Even if people have never been involved in a major accident or suffered from carpal tunnel, they tend to have images of the most stereotypical variety. People in bad accidents wear casts, carpal tunnel sufferers wear braces. And it is quite dissonant to see someone whose real injury doesn’t match your expectations.
Surprising as it may be, the damage from an accident may often manifest in less dramatic injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Minor as these injuries may seem on the surface, they can still have a life-changing effect on those who suffer from them.
When an injury is slow to make itself known, accident victims often won’t connect it with their accident. And even when they do, it is very hard to receive justice in such cases. That’s why it’s helpful to have Thistle Law on your side. We have a team that is well-versed on the ins and outs of personal injury cases, with a unique history and winning track record.
What Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
CTS is a repetitive stress injury that mostly affects people who make the same hand motions over and over, like office workers, craftspeople, and construction workers. And it impacts over 8 million people in the U.S. each year.
It results from compression of the median nerve, which is one of the chief nerves leading to the hand. It’s often felt in a space in the wrist known as the carpal tunnel. This is where the median nerve and several tendons pass from your forearm to your hand.
Typically, the symptoms of CTS appear gradually. Sufferers may not seek treatment until several months after they’ve begun to experience symptoms.
These symptoms include:
- Numbness in the hand
- Aching to severe pain in the hand, forearm, and wrist
- Tingling
- Numbness or pain when flexing the wrist
- Finger stiffness, especially in the morning
- Aching sensation in the forearm
- Weakness in the hands
- Inability to grasp objects
How Can Carpal Tunnel Be Caused by an Accident?
Accidents can cause CTS in a number of ways.
First, the injury can be caused by direct trauma. The nerves may be directly affected by the trauma or the scar tissue that will develop as it heals. If this scar tissue compresses the median nerve and other tendons in the carpal tunnel, it can result in the classic CTS symptoms.
But CTS also develops in different ways. One way that often goes unnoticed — especially with accidents that haven’t seemingly done much damage — is through gripping the steering wheel too tightly in a rear-end collision. This can lead to acute hyperflexion or hyperextension of the wrist, which in turn can lead to median nerve compression.
CTS can also manifest in the aftermath of a severe fracture. According to one study, broken wrists and hand fractures are often responsible for CTS. Regardless of initial symptoms, experts warn that CTS is highly correlated with “high-energy fractures and dislocations” like those which routinely happen in car and truck crashes.
The Challenges Faced by Carpal Tunnel Accident Claims
Since CTS is a soft tissue injury, it is difficult to prove. And insurance companies give soft injury claims a good amount of scrutiny.
They may say you are exaggerating the symptoms, or that you are not returning to work when you could. Or they may instead blame your injury on work-related repetitive stress and not the incident.
Proving cases that are not cut-and-dried is one of the things Thistle Law can assist you with.
How Our Expertise Serves Your Carpal Tunnel Claim
At The Thistle Law Firm, we practice personal injury litigation and have represented plaintiffs for many types of claims that have resulted in bodily harm, financial loss, and death. We have a compassionate understanding for the injured and their families, who have to deal with the physical and emotional pain in the aftermath of an accident, as well as the medical care that may be involved.
We are sensitive to our clients’ needs and we will work exhaustively to conduct investigations, call in experts, and provide the strongest case and recoveries possible.
Through our combination of integrity, dedication, sophisticated personal injury investigation techniques, and vast knowledge of state and federal laws, our Philadelphia personal injury lawyers have repeatedly obtained high financial awards, winning verdicts, and settlements for clients who have suffered from personal injuries.
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