If you've been in a car accident, you may have many types of injuries. You can have physical pain or mental suffering. However, if you do experience physical injuries, they are usually categorized as soft tissue or hard tissue. If you want to know more about soft vs. hard tissue damage after an accident, read these three commonly asked questions.
Hard tissue is usually referring to bones, while soft tissue refers to muscle, ligaments, tendons, or connective tissue. Hard tissue damage can affect any bone in the body, including the head or spine. The more common types of hard tissue damage after a car accident include a closed fracture, open fracture, or complicated fracture.
A closed fracture and an open fracture are basically the same — they just mean the bone has fractured. However, with a closed fracture, the bone has not broken the skin, but with an open fracture, you can see the bone. A complicated fracture involves other structures or organs, such as a broken rib poking into your spleen.
Common examples of soft tissue damage after a car accident include bruises, muscle strain, ligament tear, or damaged tendon. Depending on the severity, you may experience mild to severe pain with soft tissue damage.
Soft tissue damage has a few complications, especially if you want to seek financial retribution. First, a lot of soft tissue damage doesn't appear right away. For this reason, you may not seek immediate medical attention. You may not even realize you are injured and accept a smaller settlement than you deserve.
If you don't go to the doctor right away, this can negatively impact your case. The other insurance carrier could potentially say you only decided to go to the doctor later because you wanted to sue. On top of that, proving soft tissue injuries is difficult.
With a broken bone, your doctor takes an X-ray to prove the damage. However, a lot of soft tissue damage can't be tested with diagnostic tools. Despite this, the injury, especially those like whiplash and muscle tears, can be extremely painful. For the most part, your word is the only real proof you have of soft tissue damage, making it hard to get your fair share.
Hard tissue damage is much easier to prove because many tools are available to diagnose hard tissue damage. Besides X-rays, your doctor can use MRIs, CT scans, or ultrasounds to prove your pain and injuries. On the downside, however, hard tissue damage may take a long time to heal, which can make it hard to determine the extent of the damage.
For example, if you broke your ankle in the accident, you may be happy accepting enough to pay the medical bills. However, after your ankle heals, you may have a permanent limp. This can lead to more medical expenses that you'll have to pay out of pocket.
On the other hand, if your hard tissue injury has left you with long-term damage, such as paralysis, your quality of life may be reduced. Even if you aren't in physical pain, you can have mental pain and suffering, which can include depression, changes in personality, or anger. If you have any hard tissue damage, work with your doctor and attorney to determine how much is fair.
Your doctor should inspect any injury after a car accident. If you received these injuries from someone else’s negligence or misconduct, you shouldn't have to be financially stretched to pay for your medical bills or lost income. If you would like more information about soft vs. hard tissue injuries and settlements,
contact us
at the Law Offices of Robert Dodson, P.A.
