Hamilton Personal Injury Lawyer: Shoulder Injuries

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Your rotator cuff is made up of four muscles in your shoulder joint (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis), which attach close to the top of your humerus (arm bone) by various tendons. The muscles are critically important in the stability, movement and function of your shoulder.

Rotator Cuff Tear & Shoulder Injury Lawyer Hamilton

Acute or trauma-induced rotator cuff tears often happen in motor vehicles, bicycle and pedestrian accidents. The impact from car accidents, the locking of seat belts, your body being propelled into the steering wheel or dash, or falling with outstretched arms can do extensive damage to your shoulder joint, causing extensive rotor cuff tearing.

What is a torn rotator cuff, and how does it happen?

In Canada, ultrasound imaging is the most widely used diagnostic technique for rotator cuff injury, with accuracy between 87% and 96%. Once found on imaging, rotator cuff tears are normally described by physicians as either partial-thickness tears or full-thickness, depending on the amount of damage to the muscles & tendons.

Partial-thickness tears are a common source of shoulder pain and dysfunction in accident victims. These types of tears can either be asymptomatic or cause pain and functional impairment, which can affect daily living activities.

A full rotator cuff tear occurs when the tendon tears or pulls right off the bone. After serious trauma, such as a motorcycle or bicycle accident, the rotator cuff tendon can separate from the shoulder bone, causing a hole in the tendon. An “acute tear” normally results from a high-impact shoulder injury and the tendon straining beyond its normal limits.

In addition, and equally important to know, the rotator cuff muscles can weaken with age and make accident victims more susceptible to injury. As we get older, our rotator cuff gradually wears down over time, losing its blood supply and overall muscle resilience—thus increasing our potential for injury.

Torn Rotator Cuffs, Injury, Limitations and Pain

Each part of the rotator cuff helps our body with different movements – in  particular, mostly with:

• Flexion and extension – meaning moving your arm forward or backward away from your body like a karate chop;
• Abduction – meaning moving your arm sideways away from the mid-line of your body, as if you were flapping your wings or pointing sideways;
• Internal and external rotation – if you stick your elbow into your body and move your hand away like a goalie catching a hockey puck.

If you suffer an accident-related rotator cuff tear, then these basic anatomical movements, depending on the tear and location, would become extremely difficult. You would undoubtedly suffer pain over the shoulder and upper arm when performing moments and activities, particularly overhead-type activities.

Accident victims who suffer torn rotator cuffs would normally notice increased instability, as well as increased pain and weakness in the shoulder joint. If physical demands are involved, there would be a noticeable decrease in a victim’s ability to use his or her shoulder for their usual daily activities or work. You would typically notice difficulty sleeping on your side or shoulder and have a scientifically limited range of active motion. You will also notice:

• Difficulty with repetitive movement;
• Difficulty with lifting overhead;
• Difficulty with reaching overhead;
• Difficulty with carrying such things as cases of water or luggage;
• Difficulty in lifting objects too quickly;
• Pain in the outside of the shoulder and upper arm, most while performing overhead activities;
• Difficulty raising your arm overhead;
• Difficulty holding your arm out from your body;
• Difficulty performing normal tasks;
• Decreased strength;
• Limited range of motion;
• Sleeping difficulties when pressure is placed on the shoulder.

How is an accident-related rotator cuff injury treated?

Torn rotator cuffs can be treated non-operatively or with surgery. Unfortunately, full-thickness tears do not really heal by themselves. However, complete or partial-thickness tears can stabilize, leaving the shoulder joint with acceptable comfort and function. Your orthopedic surgeon may prescribe medication and exercise.

There is too much trauma, unacceptable pain or instability. In that case, the alternative is surgical repair – which, in the long run, gives people the ability to regain much of their lost comfort and function in the shoulder joint. Normally, rotator cuff surgery won’t make the shoulder as good as it was before since, quite often, the tendons and muscles around the shoulder have also been weakened – but normally, the long-term benefits can outweigh non-surgical options.

