Wrist and Hand Injuries

Although they are frequently injured in car accidents, most of us do not think wrist and hand injuries happen in Ft. Lauderdale car accidents. In fact, there are a number of ways your wrist and hand can be injured in a car accident, including by holding onto the steering wheel or placing your hand on the dash board when you anticipate a crash is about to happened. The force of your hand being against a part of the car places significant force upon your joints, bones and ligaments. That force, and the power of a deploying airbag, can result in a number of injuries.

Some of the most frequently encountered car accident hand and wrist injuries include fractures, sprains and ligament or tendon tears. Because the human hand is extremely complex with 27 bones, there is a high likelihood of numerous injuries to them from direct trauma in an accident. The most commonly encountered hand and wrist fractures include fractured or broken wrists, knuckles and fingers. In fact, the scaphoid bone, while being the smallest bone in the wrist, it the one which is most likely injured when the hand is pushed backwards from trauma in a car accident.

One of the other frequently seen injuries is a wrist sprain. Sprains may be considered as grade one, which is the least severe, to grade three which is the most serious. Wrist sprains are when the ligaments, which connect the bones, are partially torn due to being hyperextended. The more serious the sprain, the more those joining ligaments are torn. When a ligament is fully torn, resulting in instability, they require immediate surgery.

Car accident trauma can also cause damage to the tendons, which connect your muscles to your bones. Direct trauma can cause joint inflammation of the tendons and result in significant wrist point pain. Car accident victims who suffer injuries to their hands and wrists will notice symptoms including pain, swelling, bruising, numbness and an inability to move your fingers or wrist. Injured accident victims need immediate medical attention to properly document and diagnosed your wrist and hand injuries; particularly since many injuries may be easily treatable if immediately addressed, but may worsen significantly over time without proper medical attention. While many times x-rays may assist in the diagnosis of a hand or wrist injury, additional studies including MRIs and CT scans may be required to assess the full damage done from a car accident. Wrist fractures include, intra-articular fractures, which extend into the wrist joint; extra-articular fractures, which does not extend into the joint; open fracture, which are when a fractured bone breaks the skin; and, comminuted fracture, when a bone is broken into more than one piece.

In addition to car accidents, wrist and hand injuries also frequently occur when someone slip and falls. When someone falls, they reactively outstretch their arm and hand to try to lessen their fall. In fact, that attempt to prevent injury is actually the reason why so many slip and fall and trip and fall accident victims suffer wrist injuries. The outstretched extremity become hyper flexed and because the hand and wrist joints are not intended to support your full body weight. That excessive pressure to the hand and wrist can cause fractures and tears.

Treatment of wrist and hand injuries from car accidents and fall downs range from icing it, keeping it elevated immobilization with a cast or splint and in the case of severe fracture, surgery.

Unfortunately, medical care and rehabilitation from hand and wrist injuries caused by car accidents and fall downs may be expensive. This is of significant concern for those who do not have any or worthwhile health insurance. However, if you are hurt in an accident caused by someone else’s fault, you may be entitled to bring a claim or file a lawsuit against that person. With an experienced personal injury attorney you can receive financial compensation for your pain and suffering, lost wages, scarring, medical bills and discomfort.

For the past twenty seven years, we at the Ft. Lauderdale personal injury law offices of Joseph I. Lipsky, P.A. have been on the side of seriously injured Florida accident victims, having helped them collect tens of millions of dollars in compensation. We are here to help. The call and the personal injury consultation are free, so do not hesitate to give us a call at 888-352-5298.