Have You Suffered A Shoulder Injury?
There are many different ways you can be injured in an accident. Any area of your body that suffers an impact or any other type of contact with another body, the ground or a hard surface in the accident can be injured. Sometimes, an injury to one area of the body limits or causes secondary injury to another area of the body. This can happen when a patient suffers a shoulder injury.
Whenever an accident victim suffers an injury that his or her actions did not directly cause, he or she can file a personal injury claim to seek compensation for any financial damages related to the injury. These include the victim’s medical bills, his or her lost wages now and projected future earnings he or she cannot earn because of an injury-related disability, and his or her pain and suffering damages, which include all intangible expenses linked to the accident.
Accidents That Can Cause Shoulder Injuries
When a shoulder suffers an impact, it can be injured. Accidents that can result in shoulder injuries include:
- Car accidents
- Slip-and-fall accidents
- Accidents involving faulty or defective products
- Construction site accidents, which can include being pinned between two objects or pieces of material or being hit by a falling object
- Bicycle and pedestrian accidents
If you are injured in any type of accident, it is critical to your physical recovery and the foundation of any personal injury claim you choose to file that you receive prompt medical attention. If your accident happened in or near Green Bay, your closest hospital options are Aurora BayCare Medical Center and HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital Medical Center.
Types Of Shoulder Injuries
At the shoulder’s center is the shoulder joint, a ball and socket joint that makes it possible for the arm to rotate completely. Three bones, the scapula, the clavicle and the humerus, comprise the shoulder along with numerous muscles and the tendons and ligaments that keep them in place. Because there are so many components to the shoulder, there are numerous ways a victim’s shoulder can be injured. These include:
- Fractures to one or more of the bones
- Specific types of tear, such as rotator cuff and Superior Labrum Anterior and Posterior tears
- Dislocation of the shoulder joint
- Shoulder impingement
- Nerve damage in the shoulder
Long-term Complications Of A Shoulder Injury
Over time, symptoms of an untreated shoulder injury can become worse. The victim can suffer from chronic pain or stiffness in the affected shoulder and as the years pass, reduced strength and range of motion. Other long-term complications an accident victim can suffer from a shoulder injury include:
- Damage to the blood vessels in the shoulder
- Loss of muscle tone
- Shoulder instability
- Loss of sensation in the affected shoulder
Seeking Compensation For Shoulder Injuries
Through a personal injury claim with the help of an Appleton shoulder injury lawyer, a victim can seek compensation for the damages he or she suffered because of another party’s negligence. In Wisconsin, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is three years from the date of the accident.
A personal injury claim needs a substantial body of evidence in order to be successful. Otherwise, there is no way for the insurance provider or the court to link the claimant’s injury with another party’s negligence and thus cannot hold that other party liable for the victim’s damages. Evidence to support a personal injury claim should show when, how and why an injury occurred. It can include:
- Photographs of the accident and injury at the time of the accident
- Testimonies from witnesses to the accident
- The official police or accident report the victim filed
- The victim’s medical bills and other documentation showing his or her treatment and prognosis
- Documentation showing the victim’s lost wages due to the injury
- Any additional documentation that shows how the victim suffered financially or otherwise due to the accident, such as the emotional trauma of the accident
Contact Our Office Today
If you are facing financial damages because of a shoulder injury you suffered due to another party’s negligence, you could be entitled to file a personal injury claim to seek compensation for these damages. Contact our team of experienced personal injury lawyers in Appleton at Hammett, Bellin & Oswald, LLC. Contact our team online or call 920-202-8872 today to schedule your initial case evaluation.
