Receiving Fair Compensation For Soft Tissue Injuries Can Be Challenging

Whiplash, strains, sprains, and other soft tissue injuries are common after car, truck, or motorcycle accidents. However, while some soft tissue injuries can be extremely painful, disrupt daily activities, and require victims to take time off work to get better, they may have difficulty recovering fair compensation for these types of injuries.

Building a strong case and working with an experienced personal injury attorney can help accident victims overcome challenges they may face when seeking rightful compensation. If you sustained severe soft tissue injuries in an accident caused by another person or entity's negligence, you shouldn't be forced to bear the consequences of someone else's bad actions. Here's what you need to know.

Common Soft Tissue Injuries

Soft tissue injuries commonly affect muscles, ligaments, and tendons. These injuries can range in severity from minor to debilitating.

While most soft tissue injuries improve with appropriate treatment, the more serious the injury, the longer it can take to heal.

Common soft tissue injuries include:

• Strains: The bones in the skeletal system are held together by strong bands of connective tissue known as ligaments. When ligaments stretch or tear in an accident or traumatic injury, the strain can allow the affected joint to extend beyond its regular range of motion, resulting in pain and discomfort.
• Sprains: An overextension of a joint that results in damage to a ligament, sprains can cause a variety of symptoms, including localized pain and swelling, muscle weakness and spasms, nerve damage, cramps, and inflammation.
• Contusions: These injuries occur when a direct blow to the body causes blood to pool under the surface of the skin. Though hardly life-threatening, contusions sustained in car, truck, and motorcycle accidents can be quite painful.

Challenges in Soft Tissue Injury Cases

Insurance adjusters, judges, and even juries are often under the mistaken impression that all soft tissue injuries are minor and, as a result, may offer or award low compensation amounts that barely cover a plaintiff's expenses.

Additionally, soft tissue injuries often do not show up on traditional diagnostic tests, such as x-rays, which can make confirming their existence and severity difficult, if not impossible.

The image of a whiplash victim in a neck brace who lays it on thick in a courtroom—only to cast their brace aside after being awarded damages—is familiar comedic scenario in movies and television. Plaintiffs and their attorneys must work to overcome common stereotypes of soft tissue injury victims as con men (and women) who exaggerate or fake injuries in order to cash in.

Strengthening Soft Tissue Injury Claims

While misconceptions about soft tissue injuries and individuals who seek compensation for them can serve as real barriers to financial recovery, there are things that plaintiffs can do to strengthen their claims.

The best way to lay the groundwork for a strong soft tissue injury claim is to seek medical attention right away and mention any and all pain—no matter how minor—to get it on the record. Completing the prescribed treatments and following up with medical attention as recommended is also essential, as is maintaining meticulous records of your accident-related soft tissue injury medical expenses.

In cases that could potentially involve a sizable recovery, expert witnesses may be retained by your attorney to help the jury understand how the soft tissue injuries occurred, and how they affect the victim's ability to perform regular daily tasks.

Do You Need a Personal Injury Attorney?

If you suffered painful soft tissue injuries due to someone else's negligence, you deserve to receive fair compensation. The award-winning personal injury attorneys with McGartland Law Firm can help you overcome obstacles to ensure you receive every bit of compensation to which you may be entitled.

Contact McGartland Law Firm today to schedule an appointment for a free initial review of your soft tissue injuries case.