Shoulder Injuries After Motor Vehicle Crashes in Illinois
Learn About Your Rights After a SLAP Tear Caused by a Car Accident in Springfield, IL
There are many different types of injuries that victims can sustain as a result of a motor vehicle accident. One of the most common types of personal injuries includes a shoulder injury, specifically a SLAP tear. This type of shoulder injury is often one of the most painful and disabling types of shoulder injuries which usually require surgery to repair the same done. Individuals could suffer a SLAP tear caused by a car accident in Springfield in nearly any type of crash, including a head-on, rear end, side-swipe, or high-speed collision. If you or a loved one suffered any type of personal injury in a motor vehicle accident, including a SLAP tear, call the experienced car accident lawyers at the Noll Law Office to learn more about your rights to compensation in Illinois.
Their experienced personal injury lawyers understand what damages victims often face as a result of a SLAP tear injury, including conscious pain and suffering, lost wages, medical bills, and other damages. With their skill and experience, they can help you and your family recover the compensation that you deserve and need to cover your unexpected bills. In addition to their skill and experience, the personal injury lawyers at the Noll Law Office are also compassionate, offering victims and their families a free case evaluation with no obligation to sign up. That’s why if you or a loved one were seriously injured in a car accident, especially if you had a SLAP tear caused by a car accident in Springfield, you should call the experienced car accident lawyers at the Noll Law Office for help at (217) 414-8889.
What Is a SLAP Tear? Anatomy and Damage Explained
To understand a SLAP tear, you must understand the anatomy of a shoulder. The shoulder is made up of three bones; the humerus, collarbone, and scapula. The shoulder itself is a ball-and-socket joint. The humerus fits into a socket on the inside portion of the shoulder blade. The socket is made up of the proximal end (or the point closest to the body) of the biceps longhead tendon, which curls into a “cup” and is surrounded by a tissue referred to as the labrum. The purpose of the labrum is to stabilize the shoulder joint and to also serve as a pivot point where tendons, ligaments, and other muscles can move the arm.
A SLAP tear, formally known as a Superior Labrum Anterior and Posterior tear, occurs when the top of the labrum is injured, tearing at both the front and back of the attachment point of where the biceps tendon attaches to the labrum. Said differently, a SLAP tear is when the socket is torn in such a manner that it is disconnected from the shoulder blade. This means that the socket will become unstable, which could cause damage (fraying) to other critical structures in the shoulder such as the rotator cuffs, bursa, or even the brachial plexus nerves.
Unfortunately, given the structure of the labrum, this is not the type of injury that will heal itself. Although some patients may be able to live with discomfort and pain caused by a SLAP tear, and other patients may have some of the painful symptoms alleviated with physical therapy, the only way to fully restore the damage done in a SLAP tear is to surgically repair it.
How Can a SLAP Tear Occur Due to a Motor Vehicle Accident in Illinois?
SLAP tears can occur in a variety of reasons as a result of a motor vehicle accident. SLAP tears can occur in the following types of accidents:
- Car accidents – Regardless of whether the car accident was big or small, a victims’ body absorbs some of the impact. The most common way that a SLAP tear occurs is when a victim braces their hands against the steering wheel. The rigidness causes the shoulder to lock up, causing a great deal of pushback on impact. Another common cause is due to the seatbelt, which will hold a victim’s body at the shoulder in place while momentum pushes the rest of the body forward. This can cause a stretching or extreme “yank” or pull on the shoulder, causing the labrum to rip up and off the scapula.
- Motorcycle accidents – Shoulder injuries are one of the most common injuries that motorcycle accident victims face, with SLAP tears being particularly common. SLAP tears can occur as a result of a motorcycle accident when a motorcycle accident victim falls on an outstretched hand or arm. Twisting, yanking or pulling during the accident can also cause a SLAP tear injury, as well as a crush injury when a motorcycle falls on the rider.
