On average, an American gets injured in an accident every second, according to the National Safety Council. In 2017, the U.S. experienced 47.2 million injuries, and 169,936 preventable deaths. In many of these situations, someone’s negligent, reckless, or intentional misconduct is to blame, and the injury victim or surviving family members may have the right to pursue compensation.
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Common Accident Injuries
At Anderson Injury Lawyers, we have represented adults and children suffering from:
Child Injuries
No parent ever wants to get that call from the daycare explaining that their child was injured. As parents, we do our best to protect our children, but what happens if others aren't as careful? Our lawyers have over 20 years of experience handling Texas child injury and daycare negligence cases, including child injury cases involving dog bites, playground accidents, swimming pool injuries, trampoline mishaps and more. No matter the type, if a child was hurt due to the negligence of a school, aftercare program, daycare center, bus driver or another party, that child and their family should not have to suffer the consequences.
Bone Fractures
There are many types of broken bones, and the type and degree of the fracture dictates the medical care you need to heal. You may suffer an open or closed fracture. Fractures may be stable, transverse, oblique, and comminuted. Stable breaks can often heal without surgery, and you will heal in a few weeks or months. However, more serious breaks like comminuted fractures, in which the bone shatters into several pieces, are more likely to require surgery and the use of pins, screws, and other hardware to promote recovery.
Lacerations
Many types of accidents can lead to deep and jagged cuts. Such harm may require stitches to close and allow you to heal. More severe lacerations could require the use of a plastic surgeon to ensure your laceration heals cleanly, and that your appearance is affected as little as possible.
Puncture Wounds
Certain types of incidents, like dog bites and other animal attacks, are more likely to lead to puncture wounds. This type of wound may be similar to a laceration and require sutures to close. However, puncture wounds can be deep and injure your soft tissues, cause bone fractures, and lead to internal organ damage. The placement and depth of the puncture wounds will influence the necessary treatment and recovery period.
Ligament Sprains
A common soft tissue injury is for a ligament to be stretched or torn. Ligaments are the bands of tissue connecting bones at joints. Sprains can be minor, and you will recover in time. However, fully-torn ligaments may require surgery to repair.
Muscle or Tendon Strains
Other soft tissue injuries include strains, which encompass stretched and torn muscles and tendons. Tendons are fibrous cords that connect your bones and muscles. Like sprains, strains often require rest to heal. You may treat the pain with over-the-counter medications. However, more serious strains might require surgery.
Herniated Discs
A common back injury caused in accidents like car crashes and slip and falls is a herniated disc. Between the vertebrae in your spine are discs. These have a tough outer portion and a gel-like middle. Herniated discs occur when the gel-like middle pushes through small tears in the tough outer band. This injury can range from uncomfortable to extremely painful. If the herniated disc pushes on a nerve, then you may experience tingling, muscle weakness, and loss of movement and sensation. Herniated discs may require surgery.
Whiplash
Whiplash is a neck injury that happens when your head is forced back and forth beyond its typical range of motion. You may experience pain, stiffness, reduced range of mobility, headaches, and jaw aches. Whiplash typically requires time to heal, and you may treat the pain with over-the-counter remedies.
Dislocated Joints
A dislocation occurs when a bone moves from out of its place in the joint. This can be a painful injury, and even more painful when the bone slides back into place. This type of injury is often associated with soft tissue injuries around the joint.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Your spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that runs down the center of your spine. It is responsible for connecting the motor and sensory nerves throughout your body to the brain and vice versa. When your spine is injured, the spinal cord can be damaged. You may suffer an incomplete and complete injury. A complete injury means your entire spinal cord severs. You will lose all feeling and mobility from the injury site downward. With an incomplete injury, you will lose some degree of sensation and movement, though it is often impossible to predict. Whether or not you can regain sensation or movement depends on the extent of the injury, and how quickly you obtained treatment and diagnosis.
Nerve Damage
A variety of accidents and injuries can result in damage to your motor or sensory nerves or both. When you experience nerve damage, you may feel pain, tingling, a squeezing sensation, weakness, and reduced mobility. Nerve damage in the lower body can lead to an inability to control your bladder as well as sexual dysfunction. Nerve damage can take years to improve, or it could be permanent. The best chance of recovering is for physicians to diagnose and treat the underlying injury, if possible.
Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs)
Traumatic brain injuries are categorized as mild, moderate or severe. A mild TBI is better known as a concussion. You may experience symptoms for a few weeks or months, though most people fully recover from concussions. Moderate-to-severe TBIs are considerably more serious and more likely to lead to long-term side effects or permanent disabilities. When you suffer a TBI, you may experience a related skull fracture or penetrating head injury. You can suffer a TBI when a significant force is exerted against your body.
Hypoxic Brain Injury/Anoxic Brain Injury
Your brain can also suffer injury if it does not get enough oxygen for a period of time (hypoxic), or does not get any oxygen for minutes or longer (anoxic). Oxygen deprivation can lead to brain damage, the extent of which depends on how long your brain goes without oxygen. After three minutes, your brain can suffer irreversible damage.
Amputations
During a traumatic event, an extremity or limb can detach from your body. This is known as an amputation. You also may suffer such a severe injury to a finger, hand, arm, toe, foot, or leg that requires physicians to amputate the injured body part.
Internal Injuries
Severe accidents can harm your internal organs, such as your heart, lungs, bowels, kidneys, and more. If one or more of these organs is punctured or lacerated, you may experience internal bleeding. You will need surgery to repair the damage, and in extreme cases, your organ may not be able to recover. Certain organs can be removed, while others will require a transplant.
Burns
If you incur harm in an explosion or fire, you may suffer burns. Third and fourth-degree burns are painful and disfiguring injuries. You will require a great deal of medical care to heal to the fullest extent and avoid infections. You likely will need several surgical procedures to recover and improve your appearance.
Vision Loss
If you suffer a direct injury to your eye or are exposed to toxic chemicals, you may suffer vision loss or blindness. Depending on the type and extent of the injury, there may be a surgical procedure to help. Once you recover to the fullest extent possible, corrective lenses may help.
Hearing Loss
Injuries directly to your head and ears can cause hearing loss. If both ears are significantly damaged, you may require surgery or hearing aids. Significant injury to one or both ears can lead to deafness.
Contact Us
If you suffered harm in an accident or any incident caused by negligence, contact Anderson Injury Lawyers right away. We offer individualized attention, over 25 years of experience, and everything you need to get everything you deserve.
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