When car accidents happen, a variety of injuries can take place. Ranging from simple cuts, bruises and lacerations, victims could suffer serious fractures, brain and spinal damage, amputation, burns, loss of function, disfigurement, disability or even death. Accidents are caused because of another person’s fault or negligence and victims and their families are put to enormous financial strain, pain and suffering, loss of income and wages and perhaps a complete alteration to their lives. Victims are entitled to seek compensation for these injuries from those responsible for the accident. Contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to assist you with the process of filing a compensation claim under personal injury laws.

What is Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis is a disease that affects the joints and results in the breaking down of joint cartilage and the bones. Commonly, the joints affected are the weight-bearing ones of the hips, knees and spine which is why this type of arthritis is known as “wear and tear arthritis.” It does not affect other joints unless there is a specific injury, excessive stress placed on them or there is a condition that affects the cartilage. Cartilage in our body is a strong, firm and rubbery material that cushions the joints and ends of bones and its main function is to reduce friction when the joints move or rub together. It acts as a natural shock-absorber and can easily change shape based on the movement of the joint.

With age, the flexibility and softness of cartilage gets reduced and it becomes stiff and brittle, increasing the risk of damage. Its function as a shock-absorber gets reduced and the surrounding tendons and ligaments become more stretched and under pressure, causing pain in the joints. This may even cause the bones to rub together, causing damage, immobility and severe pain. This condition is known as osteoarthritis.

After the age of 60, there are greater chances of developing osteoarthritis but in younger people, it develops following repetitive stress trauma and injury to the joints as in accidents, falls or assault. If you or a loved one experiences these symptoms following a car accident and they are not age-related/not present before, find a personal injury attorney to begin the process of filing a compensation claim.

Symptoms of osteoarthritis include:

• Ache and soreness in the joint especially during movement
• Pain following over-use/long period of inactivity
• Stiffness, tenderness, feeling of grating/grinding of joints after resting
• Malformation of bones especially in the fingers/toes with bony enlargements
• Swelling of joints

Causes of Osteoarthritis

There may be several causes for osteoarthritis symptoms to occur. They include:

• Heredity which can cause curvature of the spine among other types of osteoarthritis
• Obesity, especially osteoarthritis of the knees, hips and spine
• Injury, due to accidents, impact, falls, sports injuries, etc. It could even develop after a bone near the joint was broken in an accident
• Over-use and repetitive stress of the joint

It is generally diagnosed by physical examination of the patient who reports joint pain, swelling etc. The location and pattern of the pain also help in identifying osteoarthritis. Blood-tests, X-rays, MRI scans and testing of the fluid collected in the joints can confirm an osteoarthritis diagnosis.

When osteoarthritis symptoms occur following a car accident, our free consultation injury lawyers can assist you with getting a thorough medical examination by a competent medical expert.

Treatment

A combination of treatments is prescribed, including medications, physical therapy, weight-loss if required, muscle-strengthening exercises, hot/cold packs for pain, draining of accumulated fluid from the joint, injections or oral medications for pain and muscle-relaxation and if all these prove non-effective, surgery is recommended.

It’s important to share information with your doctor if your osteoarthritis symptoms appear following a car accident. This would assist your car accident lawyers to establish the link between the two and buttress your personal injury claim. 

How We Can Assist 

Known as post-traumatic osteoarthritis, this is an extremely painful condition that requires long-drawn out treatment. Statistics show that more than 10% of osteoarthritis cases are a result of direct trauma to the joint following a motor-vehicle accident. However, victims require the testimony of an expert, well-qualified, reputed doctor to draw the link. Our experienced personal injury lawyers can help access domain experts and also completely fund your case to ensure that the right treatment is begun without delay.

Our personal injury lawyers can represent you in all negotiations with the at-fault party and help to put together a robust compensation claim that would improve the quality of life for victims and families.

If you, your family or a friend has been injured in an accident, please feel free to speak to one of our injury lawyers for a free consultation about how we are able to assist in making a personal injury claim. We consult in all cities across Ontario with a no win no fee guarantee. Our personal injury lawyers have helped victims secure millions of dollars in personal injury cases. Call us Toll Free On our 24/7 Injury Hotline: 1 – 844 495 7333 or Text a Personal Injury ‎Lawyer 24/7 and get instant help.TM (416 931 5015)