Personal Injury Claims Involving Orthopedic Injuries

In personal injury law, one of the more common claims and lawsuits involve orthopedic injuries. Injuries of this nature typically affect the cartilage, joints, ligaments, muscles, nerves, and tendons of the human body while the more common injuries are fractures, sprains, and strains. The more serious injuries involve bone displacement which in turn damages the nerves and the supportive tissues surrounding them. In cases like these, surgical implants and other procedures are oftentimes required.

Facts and Statistics to be Aware of

In Ontario Province, the most common cause of orthopedic injuries is motor vehicle accidents followed by slip and fall accidents and sports injuries. However, some of these injuries are attributed to physical assault. When you consider that roughly 10 million motorists use Ontario highways and roads on a regular basis, it’s not surprising that the main cause of orthopedic injuries is motor vehicle accidents. On average, there are more than 60,000 accidents per year, with 500 of them involving fatalities. That is one of the reasons that you need reliable and efficient lawyers that can take care of the legal formalities at every stage.

More about Fractures, Sprains, and Strains

As was mentioned above, the most common orthopedic injuries that personal injury lawyers see are fractures, sprains, and strains broken down as follows:

• Fractures – when bones break, the fracture can be complete or partial and the break can be classified as across the bone, down the middle, lengthwise, and so on. If the break occurs in the ankle, hip, knee, or one of the body’s other weight-supporting joints, the injury is classified as being more severe in nature. Fractures that require surgery can lead to a lifetime of chronic pain and complications.

• Sprains and strains – sprains typically impact the ligaments and tendons while strains are usually muscle related. Either of these orthopedic injuries can be acute or chronic. Acute injuries are short-lived with a rapid onset while chronic injuries are long-lasting and oftentimes recurrent.

Whenever orthopedic injuries are serious enough to require a surgical procedure, this may include the implantation of plates and screws as well as other types of hardware. Consequently, the more severe injuries can adversely affect your ability to work, enjoy your leisure activities, and perform home maintenance tasks.

The need for a Personal Injury Lawyer

It goes without saying that the more severe orthopedic injuries oftentimes have a long-term or permanent, debilitating effect on the injury victim and their quality of life. It can also be financially devastating for their families. If you or a loved one has sustained serious orthopedic injuries in an accident, you could be entitled to compensation for the losses attributed to your accident, especially if the other party involved was negligent.

In addition to negotiating a fair and reasonable settlement on your behalf, a personal injury lawyer can help you get the compensation you deserve and ensure that your rights to that compensation are protected throughout the legal process.