At Hasbrook & Hasbrook Personal Injury Lawyers, our Oklahoma City personal injury attorney team helps victims dealing with soft tissue injuries often suffered in car accidents. These injuries aren’t visible like broken bones. Yet they can cause significant pain and affect your daily life. The severe soft tissue injury resulting from a car wreck can lead to mounting medical bills and lost wages. That’s why we fight to get you the compensation you deserve.
Many car accident victims don’t realize the full impact of tissue injuries from car crashes until days after the accident. By then, the pain can become intense. This makes it hard to work or enjoy normal activities.
Understanding Soft Tissue Damage Mechanisms
When you’re in a motor vehicle accident, the sudden impact forces your body to move in unnatural ways. This rapid movement can stretch or tear muscles, tendons, and ligaments. These tissues get forced beyond their normal range, resulting in a painful soft tissue injury. Your body isn’t built to absorb these forces. That’s why soft tissue injuries diagnosed after a car crash are so common.
Seatbelts and airbags, while life-saving, can also lead to soft tissue damage. The restraining force of a seatbelt can cause bruising across your chest and shoulders. Airbags may cause harm to your face, neck, and arms when they deploy.
At Hasbrook & Hasbrook, we work with medical experts to show how these forces caused your injuries. This medical evidence is key when dealing with an insurance company. They might try to downplay your soft tissue injury claim.
Common Soft Tissue Injuries After a Car Accident
Car accidents can cause various tissue injuries that affect different parts of your body. Some heal within weeks with proper care. Others might need long-term physical therapy or even surgery. Understanding these common soft tissue injuries helps you spot symptoms. This knowledge helps you seek proper medical treatment after a car accident.
Whiplash: The Most Frequent Soft Tissue Injury
Whiplash injury happens when your head jerks forward and then backward suddenly. This fast movement stretches the soft tissues in your neck beyond their normal limits. Signs include:
- Neck pain and stiffness
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Blurred vision
We work with doctors who can document your whiplash symptoms. Insurance companies often dismiss whiplash claims. Having expert medical testimony strengthens your case for fair compensation.
Strains and Sprains in Car Accidents
Car accident sprains happen when ligaments (connecting bones) are stretched or torn. Strains affect muscles or tendons (which connect muscles to bones). In car crashes, strains often affect the back and neck. Sprains commonly impact wrists, ankles, and knees as you brace for impact.
Getting a proper diagnosis through physical examination and imaging is vital. Without timely medical care, these injuries can cause chronic pain. They can restrict your movement, impacting daily activities.
Contusions and Bruising from Impact
Contusions form when the force of impact in a car crash damages blood vessels under your skin. This causes bleeding into surrounding tissues. Many bruises heal on their own. But deep contusions can damage muscles underneath. They can cause muscle spasms, swelling, and limited mobility in the affected area.
We help clients document these injuries. They serve as important evidence of the crash’s impact. Visible bruising often points to deeper soft tissue damage. This might need extended treatment.
Tendon and Ligament Damage
Auto accidents can cause serious damage to tendons and ligaments. Common examples include:
- Rotator cuff tears in your shoulder
- Medial collateral ligament injuries in your knee
- Anterior cruciate ligament tears (torn ACL)
- Shoulder impingement
These injuries often cause sharp pain, instability, and limited function in the injured area.
Our firm has secured numerous settlements for clients with serious tendon and ligament injuries. We understand the long recovery time these injuries need. We fight for compensation that covers both current medical expenses and future treatment.
Comparing Soft Tissue vs. Other Injuries
When most people think of car accident injuries, they picture broken bones or visible wounds. Yet, soft tissue injuries can cause just as much pain and limitation. This is true despite being harder to see on standard tests like X-rays.
Soft tissue injuries present unique challenges for diagnosis and treatment. They also create challenges in getting fair compensation. Insurance companies often try to label them as minor injuries. That’s why having experienced legal representation is so important.
How Soft Tissue Injuries Differ from Broken Bones
Broken bones show up clearly on X-rays. Soft tissue injuries often need specialized imaging, such as MRIs or CT scans, to be properly diagnosed. This makes them easier for insurance companies to question. We help clients get proper testing. This validates their injuries and the significant pain they cause.
Delayed Symptoms of Soft Tissue Damage
Many accident victims feel “fine” right after a crash. Then they wake up days later with present symptoms. These include stiffness, neck pain, or limited mobility. This delay happens as inflammation builds over time. You might notice headaches, back pain, or muscle spasms after an accident. If so, seek immediate medical attention. Then call us for legal advice.
Long-Term Effects of Untreated Soft Tissue Injuries
Proper medical treatment is essential for soft tissue injuries. Without it, these injuries can lead to chronic pain. This pain can last years or even become permanent. These more severe injuries can significantly impact your quality of life. We fight for compensation that covers your current medical bills. We also ensure coverage for future treatment needs and lost income due to lasting limitations.
Psychological Impact of Chronic Pain
Ongoing pain from soft tissue injuries can take a mental toll. It may contribute to depression, anxiety, and a lower quality of life. These closed head injuries impact not just your physical health. They affect your mental well-being, too. We consider these effects when calculating your claim’s value.
