Soft tissue injuries are among the most common types of injuries a person can suffer after a Quad Cities car accident. Unfortunately, soft tissue injuries are also one of the most overlooked by accident victims because the symptoms can take days to begin to show.
That is why if you were in an accident, one of the best choices you can make is to seek immediate medical attention. Doing so can help prevent further injury or severe and debilitating consequences.
With that in mind, our soft tissue injury attorneys put together the following details to help you understand the different types of soft tissue injuries. We also touch on the importance of seeking out specialized medical care.
Common Soft Tissue Injuries
Whiplash is often the most common type of soft tissue injury that people associate with car wrecks. There are, however, more complex and potentially life-threatening soft tissue injuries that may result when a vehicle collides with another vehicle or hard object.
To learn more, let’s take a closer look at different types of soft tissue injuries.
- Car Accident Sprains. A sprain is a stretch and/or tear of a ligament. During impact, a person will suffer a significant jolt that can cause ligaments to overstretch or tear away from connecting bone. Examples of car accident sprains include whiplash of the neck, turned ankle, twisted knee, and a contorted wrist.
- Vehicle Collision Strains. A strain is a stretch and/or tear of a tendon. Like a sprain, strains occur after a vehicle forcibly collides with another object. That sudden jolt can cause the tissue that attaches muscles to bone or other muscles to overextend or completely tear away. Car accident strains often occur in the lower back, neck, or legs.
- Car Wreck Contusions. A contusion occurs when capillaries or blood vessels get damaged after a person’s body is forcefully struck and comes in contact with a hard surface. In some instances, the damage is significant enough to cause the blood to leak out and pool under the skin resulting in visible bruising. One of the most life-threatening types of car wreck contusions are traumatic brain injuries or TBIs. TBIs occur when the brain hits the skull forcefully. This results in bruising and tearing of brain tissue and blood vessels. TBIs are so dangerous because they are not visible. Symptoms are often mistaken for other health conditions, leading to incorrect diagnosis and medical treatment.
Related: Should I See a Doctor After a Minor Car Accident?
What Type of Doctor Should I See After a Car Accident?
One of your first instincts after being in an accident might be to seek out an appointment with your general doctor. While we won’t discourage you from doing so, it is also in your best interests to get more specialized medical care as soon as possible.
There are two reasons why you should see a specialist:
- Obtaining medical records from a doctor that specializes in soft tissue or neurological injuries is an excellent way for accident victims to care for and document their injuries properly.
- Doing so helps prove that you sought out proper care for your injuries. In turn, it also helps protect your rights to sue the insurance company or another driver for compensation.
Other common medical practitioners that care for accident victims suffering a soft tissue injury include:
- Physical therapists
- Muscle therapists
- Chiropractors
- Strength coaches
What Makes Soft Tissue Injuries Dangerous?
Soft tissue injuries are dangerous because they’re not always diagnosed immediately and/or treated properly.
For example, if you are in a car accident and don’t experience any immediate pain, you may assume that you are physically okay. However, in reality, you experienced a neck injury that doesn’t show symptoms until days later. In the meantime, you unknowingly make the injury worse by repeatedly bending over to pick up your child, taking on a major DIY project, or getting tugged along behind a hyperactive dog.
Conversely, you may only pop a bag of frozen peas on a sore shoulder and take two aspirin, thinking that any pain you feel is nothing serious and will go away with time. Whereas if you had received immediate medical attention after your car accident to check for soft tissue damage, you would have discovered that you suffered a torn shoulder ACL.
Key takeaway: Soft tissue injuries are dangerous because if they go undiagnosed and untreated any damage done can get worse resulting in:
Related: Who Pays Medical Bills After a Car Accident?
How to Take Legal Action for Your Injuries
Should you or a loved one believe that your soft tissue injuries were the result of another driver’s negligence, you have the right to take immediate legal action to hold them accountable. To learn more about the benefits of working with a highly qualified injury lawyer after suffering a crash-related soft tissue injury, contact our office today.
When you work with our Quad Cities car accident lawyers, you can be confident that we’ll fight hard to get you the compensation you deserve to cover incurred losses and other damages. Our Illinois and Iowa car accident lawyers will handle the difficult negotiations so that you can focus on your recovery.