Understanding Soft Tissue Injuries
Many times, when people are injured in a car accident, they suffer some form of soft tissue injury. There are a few different types of wounds that fall into the category of soft tissue injury, including:
- Contusions
- Sprains
- Strains
- Whiplash
These soft tissue injuries often take several days to several weeks to develop or become apparent. Unfortunately, soft tissue injuries do not appear on an X-ray. If you have been injured in a car accident, you should pay attention to these types of injuries, which might be related to your accident.
Understanding Contusions
“Contusion” is a fancy word for “bruise.” Bruises are caused when force is applied to muscle fibers. This can happen if someone steps on your foot, or if your body is slammed into the dash board of the car during an accident. The blow crushes the muscle fibers and connective tissues, while the skin remains intact. Blood pooling in the area causes discoloration of the skin.
Understanding Sprains
Sprains refer to a situation where a ligament is either torn or stretched. Ligaments are comprised of connective tissue, and they operate by connecting one bone to another bone. Ligaments stabilize and support the joints of the body.
Understanding Strains
Strains affect both tendons and muscles. Tendons are cords of tissue that attach muscle and bone. Like sprains, strains stretch or tear tendons or muscles. Strains result in swelling, muscle weakness, cramping, pain, and spasms. Whiplash is actually the most common type of ligament strain. As such, we list whiplash separately.
Understanding Whiplash
Whiplash can occur in a few different ways, however, most commonly, whiplash occurs in rear end crashes. The impact of a rear end crash causes violent movement of the victim’s head and neck, moving it back and forth. Commonly, whiplash is apparent due to some or all of the following symptoms:
- Back pain
- Inability to concentrate
- Memory loss
- Neck pain
- Stiff neck
While some accident victims experience symptoms of whiplash immediately, it is not uncommon for these symptoms to appear days to weeks later.
Have You Been in a Car Crash?
Soft tissue injuries are very common in car crash cases. The degree to which people suffer as a result of soft tissue injuries depends on a number of different factors. Age, general health, and use of the injured body part can all impact recovery times. Additionally, the severity of the injury obviously will impact the amount of time it takes to recover.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a car crash, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries, including compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. At Hilton & Somer, LLC, we don’t charge people for a consultation to see if they have a case. Instead, we happily meet with potential clients at a time and place convenient to them to discuss their situation. There is no obligation to simply meet and discuss your case. Because we know injuries may take some time to develop, we don’t pre-judge your case. Instead, we meet with you, discuss the circumstances that led to the accident, your injuries, and talk about how we may proceed with your case. Call us today to schedule a consultation at 703-560-0700.
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