Sudden and traumatic effects of a car accident can leave you with serious injuries like fractured bones. However, in some cases, the injuries might not be so obvious and end up ignored as small bruises and not treated well. These minor injuries are referred to as soft tissue injuries, which are like emotions; they are real and hurt, but not everyone will notice them.
Regardless, many people get the compensation they deserve for these soft tissue injuries. That said, you can too. All you need is the help of a good personal injury lawyer.
What is a Soft Tissue Injury?
Soft tissue injuries can be categorized as bruises, sprains, and strains. A bruise can be a blue or black spot on your body that indicates trauma to the skin. This often results from ruptured capillaries. A sprain, on the other hand, is an injury that happens when a ligament tears due to extreme force. Lastly, a strain is an injury to the tissues that connect muscles and bones.
All these injuries have one thing in common, they all need medical attention. Remember that the severity of your injury can vary depending on the situation.
Types of Soft Tissue Injuries
Soft tissue injury can impact any part of your body; however, the following are some common types:
- Concussions
- Back sprains
- Whiplash
- Internal organ damage
- Contusion
- Shoulder impingement
- Lacerations
Proving Soft Tissue Injury After a Car Accident
Unlike physically evident injuries, soft tissue injuries are not usually tangible. Medical procedures like X-Rays or MRIs might not accurately place or capture your soft tissue injury. However, the pain that results from the injury can be overwhelming and have a substantial impact on your quality of life. The good news is that you can prove that your injuries resulted from a car accident.
Here are some tips to help you link your soft tissue injury to a car crash:
Medical records
Medical records can play a significant role when you want to prove your case. In addition, they can help you prove that the injuries you sustained led to a loss of income, medical bills, and other damages that came after the accident. Besides, medical records are direct evidence of the injuries you sustained. Every doctor’s note, emergency room file, medical document, prescription, and diagnosis are medical records that can help you link your injuries to an accident. Read more about Is it necessary to hire a personal injury lawyer for a slip and fall accident?
Get the medical attention you need immediately, follow your doctor’s advice and take every medicine prescribed. This will help you get the records to support your injury claim.
Eyewitnesses
An eyewitness can also help strengthen your claim. Their account of what happened can greatly help determine the person who is at fault in an accident, especially when the insurance company is disputing liability.
Anyone who saw the events that led to your injury can be a good witness to your case. This can be:
- A Good Samaritan who helped you
- People living near the road
- Other road users
The more evidence you have, the higher your chances of winning a claim.
Expert witness
This is a person that has the required knowledge or skill in a specific field apart from that of the average person. The witness has to give the court an independent opinion on precise elements of matter within their knowledge. In this case, an expert witness can help you link your soft tissue injury to an accident. The expert witness can be a doctor who specializes in your type of injury.
Bottom Line
Soft tissue injuries might be difficult to prove but they are not impossible. And due to the delayed symptoms and subjectivity, many people hesitate to come forward. Fortunately, you can use medical records, pictures taken at the accident scene, diagnosis, prescriptions, emergency room files, and imaging results to prove your soft tissue injuries were caused by an accident.
