Car accidents have the potential to cause a slew of injuries. As is the case with any automobile collision injury, hand and wrist injuries can range from minor to life-altering.
Types of Hand & Wrist Injuries
Blunt force trauma and broken car parts, such as glass or metal debris, can harm your hand and wrist during a motor vehicle collision. Common injuries include:
- Fractures: One of the most common injuries in a wreck, a broken wrist can take months to heal. Another common fracture, the scaphoid fracture, involves breaking another small bone in the wrist.
- Joint Dislocation: Your hand has multiple joints that allow everyday functionality. When a joint becomes dislocated, it is important to seek medical attention to avoid long-term damage.
- Puncture Wounds: Wreck debris has the potential to pierce the skin and create lacerations. Even if the cuts are minor, the risk of infection remains.
- Amputations: In the most severe of cases, parts of the hand may be so damaged an amputation is necessary to save the remainder of the hand or wrist.
- Ligament Injuries: Ligament injuries impact the range of motion in the hand and wrist.
Symptoms
- Swelling
- Stiffness
- Discoloration or bruising
- Numbness
- Trouble moving, flexing, or straightening your fingers or wrist
- Warmth in the fingers, hands, or wrist
- Decreased grip strength
- Pain in hands or fingers
- Burning or tingling in the hand
- Wrist pain or a sore wrist
- Burning or tingling in the wrist
Treatment
It’s often impossible to tell immediately after a car accident whether a hand or wrist injury needs immediate treatment. This is why you should go directly to the hospital, walk-in clinic, or your local physician to get any hand or wrist injury evaluated on the same day as the crash. Failure to do so can result in permanent devastating injuries that could have been fixed if timely treated.
Some broken bones, ligament injuries, tendon injuries, and nerve injuries need surgery within 24 hours to get the best possible result. For all other injuries, initial treatment often includes rest, ice, splinting and/or casting.
Representation for Hand & Wrist Injuries
Hand injuries in car accidents can result in costly medical bills from treatment procedures and physical therapy. Furthermore, while a hand or wrist heals, the victim may need time away from work, resulting in lost wages. In serious cases, the car accident victim may not be able to perform the work they used to carry out due to the damage done to their hand or wrist, thereby suffering a loss of earning capacity. If you or a loved one has sustained an injury in a car accident, you may be able to recover compensation for these and other losses resulting from the car crash.
If you’ve suffered a hand or wrist injury from a North Carolina automobile collision caused by another driver’s negligence, you are entitled to compensation for the damages you’ve incurred. Maginnis Law’s lead personal injury attorney, T. Shawn Howard has experience handling complex cases including those involving victims who have suffered hand and wrist injuries due to the negligence of another North Carolina driver.
We handle personal injury cases on a contingency basis – meaning that you do not pay any attorneys’ fee unless and until we make a recovery on your behalf. You can contact us at 919.526.0450, by email at info@carolionalaw.com or through our contact page.
