Your whole world stopped after the accident. One minute, you were going about your daily routine. The next, you found yourself unable to even get out of bed.
The doctors say you have extensive soft tissue injuries – sprains, strains, whiplash – and a long recovery ahead. Your medical bills are piling up, you can’t work, and your family is struggling to make ends meet.
We know how devastating this situation is. You need an advocate who will fight for the justice and compensation you deserve so you can recover and return to your life.
For years, that’s what we’ve helped San Diego injury victims do. With a proven track record of success, our personal injury attorneys have the resources to take on negligent parties and insurance companies.
We know this is an incredibly difficult time. That’s why we offer transparent, compassionate counsel to clients and families. If you or a loved one suffered a serious soft tissue injury, contact us today for a case review. Let us stand by your side and unleash our unrelenting pursuit of maximum compensation. Focus on healing – and let us handle the legal fight.
What is a Soft Tissue Injury?
When people hear “soft tissue injury,” they may imagine a simple bruise or pulled muscle. But in medical terms, soft tissues refer to any connective tissues in your body that connect, support, and surround other structures like your organs and muscles.
These include:
- Tendons, which attach muscles to bones
- Ligaments, which connect bones at joints
- Fascia, which is the connective tissue around muscles
- Nerves
- Blood vessels
Any of these tissues can become damaged or inflamed when your body is subjected to trauma, leading to pain, swelling, and decreased mobility. Soft tissue injuries commonly involve strains and sprains to muscles, tendons, and ligaments. More serious cases may result in torn rotator cuffs, herniated discs, or nerve damage.
While broken bones may garner more attention, don’t underestimate how much a severe sprain, whiplash injury, or back strain can impact your daily functioning and quality of life. The pain can be significant, and full recovery can take months, depending on the location and severity.
Common Soft Tissue Injuries
Some of the most frequently occurring soft tissue injuries we see from accidents and negligence include:
- Whiplash – caused by the head jerking back and forth, often in rear-end collisions. This can damage muscles, tendons, and ligaments in the neck and spine.
- Sprains – stretching or tears of ligaments at joints like the ankle or wrist. Symptoms include pain, swelling, and instability.
- Strains – pulling or tearing of muscle tissue. Low back strain is particularly common.
- Contusions – severe bruises that damage muscle fibers and connective tissue.
- Tendinitis – inflammation of a tendon, like tennis elbow or rotator cuff tendinitis.
While less obvious than a broken leg, these injuries seriously impact mobility and quality of life. And their effects often linger, causing chronic issues later on.
Common Causes of Soft Tissue Injuries
At our law firm, we frequently see soft tissue trauma resulting from:
- Car Accidents – The sudden impact in a collision throws occupants around, overextending soft tissues. Whiplash and back injuries are common in rear-end and t-bone crashes. Rollover accidents also typically cause substantial soft tissue damage.
- Slip and Fall Accidents – Attempting to brace yourself when you fall or slip puts severe strain on muscles and tendons in your knees, wrists, shoulders, and back as they absorb the sudden impact. This often leads to painful sprains and strains in these vulnerable areas.
- Workplace Accidents – Repetitive motions like lifting and bending can cause cumulative injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome. Accidents like falling from ladders also often result in sprains and strains.
- Sports/Recreation Injuries – Athletic activities inevitably lead to some sprains and strains, but negligent supervision or hazardous conditions can lead to even worse soft tissue trauma.
No matter how you were hurt, the impact on your life can be severe. Let’s look at some examples of how these accidents happen and how they damage soft tissue structures.
Major Causes and Their Effects
A rear-end collision often results in whiplash and back strains. When one car plows into another stopped vehicle, the occupants’ heads whip backward and then forward at extremely fast speeds, hyperextending the neck and upper back. Muscles and ligaments supporting the spine and discs are stretched beyond normal limits.
Slip and fall accidents also frequently cause sprains and strains. Say you trip on a wet floor at a store. You likely try to catch yourself, forcing muscles and tendons in your wrists, elbows, and shoulders to absorb high forces. This can tear ligaments and damage surrounding soft tissues. Knees and ankles are also vulnerable to sprains in falls.
While these may seem like minor, temporary injuries, severe sprains, and strains can be extremely painful and take months to fully heal. Proper diagnosis and treatment is crucial to avoid chronic issues.
