Soft-Tissue Injury

If you have suffered a soft-tissue injury in an accident in Connecticut, you might face chronic pain, loss of mobility, and medical expenses related to treating and rehabilitating your injuries. If someone else was responsible for the accident that led to your injuries, they should have to pay for the consequences.

The soft-tissue injury attorneys at the law firm of Wocl Leydon want to help you pursue the compensation you deserve for your losses. Our respected personal injury attorneys represent clients in Connecticut who have suffered soft-tissue injuries in motor vehicle accidents, bike and pedestrian accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, and other types of incidents.

Contact us today for a free initial case evaluation to discuss your options for seeking compensation after suffering a soft-tissue injury in an accident.

What Is a Soft-Tissue Injury?

A soft-tissue injury occurs when muscles, tendons, ligaments, or cushioning tissues become damaged. These injuries can happen due to overexertion or a traumatic force, such as during athletic activities, physical labor, and accidents.

What Causes a Soft-Tissue Injury?

The following types of accidents often lead to soft-tissue injuries:

• Car accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Truck accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Defective product or product liability accidents
• Medical malpractice and birth injuries
• Nursing home abuse or neglect
• Dog bites
• Slip-and-fall accidents
• Premises liability accidents

What Are the Different Types of Soft-Tissue Injuries?

Some examples of frequently occurring soft-tissue injuries include the following:

• Sprains – A sprain involves stretching or tearing of ligaments, the bands of connective tissues that connect bones and stabilize and support the joints.
• Strains – A strain involves the stretching or tearing of muscles or tendons. Tendons are the tissues that connect muscles to bones.
• Contusions – Also known as bruising, a contusion involves the crushing and breaking of the soft tissues due to a traumatic blow to the body, which causes blood to pool beneath the skin. Contusions can cause swelling and may feel tender or painful to the touch, although the bruise will gradually fade.
• Herniated spinal disc injuries – Spinal discs sit between and cushion the vertebrae. Discs are composed of a hard outer layer encasing a softer, jelly-like substance. In a herniated disc injury, the softer inner material can cause the outer layer to bulge, or the inner material may protrude through the outer casing. This bulging can press on the spinal cord or the nerve bundles exiting the spinal column, causing severe pain, numbness, and weakness in the extremities.
• Whiplash – This is a neck injury caused by a rapid jerking of the head and neck, such as in a car crash. This jerking or whipping motion can cause damage to ligaments, tendons, muscles, spinal discs, and nerves in the neck and upper shoulders, leading to chronic pain and stiffness that may last several days to several months.
• Tendinitis – Tendinitis is a condition involving the inflammation of a tendon or its covering, known as a sheath.
• Bursitis – This is inflammation of small jelly-like sacs called bursae located in various joints throughout the body. Bursae help provide cushioning and reduce friction in the joints.

Treatments for Soft-Tissue Injuries

Treatments for soft-tissue injuries vary depending on their severity and whether they respond to more conservative treatment. Standard treatment options for soft-tissue injuries include:

• RICE Method – Minor soft-tissue injuries usually heal on their own, although injury victims may reduce pain and swelling to speed up the healing process through the RICE method, which stands for the four treatments involved in the method: rest, ice (cold compress), compression, and elevation of the injured area.
• Braces and bandaging – These remedies can stabilize an injured joint to allow affected tissues to heal.
• Medications – Soft-tissue injury victims may take several medications to help relieve the symptoms of the injury, including pain relievers and muscle relaxers.
• Pain reliever or epidural steroid injections – People who suffer chronic pain from a soft-tissue injury may receive pain-relieving injections at the site of the injury or the appropriate level of the spinal cord.
• Exercise – Stretching and movement exercises can help maintain the range of motion at the side of a soft-tissue injury, preventing swelling or stiffness and reducing pain.
• Physical therapy – Physical and occupational therapists can help injury victims perform more intensive exercises to preserve or restore range of motion and promote healing and stabilization at the site of an injury.
• Surgery – Severe soft-tissue injuries or injuries that fail to get better with other treatments may require surgery to repair the damage. Surgeries may involve reconnecting damaged tissues, grafting new tendons or ligaments to replace torn ones, or fusing vertebrae to treat herniated disc injuries.

What Compensation Is Available to Soft-Tissue Injury Victims?

The financial compensation you may be entitled to pursue after suffering a soft-tissue injury in an accident includes the following:

• Costs of medical treatment such as surgery, medications, doctor’s appointments, and purchases of mobility equipment like crutches and wheelchairs
• Physical and occupational therapy expenses
• Costs of long-term care for permanent impairment, including visiting physical therapists or home health services
• Loss of income from missed work
• Loss of future earning potential if you develop a permanent disability
• Pain and suffering

How Long Do I Have to File a Soft-Tissue Injury Claim in Connecticut?

In most cases, Connecticut General Statutes §52-584 gives you two years after suffering a soft-tissue injury to file a lawsuit against the at-fault party. If you file a lawsuit after the two-year deadline, the trial court will likely dismiss your case as untimely, and you could lose your chance to pursue compensation in civil court.

When the consequences are this serious, you shouldn’t put off talking to a Connecticut soft-tissue injury lawyer from Wocl Leydon. We can help protect your rights to financial recovery and prevent you from making avoidable deadline errors.

Contact Our Connecticut Soft-Tissue Injury Attorneys

Contact us online or call Wocl Leydon today for a free, no-obligation consultation to speak with our Connecticut soft-tissue injury attorneys to learn more about your rights. Our firm can advocate for your interests to help you pursue compensation for all your losses.