Every year, thousands of Ohio residents are involved in car accidents. Many of these accident victims suffer painful and debilitating soft tissue injuries.
The term “soft tissue” refers to tendons, muscles and ligaments. Soft tissue injuries include sprains, strains and bruises. They can lead to intense pain, stiffness and loss of range of motion.
Soft tissue injuries occur in an auto accident when a person is thrown around inside the vehicle by the force of the collision. Most people have probably heard of whiplash, which is a soft tissue injury of the neck caused by the head being thrown violently forward and back during a crash. Whiplash victims typically experience symptoms including neck pain and stiffness, often extending down into the back. If nerve damage occurs, victims may feel numbness and tingling down their arms and into their hands. In severe whiplash cases, victims can experience cognitive symptoms like memory loss and difficulty concentrating.
Soft tissue injuries do not always appear right away after a car accident. Many people feel physically fine at the crash scene but begin to feel pain and stiffness a few days after the accident. Soft tissue injuries are also frustrating because they don’t show up on x-rays.
Insurance companies often try to deny a soft tissue injury victim’s injury claim by arguing the victim did not go to a doctor right away, or that there are no objective findings of injury, such as an x-ray. An experienced personal injury lawyer will know how to defeat these arguments in court with expert medical testimony.
Source: Findlaw.com, “Soft Tissue Injuries Caused by Motor Vehicle Accidents,” accessed March 4, 2017