A hand injury can render you completely unable to work, and you may need to consult with a personal injury lawyer to seek compensatory damages for your losses. Personal injury lawsuits and settlements can compensate you for permanent and significant hand injuries caused by vehicle accidents, slips and falls, and other negligent acts. You can also recover compensation for lost wages, medical expenses, and any other out-of-pocket expenses you may have incurred.
Our competent Clifton personal injury lawyer has been assisting accident victims with hand injuries and other injuries caused by the negligence of others. We have been helping victims of severe injuries successfully obtain favorable results for years. Obtaining medical care for your hand injury is always the number one priority. And while you focus on your healing, we will work tirelessly to fight for what you deserve.
Do not delay if you require assistance with your personal injury claim in New Jersey. You may contact us today. Simply contact our law office by phone or online.
Why Do I Need a Hand Injury Attorney in New Jersey?
Our legal team’s experience with hand injury claims can go a long way toward assisting clients in obtaining compensation from those legally responsible for their injuries. Because we frequently file lawsuits on behalf of accident victims, we understand the legal issues and how to negotiate aggressively with defendants and their insurers.
We can offer you formal legal counsel regarding your case. Notably, insurance companies employ skilled attorneys to defend against these claims. Why wouldn’t you want someone who knows how to deal with them in your corner?
Through a consultation with our hand injury attorney in Clifton, NJ, you will be able to determine whether you have a viable personal injury case and what you should do next. Jaloudi Law is an appropriate law firm. Each client is treated as a member of the family, and we work tirelessly on every case.
We respect the attorney-client relationship. Our trial lawyer works diligently to ensure that each client is treated with respect and receives compensation and justice.
What is a Hand Injury?
A hand injury is any type of physical damage to the hand or wrist. These injuries can range from minor cuts and scrapes to more serious fractures and lacerations. Hand injuries can be caused by many different things, including falls, sports injuries, car accidents, and work-related accidents.
Depending on the severity of the injury, treatment may range from simple rest and ice to surgery and physical therapy. It is important to protect your hands from injury by wearing protective gear when playing sports or doing activities that put your hands at risk.
It is crucial to seek prompt medical attention if you suffer a hand injury. Early diagnosis and treatment can help prevent long-term pain, stiffness, and disability. More importantly, immediately reach out to a hand injury attorney in Clifton, NJ if you believe that your hand injury was a result of an accident caused by someone else’s negligence.
What Are the Different Causes of Hand Injuries?
Hand injuries can result from a wide variety of accidents, including:
Car Accidents
Car accidents are a common cause of hand injuries. They can occur when hands are caught in the door, the steering wheel, or the dashboard during a collision. Hands can also be injured when airbags deploy and cause blunt force trauma, when drivers and passengers are thrown from their seats and hit the dashboard or steering wheel, or when the hands are burned or cut by broken glass or debris.
Motorcycle Accident
Motorcycle accidents can cause severe damage to the hands of the rider. The hands are often the first point of contact when a rider loses control and falls off their bike and is therefore exposed to a tremendous amount of force. In addition to cuts and scrapes, riders may suffer broken bones, nerve damage, and other serious injuries.
Slip and Fall Accidents
Slip and fall accidents can also lead to hand injuries. These accidents can happen when a person slips or trips and falls, often striking a hard surface with their hands. Common hand injuries from slips and falls include sprains, fractures, and dislocations. Additionally, hands can be cut from broken glass or sharp objects, or burned on hot surfaces during slip and fall accidents.
Sports Accidents
Sports injuries are another common cause of hand injuries. During contact sports, such as football, hands can be jammed, smashed, or twisted. In addition, hands can be cut by sharp objects on the field or court. Non-contact sports, such as golf or tennis, can also lead to hand injuries. The repetitive motions of these sports can cause stress fractures or tendonitis.
Workplace Accident
Workplace accidents are another potential cause of hand injuries. Workers in industrial and manufacturing settings commonly suffer hand injuries due to machinery and equipment. These can include cuts, lacerations, and amputations. Workers in healthcare, hospitality, and service industries can also suffer hand injuries due to repetitive motion, sharp objects, and other hazardous materials.
Construction Accident
Construction accidents are a common cause of hand injuries. Workers can suffer lacerations, fractures, dislocations, and amputations while operating machinery, handling tools, or working with hazardous materials. Hands can also be burned due to contact with hot surfaces or with chemicals. Workers may also suffer crush injuries when their hands become trapped between heavy objects or in moving equipment.
