Are You Entitled to Compensation for Car Accident Shoulder Injuries?
Imagine this scenario. One moment, you are stopped in the turn lane at an intersection. In the the next moment, “boom!” and you’re in the intersection. Drivers are desperately trying to avoid hitting you. Sadly, they do hit you. You’ve been in a major rear-end car accident. Your car has been violently shaken, the air bags deployed, and you’re glad to be alive. The police are called. Ambulances come, too. Names, addresses, and insurance cards are exchanged. Over time, your headache and neck pain get worse. In fact, you are never without pain. It’s hard to brush your hair, or pick up the children. Now, the doctor says you need surgery to fix your car accident shoulder injury. This car accident has completely changed your life.
You have severe whiplash and a torn rotator cuff. These injuries are not responding to treatments. The doctor has set a date for surgery. Someone caused this accident and your injuries. The person responsible needs to pay for medical bills, your loss of work and damages. Let Premier Law Group help! We are experienced Seattle car crash attorneys. That’s all we do! Let us collect the evidence and do the paperwork with insurance claims adjustors. We negotiate for you, while you focus on getting well.
Call Premier Law Group today at 206.285.1743 for a FREE Consultation! An experienced accident attorney will review your case.
What Are the Symptoms of a Car Accident Shoulder Injury?
Shoulder injuries start with tenderness, soreness, and loss of motion. Over time, the symptoms turn into chronic injuries.
Symptoms of shoulder injuries include:
- Pain
- Swelling
- Bruising
- Torn Connecting Muscles and Tendons
- Shoulder Rotator Cuff Disease
- Shoulder Dislocation
- Arthritis
Everything we do involves using our shoulders, necks, and arms. Shoulder injuries impact our lives. It’s hard to live a full life when pain radiates from your shoulders to your arms. Shoulder injuries make every day living impossible to do.
What is a Rotator Cuff Injury?
The rotator cuff is made up of muscles and tendons. Together, they hold the shoulder joint together. Car accidents are notorious for causing rotator cuff injuries. It’s important to get good medical care after a car accident.
When rotator cuff injuries go untreated, they cause permanent loss of motion. Victims develop shoulder weakness as, the muscles get tight. Over time, these injuries cause “frozen shoulder.” Eventually, any shoulder movement causes pain. It’s easy to see how this affects everything you do.
For a free legal consultation with a shoulder injury lawyer serving Seattle, call (206) 285-1743
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How Do You Treat Rotator Cuff Injuries?
First, doctors perform a physical exam. Then they run X-Rays and other imaging tests, to see the extent of the injuries. If there are no broken bones, the first treatments will be “non-surgical.”
These treatments include:
- Ibuprofen
- Cortisone Shots
- Physical Therapy
- Daily Shoulder Exercises
- Shoulder Sling
If these treatments do not solve the victim’s pain, then a doctor prescribes surgical repairs.
There are three types of rotator cuff surgeries. They are:
- Arthroscopic Repair – The surgeon makes a small incision and inserts a camera. The camera shows the injury site on a tv screen. The surgeon then inserts pencil-size tools in to injury site. The tools allow the surgeon to remove bone spurs and repair muscle tears.
- Mini-Open Repair – Surgeon makes a slightly larger incision than in arthroscopic surgery. Through this incision, the doctor uses small pencil-size tools to repair tendon and muscle tears. Cameras take pictures of the tear, pre-surgery and after the repair is made.
- Open Repair – When shoulder tears are complex, a muscle and tendon reconstruction has to be performed. A large incision is made across the top of the shoulder. The surgeon takes the muscles apart, to see the whole injury. Serious shoulder injuries have bone pieces and torn muscles. In an “open repair” surgery, the doctors take out the bone pieces, insert new tendons, and reattach the muscles. This is a complicated surgery with extensive recovery time.
All these surgeries require that patients wear a sling. The sling keeps the shoulder and arm muscles from tearing apart. In a total shoulder replacement, patients have their should covered in a plaster cast.
Shoulder injuries have a long recovery time. It’s important that car accident victims get good medical care. From the time of the accident and until full use is regained.
How Do You Treat Shoulder Fractures?
When shoulder bones break, doctors will begin treatment with non-surgical remedies. If bones have broken through the skin, then surgery is the only option.
Much is dependent on where the bones are broken, and how bad the breaks are. Surgeons do their level best to put shoulders back together. These surgeries rely on pins, screws or plates, depending on the injuries.
Contact a Dedicated Car Accident Attorney! Call Premier Law Group!
Rotator cuffs and shoulder injuries take months to heal. At the least, there will be physical therapy and pain medications. At the worst, surgery will be a requirement. Meanwhile, family life, work, and activities have to take a back seat.
We can help you! Don’t sign off on an insurance claim until you talk with us. Focus on healing, and let your attorney handle the claim. We compile the evidence to build a strong case. Our job is to negotiate on your behalf and get a fair settlement.
Call Premier Law Group! Get your FREE Consultation for Seattle Car Accident Shoulder Injuries. You always work directly with an attorney and we are available to you 24/7.
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Jason at premier law group is truly an outstanding individual. Our particular case was not something that their firm usually sees but they were more than willing to help us and give us all of the information they had available. I can't recommend them enough.