Upon hearing the term “soft tissue injury,” you may believe that injuries of the sort are less serious than others. While it’s true that soft tissue injuries are often less devastating than catastrophic injuries, such as brain or spinal cord injuries, they can still take a serious toll on your long-term health and earning ability.
If you or a loved one has experienced a soft tissue injury, a personal injury lawyer may be able to help recover compensation for costs related to the injury, such as medical bills, lost wages, and others.
However, you have limited time when it comes to seeking and recovering such payment, so it’s important to understand the details and impacts of these particular injuries and speak with an experienced legal professional as soon as possible.
Soft Tissue Injuries: An Overview
The body contains many different types of soft tissues, the most notable being your muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Together, they work to hold your skeleton together, and they are responsible for most forms of mobility.
When your soft tissues are bruised, torn, sprained, or otherwise injured, it can have a serious effect on your physical abilities, often leading to long-term issues with chronic pain.
Common Types Of Soft Tissue Injury
Soft tissue injuries can take many forms, some of the most common of which include the following:
- Strains
- Sprains
- Contusions
- Bursitis
- Whiplash
- Tendonitis
- Repetitive stress injuries
On the surface, these may not look like devastating injuries. However, they can lead to significant treatment costs and often have a lingering impact on an individual’s health and physical abilities. At the same time, though, it’s impossible to predict the long-term outcomes of a soft tissue injury.
The best way to protect your health and finances is to seek immediate medical treatment, follow any instructions given to you by your doctor, and seek advice from a personal injury attorney about your options for recovering compensation.
Top Causes Of Soft Tissue Injury
Soft tissue injuries can have a near-endless number of causes. It is incredibly easy to damage them because they are highly sensitive to trauma and overuse.
With that in mind, some of the most common causes of soft tissue injuries are as follows:
- Car accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Construction site accidents
- Unsafe properties
- Slip and fall accidents
- Defective products
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home abuse and neglect
- Sporting accidents
Though these causes are numerous, the specific way in which you sustain a soft tissue injury matters. In many types of accidents, there is an insurance policy in place that can help reimburse you for injury costs, such as your medical bills and lost wages and benefits.
However, recovering the compensation you need is not always easy, even when a relevant insurance policy is in place. As such, you’ll need to consult a skilled personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after the injury.
Recognizing The Signs Of A Soft Tissue Injury
Though it can sometimes be immediately evident that someone has suffered a soft tissue injury, they are often more subtle than other forms of harm. In fact, a victim may only notice minor initial symptoms or even no symptoms at all.
However, soft tissue injuries can have long-term impacts, and continuing to engage in normal activities while injured can easily lead to more severe damage. As such, it is particularly important to recognize the signs of a soft tissue injury early on.
On that note, some of the most common signs and symptoms of a soft tissue injury include the following:
- Pain
- Bruising
- Swelling
- Discoloration
- Limited range of motion
- Loss of strength
- Joint instability
- Numbness or tingling
- Muscle spasms
- Lumps or bumps in the soft tissue
Anytime someone is involved in an accident that puts them at risk of sustaining a soft tissue injury, they should take the time to be checked by a medical professional. Taking that precaution can help reduce the risk of the injury worsening after the initial accident.
Treatment Options For A Soft Tissue Injury
Treatment for a soft tissue injury begins with a comprehensive diagnosis. A combination of physical tests and imaging with MRIs and ultrasounds is particularly helpful for accurately diagnosing the type and severity of a soft tissue injury.
Specific treatment recommendations for soft tissue injuries depend on their type and severity. For instance, relatively minor soft tissue injuries can typically be treated with a combination of rest, ice, and over-the-counter pain medications.
Moderate soft tissue injuries may require extended immobilization of the injured body part and participation in ongoing physical therapy after the initial treatment. And for severe soft tissue injuries, medical treatment is often more invasive. A serious injury may require reconstructive surgery and steroid injections.
In some cases, a soft tissue injury can significantly impact the functionality of surrounding body parts. For example, serious injury to the soft tissues of the knee joint may lead to the need for surgical intervention, such as knee replacement surgery.
Compensation Options After A Soft Tissue Injury
Serious soft tissue injuries can have a devastating impact on a victim’s earning ability and quality of life. They may leave the person permanently unable to work or return to their previous place of employment.
Even after a physical therapy regimen, a soft tissue injury may still involve issues with long-term chronic pain, which have a significant impact on quality of life and may lead to the need for ongoing medical treatments, such as pain management medications and steroid injections.
Compensation for a soft tissue injury typically increases in proportion to the severity of the injury. In other words, serious injuries usually lead to higher compensation.
A skilled personal injury lawyer can explore the long-term impact of a soft tissue injury on your health and finances and may be able to help you recover compensation for things like:
- Past and future medical bills
- Physical therapy costs
- Medications and steroid injections
- Assistive devices
- Past and future lost wages and benefits
- Pain and suffering
However, as mentioned above, you have a limited amount of time to seek compensation for soft tissue injuries. Therefore, you should always contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after you’re involved in an accident.
Call Our Soft Tissue Injury Lawyers Today
Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys serves clients throughout the greater Chicago area. We hold a lengthy track record of recovering compensation for a wide variety of injury types, including soft tissue injuries. Contact us today at (312) 726-1616 to schedule a free consultation with one of our skilled team members.