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice can result in a variety of hand injuries, ranging from minor lacerations to more serious injuries such as nerve damage or even amputation. Medical malpractice can occur when a doctor or other healthcare professional fails to provide the proper standard of care to a patient.
What Are the Most Common Hand Injuries?
Hand injuries can take various forms. Here are some of the most frequent instances:
Fractures
The human hand is an extraordinarily intricate and delicate body part. We have greater dexterity than any other animal on the planet but at the expense of reduced durability. Wrist fractures and boxer’s fractures are typical hand fractures.
Tendon Injuries
Flexor tendons are the structures that connect the bones to the hand muscles. Improper use of a knife may sever these tendons. Injuries to the flexor tendons sustained in a car accident may cause permanent nerve damage, resulting in the loss of sensation in the finger.
Sprains
When a hand ligament sustains sufficient damage, a sprain may result. Sprains can be quite severe, and there are varying degrees of severity for this injury. A minor tear may not warrant concern, but a complete rupture may require several months to heal.
Severed Fingertips
Our fingertips are the initial points of contact with the outside world. Given this, it should not be surprising that fingertip injuries are common. You may have had your fingers slashed at work, broken in a car accident, or infected by dirty barbs and sharp objects.
Metacarpals
The metacarpals are small bones located slightly behind the knuckles of the hand. The phalanges are the small bones located between the finger joints. These fragile bones can be easily fractured by sufficient force, and it can take months for them to heal completely.
PIP Joint
The PIP joint, also known as the proximal interphalangeal joint, is situated just above the knuckle. Your PIP joint is likely to become injured if your finger is hyperextended or bent downwards with sufficient force.
Jersey Finger
Jersey finger is a common condition caused by fingers becoming caught in machinery. When the fingertip is extended forcibly, the flexor tendon is completely detached from the bone. Jersey finger prevents patients from bending their fingers without assistance.
Boutonniere Deformity
Those affected by boutonniere deformity are unable to completely straighten their fingers. These injuries are caused by blows that bend the fingers with sufficient force.
What Are the Signs and Symptoms of a Hand Injury?
A broken hand may manifest as the following symptoms:
- Extreme pain may intensify when gripping, squeezing, or moving the hand
- Swelling
- Tenderness
- Bruising
- Obvious malformation, such as a bent finger
- Inability to move your fingers or thumb due to stiffness
- Numbness of the hand or fingers
What to Do Following a Hand Injury Accident?
Immediately Seek Medical Attention to Have Your Injuries Examined
If you have suffered a hand injury, it is important to seek medical care immediately. A hand injury can range from minor cuts and scrapes to more serious fractures and tissue damage. By seeking medical care, a doctor can examine the injury and advise you on a course of treatment. Your medical records can serve as evidence in your personal injury case.
Maintain a Daily Journal Describing Your Feelings and the Impact on Your Life
Keeping a daily record of your injury is an important part of the recovery process and your personal injury case. It can help you to keep track of your progress, as well as provide valuable information to your doctor. This record should include any changes in your symptoms, as well as how the catastrophic injury has affected your daily life.
Be Sure to Obtain a Copy of the Police Officer’s Incident Report If One Was Created
If you have had a hand injury that has been caused by negligence or a motor vehicle accident, you should make sure to get a copy of the incident report. This document can provide valuable evidence in a potential lawsuit. It contains important information, such as the names of any witnesses, the date and time of the incident, the location, the type of injury, and any other pertinent details.
Contact a Personal Injury Attorney Immediately
It is important to contact our hand injury attorney in Clifton, NJ as soon as possible. We can help you understand your legal rights and advise you on the best course of action. We can also represent you in court, negotiate with insurance companies, and work to obtain the maximum amount of compensation for your injuries. Additionally, we can provide invaluable guidance and support throughout the entire process.
Who Can Be Held Liable for Your Hand Injury?
Multiple parties may be responsible for your hand injury depending on your accident’s circumstances. We have observed the following types of parties responsible for hand injuries:
- Motorists
- Motorcyclists
- Bicyclists
- Landowners
- Enterprise owners
- Property managers
- Business managers
- Hospitals
What Are the Necessary Elements to Prove a Hand Injury Claim?