- Pedestrians hit by a car – Pedestrians are particularly likely to sustain a SLAP tear injury. A pedestrian may fall onto an outstretched arm in an attempt to catch themselves on impact, resulting in a SLAP tear. Additionally, shoulder dislocation as a result of pedestrian knockdown in an accident can result in a SLAP tear.
- Bicycle accidents – Riders can also result in a SLAP tear injury. The main cause of SLAP tear injuries caused by a bicycle accident occur when a person falls off of their bicycle onto an outstretched hand or arm, causing the arm to stretch and a SLAP tear.
- Commercial trucking accident – Commercial trucking accidents are another cause of SLAP tears. Similar to car accidents, victims may brace themselves on the steering wheel for impact, resulting in a SLAP tear. But even more than a car accident, seatbelt injuries to the shoulder which can cause a SLAP tear are even more likely in a trucking wreck – even at a low speed.
What Are Symptoms of a SLAP Tear Caused by a Car Accident?
After a motor vehicle accident, there are certain symptoms that can indicate a person has suffered a SLAP tear. Common symptoms of a SLAP tear include the following:
- Decreased range of motion
- Difficulty lifting objects over the head
- Pain moving the shoulder
- Pain in the shoulder when in certain positions
- Loss of strength in the shoulder
- Locking, catching, grinding, or popping sensation in the shoulder
- Instability of the shoulder, feeling as though the shoulder will pop out of the joint, and
- Other symptoms that indicate an injury or damage to the shoulder.
If you have any of these symptoms, it is important to work with your treating physicians on evaluating whether you have a SLAP tear. This includes medical imaging, sometimes an MRI or other times a functional MRI with contrast to see the damage to the labrum.
How Are SLAP Tears Treated?
Treatment for a SLAP tear largely depends on the severity of a SLAP tear injury. If the injury is not considered severe, conservative treatment is often initially attempted first to determine if a victim may live with the damage done to the labrum. Conservative treatment typically includes physical therapy and the use of anti-inflammatory agents, including injections. This is, as we noted, because a labrum tear always requires surgical intervention to fully repair the damage.
For more severe SLAP tear injuries or SLAP tear injuries that do not respond to conservative measures, surgery is required. The most common surgery used for SLAP tear injuries is arthroscopy. Regardless of the intervention required, victims usually are required to keep their shoulder immobilized or minimally mobile while the shoulder heals. During this time, victims may be required to remain out of work, resulting in a loss of wages as well as other losses. Some victims may suffer from permanent effects of a SLAP tear injury.
Damages for a SLAP Tear Injury
Victims who suffer a SLAP tear injury due to another person’s negligence may be eligible for compensation for their injury. Damages are usually awarded in the form of compensation, and are intended to cover any past, present, or future losses sustained as a result of their injuries. Common damages for victims injured in accidents resulting in SLAP tear injuries include the following:
- Physical pain and suffering, both past and future
- Emotional pain and suffering, both past and future
- Medical bills
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation
- Loss wages
- Lost future earnings
- Future medical bills, and
- Other damages associated with a SLAP tear injury that your car accident lawyers at the Noll Law Office can obtain for you.
If Your SLAP Tear Caused by a Car Accident in Springfield Has Caused You and Your Family Damages, Call the Noll Law Office
Unlike other personal injury law firms, the car accident lawyers at the Noll Law Office in Springfield, Illinois handle each case in-house. They do not send cases out across the state to new associates, but are dedicated to working on each case they accept personally. That means you can call their family-oriented law firm to hear from an attorney that is actually working on your case in your community. This personal touch is a reason why the Noll Law Office and their lawyers have been successful for five-generations.
If you or a loved one suffered any type of personal injuries after a motor vehicle accident, particularly a SLAP tear caused by a car accident in Springfield, Illinois, call the Noll Law Office to schedule your FREE consultation to learn more about your right, ask questions, and get answers. Contact them today.