Soft Tissue Injuries
The insurance companies have done a fantastic job of getting
the American public to associate the term “soft tissue injury” with minor or
not serious injuries. First of all, soft
tissue injuries generally refer to injuries to the muscles, ligaments, tendons
and discs in the spine. Just as there is
a wide range of injuries to the bones, so too is there a wide range of soft
tissue injuries that commonly occur in car accidents. Car accident victims suffer bruises and
pulled muscles that will undoubtedly heal quite nicely, but there are many car
accident victims that suffer “soft tissue” injuries that will cause the victim
a lifetime of pain.
Soft Tissue Injuries Related to the Spine and
Whiplash
People involved in car accidents can suffer a wide array of spinal
issues. Many of these victims, with a
conservative care regimen, can return to their pre accident condition in a
matter of weeks. However, there are
other car accident victims that suffer bulging, protruding or herniated
discs. While some of these people may
respond well to conservative care, most will never return to their pre accident
health and some may require surgical options.
People who have been involved in a rear end
car accident almost always sustain whiplash as the result of that car
accident. When a car or truck is rear ended, the vehicle accelerates forward
with impact causing the occupants to be rapidly accelerated. The person's head is "whipped"
backward, and which can cause the muscles in their lower jaw to experience
a huge amount of pressure. When this happens the jaw is pulled open and places
additional pressure on Temporomandibular Joint (the joint where the jaw and
head connect). The head and jaw are
actually being pulled in opposite directions and TMJ injury can then
be the result of the severe whipping motion. While whiplash is a common cause of
TMJ injury in car accidents, it's also possible to suffer the injury as a
result of your head or chin strikes the steering wheel or other fixed object in
the vehicle. In addition to TMJ,
whiplash causes a myriad of painful symptoms in the back, neck and head which
the insurance companies will also label soft tissue.
Soft Tissue
Injuries Related to the Knees, Hips, Elbows and Shoulders
As I have opined, the
insurance companies have made the term soft tissue a dirty word in the American
vernacular as it relates to personal injury claims. Every NFL player fears one soft tissue injury
over all others…torn ligaments in the knee.
Nobody would view that as a minor injury, but that is a soft tissue
injury and at trial, you can bet the insurance company will be telling the jury
that you suffered nothing but soft tissue injuries and therefore should be
awarded less in damages.
Diagnosis of Soft Tissue Injuries
Typically soft tissue injuries are diagnosed using an MRI or
a CT Scan. The problem with soft tissue injuries is that they are often
difficult to prove. Unlike broken bones, less serious soft tissue injuries do
not show up on x-rays. Insurance companies often refuse to adequately
compensate car accident victim for less serious soft tissue injuries. Even when faced with more serious soft tissue
injuries, such as a bulging, protruding or herniated discs in the neck or back
insurance companies will almost always argue that the injury existed prior to
the car accident and therefore was not caused by the accident.
Insurance
companies will also try to argue that that damage to the vehicle correlates to the
injuries to the occupants. In other
words, if the vehicle was not damaged extensively, the occupant was either not
injured or injured only slightly. This
argument minimizes or ignores injuries and complaints that cannot be confirmed
with an x-ray or MRI. Obviously, this is an incorrect assumption which requires
an experienced car accident attorney to successfully fight.
Contact
an Experienced Car Accident Lawyer at The Law Offices of Bobby Jones
Have you or a loved one been injured in a car accident? mailto:hmurphy@bobbyjoneslaw.com Contact an experienced St. Petersburg
car accident attorney at The Law Offices of Bobby Jones today. When you contact our office we will
immediately set an appointment where you will meet your attorney and be
provided with his/her personal contact information. If you do not have transportation or you
cannot drive, your attorney will travel to meet you and discuss your case with
you.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident
caused by the negligence of another, you should immediately call an experienced
personal injury attorney in St.
Petersburg at The Law Offices of Bobby Jones at (727)
571-1333 during regular business hours or (727) 753-8657 on weekends or after
regular business hours. We will evaluate your case for free and you will never
pay us a dime unless we recover compensation for your injuries.
The Law Offices of Bobby Jones
6570 30th
Avenue North
St. Pete,
FL 33710
http://bobbyjoneslaw.com/personal-injury
References:
by
Heath Clayton Murphy on Jul. 06, 2015
