If you have been injured in an accident and you want to make a compensation claim for personal injury and loss just complete the contact form, email our lawyers offices or use the solicitors helpline. Our hand injury solicitors offer advice at no cost without further obligation. If our hand injury solicitors deal with your claim it will be on a no win no fee basis, compensation is paid in full and you do not have to fund or finance your car accident compensation claim.
Hand and finger injuries are typically minor however some finger and hand injuries can be serious including crushed and broken bones and "de-gloving" where the skin on a hand or finger is completely removed. Other serious injuries include amputation and nerve or muscle damage severe enough to result in a loss of use of that hand or finger.
Severe hand and finger injuries can impair a person's ability to work and may limit their employment options. These injuries also make it difficult for the victim to perform everyday tasks, care for themselves and enjoy their favourite hobbies.
These injuries are usually the result of industrial accidents, traffic collisions or slips, trips and falls. The most common injuries are tears (ruptures) of ligaments, strains and fractures of bones. When a ligament is ruptured, bones can move out of position, resulting in a dislocated joint. Generally this injury causes swelling, pain, stiffness and limited movement. If the injury causes even the slightest degree of permanent disability the financial award made in hand injury compensation claims can be very substantial.
Extensor Tendon Injuries
These important tendons, located on the back of the hand, allow you to straighten your fingers and thumb. Because of their location, they can be easily injured even by a minor cut.
Flexor Tendon Injuries
The muscles that bend or flex the fingers are found in the forearm and are called flexor muscles. The thumb has one long flexor muscle, and the fingers each have two flexor muscles. Deep cuts on the palm side of the wrist, hand, or fingers can injure the flexor tendons and nearby nerves and blood vessels. Surgical repair is often necessary.
Dislocations
This condition may occur at the joint at the base of the thumb or other fingers or at the middle joints of the fingers. Dislocations usually result when the thumb is bent too far out or the fingers are bent too far back. Surgery is often required to correct dislocations at the base of the thumb or fingers. Dislocations of the middle joints may be treated by taping the dislocated finger to an adjacent finger. If the ligament is badly torn, a splint is used, usually for 3 weeks.
Fractures
The hand skeleton is made up of many bones that form its supporting framework. The hand may be stiff and weak after the fracture heals. Fractures that involve joint surfaces may lead to early arthritis in the involved joints. Occasionally bone may be missing or be so crushed that it cannot be repaired. In such cases, a bone graft may be necessary. In this procedure, bone is taken from another part of the body to help provide more stability.
If your hand injury was caused by the negligence of a third party, you can bring a claim for compensation. Compensation includes general damages which are the financial losses that are easily calculated and assigned a monetary value including wages loss and care expenses together with special damages are not mathematically calculated and must be assessed by a judge and include compensation for pain, emotional trauma and reduced enjoyment of life.
In order to make a hand injury compensation claim compensation, in common with almost all personal injury cases, it is necessary to show that another person was at fault which means that you must prove that a third party caused the accident as a result of their negligence. Negligence is a concept that has four separate parts and all four must be demonstrated in order to succeed. It must be shown that the other person owed the injured person a duty of care. This is so in the case of all road users and in the case of employer/employee relationships and in many other commonly encountered situations. Once the existence of a duty of care has been established it must be proved that there was a breach of the duty of care and that the breach directly caused an actual injury. In short it must be established as follows: - duty; breach; causation; injury.
A traumatic hand or finger amputation occurs when a body part is lost in an accident however not all accident-related amputations fall into this category. The body part may be surgically amputated following the accident due to medical necessity. In some accident cases, the hand or fionger is completely severed or it may be only partially severed and remain connected to the body by soft tissue. In still other cases the limb may be fully attached but is so badly damaged that it is impossible to salvage.
Our hand injury solicitors provide legal advice at no cost to accident victims who want to make a compensation claim. Just use the solicitors helpline, email our lawyers offices or complete the contact form to speak with a hand injury solicitor who will review your case, assess your potential claim and answer all of your questions. There is no charge for this consultation, regardless of whether you decide to go forward.
Hands, by virtue of the fact we use them so often, sustain injuries all the time. There are twenty-seven bones of the hand and wrist combined. There are also a number of joints, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and blood vessels that can all be injured within the hand itself. There is the potential for serious injury to the hand because it is so intricate and the injuries so damaging. Hand injuries account for nearly 10 percent of hospital ER visits and about 42 percent are lacerations. Twenty seven percent are contusions, 17 percent are fractures and 5 percent are infections. Blunt trauma to the hands account for 50 percent of all injuries and sharp objects account for 25 percent of injuries.
There are five categories of hand injuries: lacerations, fractures or dislocations, soft tissue injuries and amputations, infections and burns.
Symptoms of the various categories of hand injuries include bleeding and skin opening in lacerations, along with numbness and difficulties of range of motion or weakness of the extremity. In fractures and dislocations, there can be tenderness, alteration in the shape of the hand, swelling and difficulty moving the hand. Soft tissue injuries and amputations can have bleeding, bruising, decreased ability to move the hand, and deformity of the hand. The hand is usually very painful. In infections, the hand is often tender, warm, red and swollen. You can have deformity of the hand and fever if the infection is severe. In burns, there is tenderness or numbness of the hand, discolouration of the hand, loss of tissue, blistering, redness and alteration in the skin texture.
Doctors can do a thorough history and physical examination of the hand in order to diagnose a hand injury. The history includes the mechanism of injury and whether or not the person is right handed or left handed.
Physical examination includes a visual examination, sensory exam, vascular examination of the blood supply, and muscular and tendon examination. Bones are looked at for evidence of fracture. If there are thermal burns, they can be first degree, second degree and third degree burns, which are the most severe. There can also be chemical burns and electrical burns or damage to the skin from cold injury or frostbite injuries.
You can manage some hand injuries at home using first aid. If there is a laceration, you can wash out the wound from dirt and apply pressure to stop the bleeding. A band-aid can be applied or another type of dressing to keep the wound clean and dry until it heals. Gaping wounds need stitches at the doctors office or butterfly taping you can do at home.
If there is a possible bone fracture, you need to see the doctor to have the hand treated with x-ray. If the x-ray is positive for fracture, the hand is immobilized with an ace wrap or cast. Sometimes surgery is done to repair the broken bones and to put them in the right position. If the bone is exposed, it needs to be covered until the doctor has a chance to look at it and fix the open fracture. Use ice to protect the bone and reduce swelling until it is definitively treated.
Soft tissue injuries and amputations are treated by applying pressure to stop bleeding. Cover the wound with a damp bandage. Elevate the hand to keep down swelling and save the amputated part of the extremity in the chance that it can be reattached. Keep it damp and near ice so it does not degenerate in transport.
Infections of the hand need antibiotics to heal. You need to keep the wound clean and dry and clean out the open areas so that bacteria and dirt can be removed. Hand infections can be severe so you need to seek medical attention right away so it doesnt spread.
Thermal burns are treated with cool water but not ice. Cover the wound with a damp clean cloth until it is seen by a doctor. If the wound is a chemical burn, treat it by irrigation with a lot of water and then cover the wound with a damp cloth. Frostbite involves rewarming the hand with warm water and then seeking medical attention as soon as possible.
LAWYER HELPLINE: ☎ 1800 339 958The author of the substantive medical writing on this website is Dr. Christine Traxler MD whose biography can be read here