SERIOUS INJURIES
Wrist Fractures
The wrist consists of many bones that connect the forearm to the hand. One of the most common injuries from car accidents and slip and falls is a fractured wrist. These fractures are caused by blunt force or trauma to the wrist. Broken wrists are often painful and require immediate treatment. Failure to properly treat broken wrists may result in chronic issues. Wrist fractures may result in substantial medical bills and lost income. The experienced attorneys at Slatter Law Firm will aggressively fight to recover the maximum compensation for your injuries.
The most common wrist fracture in car accidents and slip and falls is a distal radius fracture. In car accidents, the wrist is injured when one braces for impact by either grabbing onto the steering wheel or vehicle dashboard. For falls, the wrist is typically fractured when the hand is used to break someone’s fall. These falls are often caused by a property owner’s failure to appropriate manage their property. For example, victims suffer falls due to slippery surfaces, defective handrails, faulty steps, uneven sidewalks, icy or snowy conditions, and other tripping hazards. In these car accidents and falls, the wrist is hyperextended or extended beyond its normal range of motion. As such, the ligaments in the hand become overstretched, resulting in a fracture of the wrist.
These fractures will show various symptoms following your accident and fall. Common symptoms include pain when flexing the wrist, tenderness, swelling, bruising, deformed shape of wrist. If you experience any of these symptoms following your accident or fall, you should seek immediate medical attention. If you fractured your wrist and do not seek medical treatment, your injury may develop into a long-term or chronic issue. Lack of treatment may result in the bone not healing properly and becoming misaligned. This misalignment will cause pain and discomfort when performing activities of daily living, and therefore damage your quality of life.
Treatment for wrist fractures depends on the severity of the fracture. Typical fractures will require a cast for up to six to eight weeks. Prior to placing a cast, your doctor may place a splint for a few days to a week to allow the swelling around the wrist to lessen. However, if the bone alignment has been impacted or the bone will not properly heal in a cast, surgery may be necessary to hold the bone together.
Car accidents and slip and falls may result in less severe wrist injuries, such as sprains and dislocations. Wrist sprains occur when the ligaments near the wrist become damaged when the wrist either bends backward or is hit by an object. Symptoms include swelling and pain. Wrist dislocations occur when the bones in the wrist separate. Dislocation may cause damage to the bones, ligaments, and tendons. In order to prevent any long-term damage to your wrist, you should immediately seek medical treatment after the accident or fall.
Clearly, these injuries will require medical treatment and may significantly alter your life by requiring you to miss lengthy time from work. However, the law affords you compensation for your lost income and medical expenses relating to your injuries. In order to recover the maximum compensation for your injuries, you should retain an experienced personal injury attorney.
Contact Us Today
Contact a Los Angeles personal injury attorney today if you or a loved one was involved in an accident involving a dangerous road condition. Slatter Law Firm has been helping individuals injured due to car accidents and slip and falls throughout Los Angeles and Southern California for over four decades. To schedule a free consultation, call our office at (310) 405-0964 or contact us online.