Certain elements must be proven in New Jersey personal injury cases for a claim to be successful. These include:
- The defendant owed the injured plaintiff a duty of care
- The defendant breached the duty of care through a negligent act
- The breach caused the victim to suffer injuries and other losses
What is the Importance of Securing Evidence After a Hand Injury Accident?
To obtain the highest possible compensation following a hand injury accident, it is necessary to collect crucial evidence demonstrating the losses. The following are key pieces of evidence that can aid in constructing a compelling case:
- Police reports detailing the incident
- Photographs and videos of the accident scene
- Photographs of the injuries sustained as a result of the accident
- A written report detailing the events leading up to the accident
- A written report detailing the injuries sustained and their progression
- Medical reports and evaluations from licensed healthcare providers
- Documentation from the employer outlining the time missed from work
It is common for defendants to dispute the allegations against them. Even if the defendant and his or her insurance company adamantly deny responsibility for the accident, it is possible to recover a fair settlement if sufficient evidence is collected throughout the case.
What is New Jersey’s Comparative Negligence Rule?
The State of New Jersey adheres to the comparative negligence rule, which means that an injured victim’s award of damages will be reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to him or her for causing the accident.
For instance, if you, as the victim, is found to be 20% at fault for your hand injury accident, your award of damages will be reduced by 20%. The percentage of liability assigned to each party involved in the accident affects the value of the personal injury claim.
What Does “Failure to Mitigate Losses” Mean?
A final factor that can affect the value of a personal injury claim is the victim’s failure to mitigate losses. The failure to mitigate is a common defense used by defendants to invalidate or reduce a victim’s claims. Similar to comparative negligence, the failure to mitigate is an affirmative defense used to reduce the victim’s injuries and losses.
However, unlike comparative negligence, failure to mitigate does not lessen the defendant’s liability. Instead, it reduced the damages award when there was evidence that the injured party could have avoided the damages caused by the defendant.
When a victim fails to mitigate damages, the defendant has a valid reason to dispute the amount of compensation sought by the victim. The following are examples of common situations in which an injured victim fails to mitigate losses:
- Inability to return to work
- Medical appointments missed
- Failure to complete physical therapy or rehabilitation
- The failure to seek immediate medical attention after the hand injury accident
- Choosing not to undergo surgery or other necessary medical treatment
- Refusal to continue medical treatments as prescribed by a qualified medical professional
What Recoverable Compensations Can I Receive for My Hand Injury?
Depending on the specifics of your accident, you may be eligible for a variety of damages. For example, our hand injury attorney in Clifton, NJ has recovered the following types of compensation for our clients:
- Lost Earnings. Lost wages refer to the amount of compensation you did not receive while unemployed. Hand injuries will likely necessitate months of treatment, during which you will be unable to return to work.
- Medical Bills. If you have suffered sprains, tendonitis, or muscle spasms, you may require multiple forms of treatment for your hand injuries.
- Pain and Suffering. As you learn to adapt to and work around your hand injury, you may experience emotional trauma for several months.
What is New Jersey’s Statute of Limitations for Hand Injury Claims?
When a lawsuit should be filed varies from one state to the next. The term for this is the statute of limitations. If you file your lawsuit after this deadline, you will lose the right to do so as well as the right to recover damages.
If you have suffered hand injuries in New Jersey, you have two years from the accident date to file a lawsuit. If you file your lawsuit more than two years after the incident, you will lose the right to compensation, and your case will be dismissed.
Your deadline is also dependent on the people you file a lawsuit against. Hand injury victims have 90 days from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit against a government entity, for instance.
We advise everyone to seek legal advice as soon as possible to ensure that they are within the two-year window. Contact our qualified personal injury attorney today for more information on statutes of limitations.
Work With Our Experienced Hand Injury Attorney in Clifton NJ Today
If your hand has been injured, you must first treat your wounds. Our job is to seek vindication of your rights. Our legal team at Jaloudi Law is skilled and knowledgeable in personal injury law in general, as well as hand trauma and amputation injuries.
Our tenacious and aggressive hand injury attorney in Clifton, NJ will remain on the offensive until you have been fully compensated and vindicated for your loss and injuries. We will go to court and challenge negligent parties and their insurance companies so that your rights are protected. We will handle every legal detail and ensure that you receive the maximum possible settlement for your loss. In the interim, focus on the most vital aspect of this process – your recovery.
Remember that it is crucial to contact a lawyer who specializes in personal injury law as soon as you sustain an injury. Call our law firm to discuss your legal options for your hand injury.
