Slip and fall accidents in Georgia can happen anywhere, but most often they take place in grocery stores due to spilled liquid. When people are walking along and suddenly slip, they generally attempt to break their fall with their hands. However, this quick reaction of throwing out their hands directs the impact of the fall onto the wrists and hands.
When pressure, strain, and force are absorbed by one’s arm and hand, injuries to the wrist, hand, elbow, and shoulder could occur. Because there are many different ways people can fall and land on their arms, there are many different injuries that can occur in Georgia slip and fall accidents. Some of the most common wrist and hand injuries include:
- Wrist sprain – when a fall causes you to put your hand out in front of yourself, you could bend back your wrist and tear ligaments.
- Wrist fracture – there are eight small bones that make up the wrist, and the scaphoid bone is a common bone that breaks during a fall on an outstretched wrist, resulting in a scaphoid fracture.
- Hand fracture – the bones in your hand that sit before the knuckles and the bones between the joints of your fingers can break in a fall.
- Arm fracture – the radius, your lower arm bone, is more likely to break when the wrist is slightly bent backward.
Other types of hand injuries that occur in slips and falls include dislocations of joints, tendon injuries, and even fracture-dislocations. A dislocation is when a bone is pushed out of place and no longer lines up correctly at the joint, and a fracture is a break in a bone. When either of these types of injuries occurs, or when they both take place, victims of falls can experience pain and the limited ability to use their wrists, hands, and arms.
While some fractures heal in several weeks or a couple of months, others take longer than usual to heal. When broken bones do not come together, a surgery that uses screws and pins may be necessary to treat the injured bone. Unfortunately, some people can often suffer from chronic pain and limited range of motion that can be life-changing and impact everyday tasks such as driving, tying shoes, cooking, and working.
Fortunately, victims of slip and fall accidents who have suffered from someone else’s negligence can take legal action to recover damages. To learn more about your rights after a slip and fall hand and wrist injury in Georgia, contact Shane Smith Law at (980) 246-2656 and speak with a knowledgeable Peachtree City slip and fall attorney in a free consultation today.