Personal Injury Lawyer

Serving West Virginia and Ohio

Joint Injuries and Broken Bones

Joints are places where two bones meet each other, and they help to make the skeleton flexible. Without joints, moving our body would be impossible. Flexible joints have a lining of cartilage on top of the bones, and ligaments are what join bones together to help make the joint even more stable. Cartilage is a strong substance that allows the joint surfaces to move easily, and cartilage helps limit wear and tear on the joints.

The most common joint injury is a joint dislocation. A joint dislocates when the ends of the bones are forced from their normal position. Dislocations are often caused by falls and require immediate medical attention. Common areas of joint dislocations are shoulders, hips, and fingers.

A severe dislocation can cause tearing of the muscles, ligaments and tendons that support the joint. Symptoms of joint dislocation include swelling, pain, and immobility of the affected joint. If you've dislocated a joint, you should seek medical attention immediately.  You may be given medication to reduce the pain and swelling, and in severe cases, you may need surgery to correct the joint problem.

How Do Joint Injuries Happen?
Joint injuries can occur as a result of a car accident, a work accident, construction accident, sports injury, etc. Injuries to joints such as the shoulder, knee, ankle, elbow and wrist are often overlooked in the preparation of damages claims in serious accidents because sometimes the injury is not obvious. However, the consequences of these injuries can be severe and can lead to future problems with work and play. For some people, they can cause the need for a new career because the chronic pain and steady degeneration of the joint can force them out of their current jobs.

With the range-of-motion limitations that accompany many joint problems, surgery is often necessary to correct the condition but doesn't always work. If a workplace accident, motorcycle accident or slip and fall situation has left you with joint problems in additional to other serious medical problems, you may need to contact a personal injury lawyer immediately to discuss the possibility of having a personal injury claim.

An experienced joint injury lawyer can help you with the following joint problems:

• Ankle problems due to slip and fall accidents
• Repetitive stress problems in the wrists, shoulders or elbows
• Shoulder problems such as rotator cuff injuries

Joint Injury FAQs

If you are a victim of an accident, you need a personal injury attorney who is willing to fight the insurance company, their adjusters, and their attorneys to make sure you are reasonably and fairly compensated for your damages. This includes compensation for not only the personal injury, but the pain, discomfort, suffering, disability, disfigurement, and anxiety already experienced, and reasonably probable to be experienced in the future as a result of the personal injury.

If you or a loved one has suffered a joint injury or any other serious personal injury, please contact personal injury lawyer Jim Leach, serving clients in Huntington, Charleston, Parkersburg, Wheeling, Ripley and Vienna, WV.