Hand injuries are one of the most frequent car accident injuries. Although they do not tend to be as severe as other injuries, like traumatic brain injury, they do have the ability to affect your ability to perform basic tasks, such as writing, driving, cooking, and playing sports. Additionally, if your hand injury induces chronic pain, it could impact your overall quality of life.
The medical costs associated with hand injuries can pile up very quickly, especially if the injury was serious enough to require surgery or continuing physical therapy. If you experienced a hand injury in a car accident for which you were not at fault, you should contact an experienced personal injury attorney right away. Reach out to the Norfolk-area car accident attorneys at Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp for a free evaluation of your case.
Common Hand Injuries Caused By Car Accidents
Hand injuries vary range from minor strains and sprains to amputations and fractured bones. Based on the type of car accident you were involved in and how fast the vehicles were moving when the crash occurred, the impact can easily cause injuries to one or both hands, along with your arms and wrists.
Some examples of common hand injuries caused by car accidents are:
- Bone fractures: The hand has 27 bones. These bones are far more fragile than most other bones in the human body. It doesn’t take a great deal of strength or force to break a finger or a hand. If you experience a hand fracture, it will most likely be accompanied by a considerable amount of pain. You will also have a hard time performing any day-to-day tasks that involve lifting or gripping objects. More severe fractures, like compound and comminuted fractures, often need surgical intervention in order to mend the bone.
- Tendon and ligament injuries: Ligaments are the tissues that attach one bone to another, and tendons are strong, flexible tissues that connect bones to muscles. A hand sprain is a ligament injury that happens when the ligaments in your hand are torn or overstretched. If the injury is left untreated and doesn’t heal properly, you may have to deal with chronic pain.
- Amputations: One of the most catastrophic injuries any body part can endure is an amputation. When the thumb, fingers, or another area of the hand is smashed, crushed, or mangled beyond repair, and it is not possible to fix the injury caused by the accident, amputation might be the only choice.
- Puncture wounds: A puncture injury can take place if metal fragments from the crash pierce the wrist, fingers, or hand. Depending on how far the puncture wound penetrates, you could need sutures or even an operation. A puncture injury has to be properly cared for in order to prevent a life-threatening infection.
Car accident victims who sustain a hand injury, often also experience arm and wrist injuries, like a broken wrist, lacerations, or damage to the rotator cuff.
Symptoms of Hand Injuries
The exact symptoms of your hand injury will depend on the type of injury you sustained. It is important to note that many hand injury symptoms do not manifest immediately after an accident but instead develop gradually over time. Some symptoms commonly seen with hand injuries include:
- Extreme discomfort or pain, especially when squeezing or gripping something with the injured hand
- Tenderness
- Bruising
- Swelling
- A finger or fingers that are bent or crooked
- Tingling or numbness
Talk to a Norfolk Hand Injury Attorney
If you sustained a hand injury due to someone else’s negligence, you deserve to be compensated for your losses. Schedule a free consultation with the Norfolk-area car accident attorneys at Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp by calling (833) 997-1774.