Sustaining a serious injury during a car accident can be devastating, leaving the victim with the possibility of permanent disabilities and long-term medical bills. Many people believe serious injuries only occur during high-impact collisions, but this is far from the truth. Even minor accidents and low-impact collisions can lead to debilitating injuries. Amongst the most common type of injury sustained during low-impact collisions are soft tissue injuries. In fact, many car accident victims suffer from soft tissue injuries that were sustained at speeds less than five miles per hour. Here’s a closer look at soft tissue injuries that may result for motor vehicle accidents.
Soft Tissue Injuries and Symptoms
Soft tissue injuries are a type of injury that affects the muscles, ligaments, and tendons. This includes everything from relatively minor injuries like sprains and strains to more severe cases of whiplash, tears, herniated discs, or even traumatic brain injury. During a car crash, the force exerted from the impact will often cause the driver or passengers to be jolted or bumped around, causing these types of injuries. The severity will depend greatly on the nature of the collision.
If you’ve been in a car accident, you should check for symptoms of soft tissue injuries. It is not uncommon for soft tissue injuries to develop even several days after the accident occurred. Make sure to seek medical attention after your accident if you display any of the following symptoms of soft tissue injuries:
- Neck stiffness and/or pain;
- Vertigo or nausea;
- Blurry vision:
- Tingling in the jaw;
- Shoulder pain; or
- Headaches/concussions.
In addition, some accident victims with soft tissue injuries will exhibit behavioral symptoms, including restlessness, erratic behavior, trouble concentrating, tension, or nervousness.
Effects of Soft Tissue Injuries
Insurance adjustors tend to trivialize soft tissue injuries, writing them off as minor issues. These types of injuries, however, can be very serious and can cause the victim a great deal of pain. They may continue to be painful even after injuries have healed, they could continue to irritate the victim, especially in cases where scar tissue has grown. For some injuries, continued muscle spasms, curvature of the spine, and a narrowing of space in spinal discs may be long-term effects.
Help Proving Soft Tissue Injuries
If you have sustained a soft tissue injury in an accident, it may be difficult to prove them in a car accident case. This is particularly true because soft tissue injuries sometimes don’t manifest until several days after an accident and may not be immediately apparent in usual diagnostic tests, including x-rays, MRIs or CT scans. Many claims adjustors will try to deny claims if property damage was minimal, alleging the victim is fabricating the injuries.
To prevent this from happening to you, it is best to seek medical attention after your accident and carefully document any injuries or symptoms you have. If the insurers are fighting against your claim of soft tissue injuries, enlist the legal services from the knowledgeable and skilled car accident attorneys at Krause & Kinsman Law Firm. For years we have helped car accident victims in Kansas City, Missouri get the compensation they deserve and we can do the same for you.
