascia, tendons, fat, nerves, and ligaments. These tissues support, connect and surround the other structures in the body. If you have ever sprained your ankle, you have had a soft tissue injury. Other common soft tissue injuries include strains, tendinitis and bursitis.
In some cases, soft tissue injury occurs due to overuse. For example, you might have experienced “tennis elbow” after overdoing it with repetitive sports like tennis or racquetball. You can also suffer a soft tissue injury at work, with carpal tunnel syndrome being one of the most common types of repetitive soft tissue injuries found in the workplace.
However, soft tissue issues can also happen because of trauma. In many cases, this trauma occurs in a car accident. The symptoms of a soft tissue injury can include bruising (which doctors call contusions), swelling, stiffness, nerve damage, and soreness.
It’s also quite common for people who suffer a soft tissue injury in a car accident to end up with additional injuries caused by a limited range of motion or decreased ability. For example, if your stiff neck following a car accident makes it painful to sit, you might end up straining your back as you’re forced to adjust your sitting position when you work. This can cause a domino effect of injury, leading to escalating pain and a diminished quality of life.
There might also be days where you feel quite good after your car accident, followed by days where you can barely get out of bed. This impairment is because the soft tissues can swell and come under strain even with normal activity.
Whiplash: A Debilitating Soft Tissue Injury
Perhaps one of the most common soft tissue injuries caused by car accidents is whiplash. When a vehicle is struck from behind, a person’s head can be thrown violently backward and then forward in a movement that resembles the lash of a whip. If a vehicle strikes something in front of it, the reverse occurs, and the head can be jerked forward and then backward.
Whiplash injuries can take just seconds to happen, but the damage can last a lifetime. The neck and shoulders are made up of millions of connective tissues that include muscles, nerves and tendons. These connective tissues can sustain serious damage that makes it difficult for car accident victims to turn their head or perform other routine movements.
The symptoms of whiplash can vary from person to person, but common signs of whiplash include:
- Pain and stiffness in the neck
- Headaches
- Reduced range of motion
- Fatigue and insomnia
- Dizziness and vertigo
- Tinnitus or ringing in the ears
- Mood swings and irritability
- Numbness and tingling that goes down the arms
- Tenderness and pain in the neck and shoulders
When people suffer a whiplash injury, it can affect just about every part of their life. It’s not uncommon for whiplash victims to be forced to take time off work. Others find they don’t enjoy leisure activities like they used to, simply because they can no longer do them without experiencing discomfort. Some whiplash victims may end up losing their jobs because they can’t tolerate the pain from their injury.
What to Do After a Soft Tissue Injury in a Car Accident
If your doctor has diagnosed you with a soft tissue injury, it’s very important to speak to a car accident lawyer as soon as possible. Understandably, you may be dealing with many different issues at once, including medical bills, time off work and what to do about your damaged car.
However, you shouldn’t neglect your personal injury case. A soft tissue injury can lead to long-term complications, which can end up costing you thousands or more in medical bills. No one should have to shoulder the burden of another person’s negligence on the road. An experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyer like Rand Spear can help you explore your rights and determine the best course of action in your case.
Media Contact:
Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyer Rand Spear
(T): 215-985-2424
Sources:
- https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/sprains-strains-and-other-soft-tissue-injuries/
- https://thephysiotherapyclinics.com/soft-tissue-injuries/
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/whiplash/symptoms-causes/syc-20378921
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