Car accidents are a prevalent issue in the United States. The Association for Safe International Road Travel reports that approximately 37,000 fatalities occur in U.S. road crashes each year and an additional 2.35 million individuals are seriously injured or disabled in auto accidents. Besides the fatal consequences of car crashes, there is typically a financial impact on society, typically costing the United States over 230 billion dollars.1 Even in cases that do not result in fatalities or are less severe, there can be complex impact on the victims who sustain a variety of injuries to the head, back, neck, chest, arms, legs, hands, and feet. Some of the most common, but yet complicated injuries can occur to the bones, tendons, and joints.
What is a Joint?
The physical point or spot of connection between two bones is referred to as a joint.2 Any of the joints within a person’s body, contain a variety of fibrous connective tissue such as the ligaments which connect two bones or the tendons which connect muscles to either bone or cartilage.3 The human body contains six different types of joints: ball and socket joints, hinge joints, condyloid joints, pivot joints, gliding joints, and saddle joints.4 Each of these different points of junction, allows the body to be freely moved based on the unique form of movement which occurs at the joint such as gliding, angular, circumduction, or rotation.5
The Basics Behind Joint Injuries
Any type of personal injury or accident such as a slip and fall, sports injury, or car crash can damage one or multiple joints.6 Blunt force trauma sustained during an auto accident is a key contributing factor to joint injury. A common occurrence in an automobile accident is that the body will twist or bend especially within the arms, legs, back, and pelvis area in order to defensively brace and protect itself from impact.7 The pressure, rapid movement, stretching, jamming motions, and other significant acts of trauma can then damage the joints, tendons, and ligaments. The problem with an auto accident or any type of personal injury which damages joints is that symptoms can be constant or variable, conditions may improve or worsen with movement, and symptoms may be immediate or delayed.8 This is why it is important to seek both medical and legal advice after any auto accident, but especially in a case in which the victim of an auto accident has symptoms including pain in the form of a sharp, dull, stabbing, burning, or throbbing sensation, inflammation, soreness, achiness, or stiffness which all can signify a joint injury.9
Contact an Experienced St. Louis Personal Injury Attorney for a Free Consultation
If you have been involved in an auto accident which resulted in a joint injury, it is important to discuss the circumstances of your injury with an experienced auto accident attorney who can help to protect your legal rights and interests. To contact a personal injury attorney for a free consultation please feel free to call the The Bruning Law Firm trial attorneys at 314-735-8100.
LET US GET STARTED ON YOUR ST. LOUIS CAR ACCIDENT CASE TODAY
If you or someone you care about has been seriously injured in an auto accident, contact The Bruning Law Firm today. We provide the comprehensive, professional legal representation you deserve at a time when you need it most.
Call or contact our office online today to schedule a free consultation.
Resources:
- http://asirt.org/initiatives/informing-road-users/road-safety-facts/road-crash-statistics
- http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/glossary/g/joint_def.htm
- https://zyga.com/patients/si-joint-pain-dysfunction/causes/si-joint-injury/
- http://www.healthgrades.com/symptoms/joint-symptoms