Car Crash Impact and Soft Tissue Damage
The way a crash happens directly affects what kind of significant injuries you might suffer. Different collision types create different force patterns on your body. Understanding the mechanics of your accident helps build a stronger claim.
How Speed and Force Affect Injury Severity
The severity of tissue injuries typically relates to the force of impact. Even low-speed crashes can cause serious injury. This is especially true for neck and back tissues. We use experts to show how the specific forces in your accident resulted in your soft tissue injuries.
Rear-End Collisions and Whiplash Risk
In rear-end collisions, your car is hit from behind. This causes your body to move forward while your head lags behind. Then your head snaps forward. This motion commonly causes whiplash and other neck injuries. Our team works with medical experts. They can explain how this specific crash type leads to your symptoms.
Side-Impact Crashes and Shoulder Injuries
Side-impact crashes often result in shoulder injuries. These include rotator cuff tears. Such injuries can limit your ability to lift, reach, or perform daily activities. We fight for settlements that cover the physical therapy needed. This helps restore function after these painful injuries.
Rollover Accidents and Spinal Soft Tissue Damage
In rollover accidents, vehicle occupants experience forces from multiple directions. This puts extreme stress on spinal ligaments and muscles. It may cause serious soft tissue damage throughout the spine. We help victims of these frightening crashes get comprehensive medical evaluations. We also fight for fair compensation.
Legal vs. Medical Perspectives on Recovery
When you’re recovering from soft tissue injuries, you’re dealing with two parallel processes. These are your physical healing and your legal claim. Your doctor focuses on your medical treatment. We focus on how that treatment strengthens your case.
Aligning Treatment Plans with Compensation Claims
We work closely with your healthcare providers. We ensure your claim for your treatment is fully documented. Following your doctor’s advice helps you heal. It also creates a clear record of your injuries and recovery process. This strengthens your case against the other party’s negligence.
Your medical records serve as crucial evidence in your soft tissue injury claim. We help you understand which treatments are covered by settlements. We also show how to document your progress. This supports your claim for pain and suffering compensation beyond just your medical bills.
Long-Term Financial Impact of Injuries
Soft tissue injuries can have lasting financial effects. These go beyond the initial medical expenses. Ongoing treatment costs, lost wages, and reduced earning potential all play a role. These injuries can impact your financial health for years to come.
Projecting Future Medical Expenses
For many soft tissue injuries, treatment doesn’t end after a few weeks. Chronic pain may require ongoing physical therapy. It might also need medication or even surgery. We work with medical and economic experts. They help calculate the lifetime cost of your injury. This ensures your settlement accounts for all future medical care related to your car accident.
This approach is especially important for serious injuries. These include torn ligaments or damaged rotator cuffs. They may cause permanent limitations. They might require multiple surgeries. We fight for compensation that truly reflects your current and future needs.
Average Settlement for Soft Tissue Injury Claims
Each case is unique. Soft tissue injury settlements typically range from a few thousand dollars for minor injuries to tens of thousands for more severe cases with lasting impact. The key is building a strong case. This fully documents your injuries and their effect on your life.
Factors That Affect Your Settlement Amount
Several factors influence your average settlement amount, including:
- Severity of your injuries
- Total medical expenses
- Lost wages and lost income
- Impact on your quality of life
- Your medical history related to the affected area
Insurance companies often make low initial offers for soft tissue claims. We know how to negotiate effectively based on the true value of your case.
We carefully document all aspects of your damages. This includes less obvious costs like transportation to medical appointments. Our thorough approach helps us secure settlements. These reflect the full impact of your injuries.
Documenting Your Injuries for a Stronger Case
Strong evidence makes for stronger settlements. We advise clients to:
- Keep detailed pain journals
- Attend all medical appointments
- Take photos of visible injuries
- Follow treatment plans consistently
- Get statements from family about your limitations
Our team helps organize and present this evidence effectively. We show the clear connection between the accident, your injuries, and your ongoing symptoms, causing pain. This thorough documentation makes it harder for insurance companies to deny your valid claim.
State Laws Governing Car Accident Claims
Oklahoma has specific laws that affect your ability to recover compensation. These apply to soft tissue injuries from car accidents. Understanding these laws is crucial to protecting your rights after a car accident.
Statute of Limitations and Comparative Fault Rules
In Oklahoma, you generally have two years from the date of your accident to file a lawsuit for injuries. Waiting too long can permanently bar your claim. This is true regardless of how serious your head injuries or neck injuries are. We offer a free consultation to help accident victims understand these deadlines. This helps them take timely action.
Oklahoma also follows “modified comparative negligence” rules. This means the percentage of fault may reduce your compensation for causing the accident. If you’re found more than 50% responsible, you cannot recover damages at all. Our experienced car accident lawyer works to minimize any fault finding on your part.
Contact Our Personal Injury Attorney for a Free Case Consultation
Are you suffering from soft tissue injuries after a car accident? Don’t wait to seek legal advice. Contact Hasbrook & Hasbrook today for a free consultation. We’ll evaluate your case and explain your options. We’ll fight for the full compensation you deserve—all with no upfront fees.
