When you think of a personal injury resulting from a fall or accident, you think of things like cuts, scrapes, broken bones, and more serious injuries like organ damage. While most are issues from which you can expect a full to almost full recovery, there are some permanent injuries, and they are often described as permanent soft tissue injuries.
What are permanent soft tissue injuries?
Soft tissues of the body include nerves, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Many of these injuries are temporary, such as a muscle sprain or strain. Whiplash, as an example, happens because of the rapid acceleration and deceleration in the neck. It can be a long-term issue, but it might also cause permanent nerve damage. This, then, would qualify as a soft tissue injury.
Understanding the impact of soft tissue injuries
If we are going to understand the impact of a soft tissue injury, we can stick to the example of the whiplash injury. This can require temporary use of pain killers and some therapy to help ensure the injury is not long-lasting. However, it may end up having caused damages that require years of physical therapy, constant treatment with pain killers, and more.
Additionally, a soft tissue injury can appear to be improving and then enter into a period of exacerbation in which the injuries seem to return or the symptoms caused will worsen. That whiplash injury, for example, may seem to have been almost fully resolved. Then suddenly, the individual will find it hard to turn their head, live with constant pain from the nerve damage, and seem to be right back where they started in the weeks after the injury was sustained.
Can I file a lawsuit for soft tissue injuries?
It is important to note that many soft tissue injuries do not manifest instantly, but will start to become symptomatic in the days and weeks after an accident. The injuries may not even appear on scans or x-rays. Because of that, it is important to speak with a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after an accident. They can start to gather the details about your accident, and the medical findings that can help if a lawsuit is needed.
Compensation for soft tissue injuries
A permanent soft tissue injury is an authentic condition that can be the result of an accident that is no fault of your own. Whether it was an auto accident or a slip and fall injury off of your property, or something at work, if it is no fault of your own, and due to someone’s negligence, there are always grounds for legal action.
A soft tissue injury that was sustained during an act of negligence, and which is showing signs of becoming a permanent medical concern, deserves compensation to help support recovery or treatment. A legal expert, such as a personal injury lawyer, is the ideal person to speak with about such compensation. They can explain the damages available to you and help you build your case to file a lawsuit and get compensated for the permanent injury.