Diagnosing Soft Tissue Injuries
After an accident, it’s critical to get checked out by a doctor immediately, even if you don’t have visible major injuries. Symptoms like pain, swelling, bruising, numbness, or tingling should always be professionally evaluated.
To diagnose a soft tissue injury, the doctor will:
- Ask about your symptoms and how the injury occurred
- Check your range of motion and palpate the area
- Perform tests to assess the function of tendons, muscles, and ligaments
- Order imaging like X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs, if necessary
Your subjective pain levels and description of limitations are important details to share. Diagnostic testing helps identify the extent of damage and rule out fractures, herniated discs, and other severe injuries. Sometimes, swelling and guarding initially hide the full extent of trauma to structures like ligaments. Follow-up evaluation is crucial.
Seeking Proper Medical Documentation
Thorough medical records will help validate your injury claim later on. Gaps in treatment or minimal documentation can falsely make soft tissue injuries appear minor. Insurance companies may use that to deny or minimize your claim.
We recommend consulting specialists like orthopedists, chiropractors, physical therapists, or sports medicine doctors. They can provide objective evidence of decreased mobility, strength, and range of motion that confirms the extent of your soft tissue trauma. Their documentation and testimony bolsters your case.
Don’t let gaps in treatment occur simply because you start to feel better. Soft tissue damage can have lingering effects if not adequately rehabilitated. Follow all recommended therapy and exercises, even if you have healed. The medical paper trail proves you took recovery seriously.
Compensation for Soft Tissue Injuries
If third-party negligence caused your soft tissue injury in an accident, you may be entitled to compensation for:
- Medical bills – All treatment related to the injury, including rehab therapy.
- Lost wages – If you missed work time during recovery.
- Pain and suffering – Damages for physical and emotional trauma.
- Loss of enjoyment of life – Compensation if you can no longer participate in activities you previously enjoyed.
The at-fault party’s insurance company may try to downplay soft tissue injuries as minor and offer inadequate settlements. They may claim preexisting conditions caused your symptoms or argue that you didn’t follow through with treatment. A knowledgeable attorney knows how to confront these tactics.
Maximizing Compensation in Your Claim
To make sure you receive full and fair compensation, be diligent about documenting every expense related to your injury. Keep detailed records of:
- Mileage for medical visits and therapy
- Costs of medical equipment, braces, medication
- Receipts for help with household tasks you couldn’t perform
Also, maintain a journal tracking your pain levels, limitations, and how the injury affects your work, family life, and favorite activities. This demonstrates the true day-to-day impacts.
Enlist support from witnesses like family, friends, and coworkers who can describe how your life changed after the injury. Their observations help establish the extent of disability caused by the trauma.
Seeking Legal Representation
A soft tissue injury lawyer can help maximize your rightful compensation. An experienced attorney will aggressively pursue all available damages and fight denial or delays by insurance companies.
At Pasternack Injury Law Group, our dedicated personal injury lawyers have an impressive track record with these cases. We can prove even complex soft tissue injuries using objective medical evidence and testimony. Our thorough approach covers every aspect of building your claim to prove full value. We handle everything so you can focus on healing.
How We Help Maximize Your Compensation
Successfully litigating soft tissue cases takes specialized medical knowledge. We work with respected medical experts who understand how to explain your injuries to insurance companies and in court. Their detailed reports and testimony prove the accident caused your soft tissue trauma.
We also skillfully negotiate with insurers to win adequate compensation pre-trial when possible. If they won’t be reasonable, we won’t hesitate to take your case to court. Our proven trial experience and success motivate them to settle fairly. But we are fully prepared to fight for you before a jury if necessary.
Our exceptional track record and satisfied clients give us credibility that commands top dollar damages for our clients for soft tissue claims. We value communication and compassion, so you’ll feel informed and supported every step of the way.
Contact Pasternack Injury Law Group Today
At Pasternack Injury Law Group, we have years of dedicated experience helping San Diegans recover damages for soft tissue injuries caused by negligence and accidents. As a family-owned firm, we bring a personal touch along with aggressive legal skills to get you maximum compensation.
Don’t endure the pain and financial burden of someone else’s carelessness or oversight. You may think your only option is to accept an inadequate settlement from the insurance company. Still, our lawyers can accurately calculate what your claim is worth and develop proven strategies to get you every dollar of compensation you deserve.
We handle the complex legal process so you can focus on healing. Take the first step by contacting our compassionate team today for a free case evaluation.
