Morrin Law Office
Wrist Injury Attorney in Richmond, KY
Being hit by a car or truck is always a scary and traumatizing event, whether you are struck from behind while stopped or hit while walking in a crosswalk. The severity of the accident obviously determines the injuries and recovery time, but being in an accident that leaves you without the use of a wrist, hand, or arm is debilitating. Wrist injuries are very common in head-on collisions because the driver can see the other vehicle traveling toward them on the wrong side of the road and usually braces for impact by stiffening their body, including their wrists as their hands hold onto the steering wheel.
HOW CAR ACCIDENT WRIST INJURIES CHANGE YOUR LIFE
Each wrist contains 8 carpal bones. Each hand consists of 19 bones and 19 joints. Each of the 5 digits in the hand has a carpometacarpal joint and a metacarpophalangeal joint. These complex bone and joint structures cause fractures in the wrist and hands to be more complex than other simple bone structures. These structural complexities cause injuries to the hands and wrists to take more time to recover from and can cause other complications and symptoms that less complex breaks may not involve.
Common symptoms after a dangerous collision include pain in the hand, wrist, or fingers, but severe wrist injuries in which there has been nerve damage in the wrists or hands can cause severe pain to radiate up and down the arm. Other symptoms requiring medical care and treatment include:
- stiffness and difficulty in flexing or straightening the fingers or wrist
- loss of or limited range of motion
- numbness
- burning or tingling as if being poked by needles
- swelling
- loss of or lack of grip strength
- bruising
- discoloration
If you experience any of these symptoms after a car accident then it’s very important for you to obtain prompt medical care and treatment for your injuries because if you fail to treat then the insurance company will use that as an excuse to delay, deny, and diminish your claim and need for medical treatment. The car insurance companies are always looking for a way to deny your claim or pay you less and failure to treat promptly is the number one reason they are able to do this. If you are unsure as to whether you should seek medical treatment after a car accident in your situation then give us a quick call at 859-358-0300 and an experienced Kentucky personal injury attorney will be glad to advise you, free of any charge whatsoever, about whether or not you should obtain medical care; we will even tell you how to get treatment for free and we can order a free police report for you!
Common injuries caused by accidents involving commercial vehicles or semi-trucks include:
- Wrist fracture and broken bones in the wrist
- Broken Fingers
- Broken hand bones
- Crushed Bones
- Bruising
- Puncture wounds
- Dislocated wrist or dislocated finger
- Ligament tear or torn ligaments
- Tendon tear or torn tendons
- Amputation
- Wrist sprain
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
Wrist fractures or broken wrist bones are the most common and most painful wrist injuries caused by car accidents. Broken wrists, crushed hands, fractured knuckles, and broken fingers are often caused by hitting objects in the car such as the steering wheel, air bag, windshield, or window. A very common bone break from car accidents includes a “scaphoid fracture” which is a break in the scaphoid bone in your wrist. If a scaphoid fracture is not treated then the part of the Scaphoid that interacts with the distal radius of the forearm may die and, if this happens, it will cause severe arthritis pain for the rest of the individual’s life.
Those who have pre-existing wrist conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome and osteoarthritis, oftentimes the elderly and senior citizens, are even more susceptible to severe hand and wrist injuries because of the weakened condition of their wrists. For these individuals, it is incredibly important to get prompt medical attention and from the best specialists possible if they want to keep the use of their hands and wrists.
If untreated, wrist and hand injuries can cause severe pain for the rest of your life. Untreated injuries can cause lose of motion and feeling in the wrist. These conditions may prevent you from driving and controlling the steering wheel without pain, typing on your smartphone, writing with a pen, typing on your computer, brushing your teeth, and other common activities that require the use of our hands every day. If you have suffered a wrist injury in a car accident recently then call or text Kentucky’s dedicated car accident law firm now to see if you should seek medical attention in your situation and how to pursue your injury claim: 859-358-0300.