Accident-Related Frozen Shoulder and Rotator Cuff Injuries

Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, is a very painful condition resulting in the shoulder’s loss of motion. A frozen shoulder can develop slowly after a motorcycle or car accident as the joint becomes inflamed, stiff and sometimes immobile when the connective tissue surrounding the joint thickens and tightens.

A frozen shoulder can also develop after a shoulder has been immobilized for a period of time due to rotator cuff surgery.  Your physician or surgeon will more likely than not want you to start moving your shoulder soon after injury or surgery to prevent a frozen shoulder.

Frozen shoulder can be treated non-operatively or can be manipulated under anesthesia. Oftentimes, accident victims who develop frozen injuries will be prescribed physical therapy and perhaps anti-inflammatory or steroidal injections. If this does not work, you may, unfortunately, have to undergo a second shoulder surgery wherein your orthopedic surgeon would break up the scar tissue by forcing your shoulder to move and stretch. This could possibly release the tightening of the shoulder and help with your range of motion.

Shoulder Injuries – Proximal Humeral Fractures

Proximal Humerus fractures are common injuries with significant morbidity, which is a possible consequence of a traumatic event, such as a fall or forceful high-impact car accident.  Indications for surgery normally comprise compound, pathological, multi-fragmentary head-splitting fractures and fracture-dislocations, as well as those associated with neurovascular injury.

Other injuries to the shoulder girdle are normally present with humeral fractures,  such as co-existing scapular fractures giving rise to the “floating shoulder.”  When shoulder fractures, clavicle injuries and rotator cuff injuries occur together – victims can often undergo multiple surgeries and suffer a tremendous amount of long-term or permanent discomfort, which can lead to interruptions in recreational activities and job activity.

Contact our Hamilton personal injury law firm to discuss your shoulder injury.

Because rotator cuff tears are often caused by repetitive use, overuse or high-impact activity, insurance companies routinely deny or delay these types of claims when they result from an accident. Insurance companies and orthopedic surgeons paid for medical reports by insurance companies will also often argue that rotator cuff injuries are injuries that happen due to continuous repetitive movement rather than an injury caused by a crash or fall.

From our experience, rotator cuff tears quite often occur when accident victims are hit by a moving vehicle, if and when their body hits the pavement, or if the victim falls with outstretched arms.  If you have suffered a serious and permanent shoulder injury and need to undergo surgical rotator cuff repair, you may be entitled to compensation for lost wages and future care and rehabilitation costs outside of OHIP. If you were involved in a motor vehicle wreck, then you will more likely than not have accident benefit coverage to assist with your rehabilitation payment.

If you slipped and fell, you may or may not have medical benefits through a group benefit plan at work to assist with your therapy. Remember, in most cases, the recovery from rotator cuff surgery is normally long, extensive and painful. You will more likely than not require extensive rehabilitation surgery outside what your group benefits can offer you – causing you major out-of-pocket expenses.

Working with an experienced injury lawyer will certainly improve your chances of successfully recovering compensation for your injuries. If you have injured your rotator cuff tendons in an accident, and you would like to discuss your case with a specialized Hamilton accident lawyer dedicated to victim rights, we welcome your contact for a free, no-obligation consultation.

At Lalande Personal Injury Lawyers, we take pride in being trusted Hamilton personal injury lawyers since 2003. Over the years, we’ve helped our clients recover more than $45 Million in settlements and verdicts in personal injury, disability, and employment law cases. Whether you’re dealing with a life-changing injury, a denied disability claim, wrongful death, a hurt child or employment termination, we are here to provide compassionate and experienced legal representation. If you believe you have a case, call us today—we’re ready to help you secure the compensation you deserve.

Call Lalande Personal Injury Lawyers today, no matter where you are in Ontario at 905-333-8888 for your free consultation. Alternatively, you can contact us online, confidentially, by filling out a contact form.