Soft tissues include skin, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and blood vessels. By nature, these soft tissues are more prone to damage than harder parts of the body, like bones or teeth. When they are injured, the effects are often severe. Cuts, bruises, burns, sprains, strains, and other soft-tissue injuries can keep you from working, drain your bank account, and leave you unable to enjoy the activities you love. If someone else is to blame for your soft-tissue injuries, you should not have to bear these costs yourself.
At Sam & Ash Injury Law, we understand how debilitating these injuries can be. We want to help you get the justice and accountability you deserve. Our highly experienced Las Vegas soft-tissue injury attorneys can handle your case so you can concentrate on resting and recuperating. Because we don’t collect a fee unless we secure compensation, there’s no risk in contacting us to learn more about your legal rights.
You deserve what’s right! We can help you demand it. Contact Sam & Ash Injury Law today for a free consultation with a Las Vegas soft-tissue injury lawyer.
What Is a Soft-tissue Injury?
Anything other than bones, teeth, nerves, and internal organs is “soft tissue.” Therefore, a soft-tissue injury is anything that causes harm to the skin, muscles, ligaments, tendons, or blood vessels.
Types of Soft-Tissue Injuries
A few common examples of soft-tissue injuries you could suffer in an accident are:
- Lacerations– The medical term for a cut that tears the skin or affects underlying tissues is a laceration. You can treat minor lacerations with basic first aid, but a more severe injury may require more extensive treatment, including surgery in some cases. Lacerations can also lead to additional medical complications like gangrene and infections.
- Contusions– A contusion is a medical term for a bruise caused by a hard blow that affects a muscle, tendon, or ligament. Mild contusions usually heal quickly with rest and over-the-counter pain medications, though more severe injuries can cause permanent damage to affected tissues.
- Sprains and strains– Sprains and strains are two similar soft-tissue injuries that impact the muscles and connective tissues. A sprain occurs when a ligament tears, becomes overextended, or becomes overly stretched. Strains are similar injuries that affect muscles and tendons. Ligaments connect bones to other bones, while tendons connect bones to muscles or other structures. Such injuries can severely limit movement while also causing intense pain.
- Burns– Burns are soft-tissue injuries often caused by heat, electricity, or toxic chemicals. Severe burns can affect the skin, muscles, and connective tissues, causing permanent scarring and impacting essential bodily functions. Severe burns also carry a significant risk of infection.
- Bursitis– Fluid-filled sacs called bursas provide cushioning and prevent bones from grinding against each other directly or rubbing against the tendons and muscles. Direct trauma or overexertion can cause a bursa to become inflamed, a painful condition known as bursitis.
- Tendonitis– Tendons can become inflamed after trauma or overexertion, causing a painful condition known as tendonitis. Tendonitis injuries often make it difficult to move or use the injured body part, which can make it impossible to perform certain activities.
- Road rash– Road rash injuries are a common result of motor vehicle collisions, especially those involving motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians. The friction caused by hitting the road surface and sliding across it can cause abrasion to the skin, scraping it from the body. In some cases, road rash injuries can extend to underlying tissues.
Causes of Soft-Tissue Injuries
There are four primary causes of accident-related soft-tissue injuries:
- Blunt force trauma– The force of impact in a motor vehicle collision or other hard blow can severely damage the soft tissues. Common injuries from blunt force trauma include contusions, lacerations, sprains, and strains.
- Falls– If you land hard on the wrong part of your body after a fall, you could suffer a contusion or other injury at the point of impact, such as a sprain or strain.
- Twisting/overextension– Muscles, ligaments, and tendons are flexible to allow for movement, but they can only flex or stretch to a certain point. A hard blow that causes you to twist or contort your body in an unnatural position can cause a sprain, strain, or other injury. These kinds of injuries can also happen when you try to catch yourself while you fall.
- Repetitive motion/overuse– Many soft-tissue injuries are not caused by a single traumatic event. Instead, they result from gradual wear and tear from performing the same motion or activity repeatedly. These repetitive movements slowly wear down the soft tissue until it breaks.
Soft-tissue Injury Treatment and Recovery
The treatment for a soft-tissue injury depends on how severe the damage is, which also impacts recovery time.
Some common treatments for soft-tissue injuries in Nevada include:
- Rest– Because soft-tissue injuries often impact muscles, ligaments, tendons, and other parts of the body that are essential to movement, staying off the injured body part and limiting your activity can reduce your chances of further aggravating the injury.
- Pain medication– Over-the-counter pain medication is usually enough for a minor soft-tissue injury, though you may need prescription medication for a more severe injury.
- Heat or cold therapy– Applying ice or a cold pack can help reduce soft tissue swelling, while applying heat can help promote blood flow and boost your recovery.
- Compression clothing– Compression sleeves and similar garments can stimulate blood flow to the area affected by a soft-tissue injury, which can speed up your recovery.
- Physical therapy– Certain exercises can strengthen the muscles around an injured ligament or tendon, which reduces the strain on the injured body part and makes it easier for you to heal. Physical therapy exercises can also reduce your chances of reaggravating a prior soft-tissue injury.
- Surgery– If a tendon or ligament has ruptured or you have suffered another significant soft-tissue injury, you may need surgery to repair the damage before you can begin other treatments.
Statute of Limitations for a Soft-tissue Injury Claim in Nevada
In most cases, you have two years from the date you sustained a soft-tissue injury to file a personal lawsuit against any potentially liable parties. Be careful not to miss this deadline, as doing so could mean you lose your right to compensation. The sooner you talk to a lawyer, the sooner they can get to work on your case.
Compensation for Soft-tissue Injuries
The expenses from a soft-tissue injury can be significant. In addition to your initial medical bills, you may need physical therapy for several months or longer to regain functionality in the injured body part. Being unable to move or perform certain activities can also impact your ability to earn a living and result in lost wages. Serious soft tissue injuries can also negatively affect your quality of life.
You should not be left to pay the price of a soft-tissue injury that wasn’t your fault. An experienced attorney can help you seek compensation for:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Lost future earnings
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Reduced quality of life
What If the Other Party Blames Me for My Soft-tissue Injuries?
If the party who caused your injuries is trying to blame you instead, you need to speak to an attorney right away. A lawyer can investigate the underlying injury, examine the evidence to determine fault, and build a compelling case that makes it clear to an insurer or court that you deserve compensation.
An important thing to understand is that, in Nevada, you can still recover compensation even if you are found to be partially at fault for your injuries. Under the state’s comparative negligence laws, you can recover compensation as long as your percentage of fault does not exceed 50 percent. However, your compensation will be reduced by the percentage of fault you are assessed. In other words, if you suffer $50,000 in losses in an accident that was 10 percent your fault, your recovery would only be $45,000, since $5,000 would be considered your fault.
Get in Touch With a Las Vegas Soft-tissue Injury Lawyer
Have you suffered a soft-tissue injury because of an accident that wasn’t your fault? Then, contact Sam & Ash Injury Law today for a free consultation with a Las Vegas soft tissue injury lawyer. There are no upfront costs to learn more about your options for pursuing compensation.
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