Soft Tissue Injuries

Soft tissue injuries are one of the most common injuries sustained by accident victims. This does not mean, however, that they should be taken lightly. While they may not be as severe as other kinds of accident-related injuries, they can still be very painful and debilitating. Fortunately, accident victims who can prove that they sustained serious soft tissue injuries in an accident, could be entitled to damages compensating them for their medical expenses and lost wages.

What are Soft Tissue Injuries?

Our organs, bones, and joints are protected by a connective and supportive material known as soft tissue that is primarily made up of muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Injuries to the soft tissue can occur when the body is subject to blunt force impact or trauma, which can occur in everything from car crashes to slip and fall accidents. Unfortunately, soft tissue injuries don’t always show up right away, so many accident victims may not initially be aware that they were hurt until hours, or even days later, when they begin to experience pain, swelling, stiffness, and reduced mobility.

What are the Most Common Soft Tissue Injuries?

There are a lot of different types of soft tissue injuries that accident victims can sustain, but the most common include:

• Contusions, which occur when a direct blow from a blunt object crushes the muscle fibers and connective tissues without breaking the skin, resulting in the pooling of blood around the site of the injury;
• Strains, which occur when the tendons connecting the muscle to the bones become overextended; and
• Sprains, which occur when the ligaments that connect the bones or hold the joints in place become overstretched or tear.

The types of symptoms that a victim suffering from a soft tissue injury will experience depends on the specific kind of injury and the part of the body affected. However, most can expect to encounter tenderness and soreness, bruising, swelling, a reduced range of motion, an inability to put weight on the affected area, severe pain, and even muscle spasms.

How Do I Prove that I Suffered a Soft Tissue Injury?

One of the biggest hurdles for accident victims who are trying to prove that they suffered a soft tissue injury is that these kinds of injuries often leave no visible wound, or have delayed symptoms. Fortunately, this doesn’t mean that a claimant is automatically out of luck, but can still recover compensation by providing strong evidence of the injury, such as medical records, like MRI scans, which can show soft tissue injuries and help provide a link between an injury and an accident. Medical bills can also help establish how much a person was required to pay not only for diagnosis, but also for treatment and rehabilitation. In addition to this evidence, a claimant may also need to provide proof of lost wages incurred while he or she recovered from the injury. To learn more about the types of evidence that will give your own claim the best possible chance of success, reach out to our legal team today.

Schedule a Free Consultation

At Anderson & Anderson, our compassionate Tampa personal injury lawyers are prepared to help you seek fair compensation for your accident-related injuries. Call us at 813-251-0072 to get started on your case today.

Sources:

hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/softtissue-injuries

orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/sprains-strains-and-other-soft-tissue-injuries/