Hand & Wrist Injuries

The Boulder personal injury lawyers at Cook, Bradford & Levy, LLC have represented clients with injuries to many different parts of the body. One of the common injuries we see from car accidents and slip and falls are hand and wrist injuries, which are often caused by bracing for an impact or a fall. Because we are constantly using our hands and wrists throughout the day, an injury to a hand or a wrist can wreak havoc on our quality of life and ability to function. Damage to a hand or wrist almost always has some level of permanent injury, whether caused by an immediate need for surgery or arthritis that might not show up for several years. We know how to value hand and wrist injury cases and make sure that the insurance company compensates you fully. If you or a loved one has suffered an injury to your hand or wrist because someone was negligent, we invite you to call the Boulder personal injury attorneys at Cook, Bradford & Levy today for a free consultation about your case.

One of the most important factors driving a successful financial recovery for a hand or wrist injury is educating the insurance company or other decision-makers (like a mediator, judge, or jury) about the damage that was done. This means explaining in detail how an accident victim has been impacted and will be impacted in the future.

To achieve the goal of proper education, our Boulder personal injury lawyers will almost always meet with your doctor and have him or her write a detailed report that is separate and apart from a typical medical record. The report will specifically address the causal link between the trauma from the accident and the hand and wrist injury. It will also discuss, with references to medical literature, how arthritis and other conditions are likely to develop and diminish movement or increase pain.

Our team will get this letter from your most qualified medical provider, which in most hand and wrist injury cases will be an orthopedic surgeon with a specialty in the hand or wrist. Our Boulder personal injury attorneys have worked with hand and wrist specialists across the front range, including the surgeons who regularly treat members of the Colorado Rockies, Colorado Avalanche, Denver Broncos, and more.

The unique nature of hand or wrist damage from an accident is best understood by the victim, or someone who has suffered such an injury. The injuries are not only immediately painful, but as the bones heal (sometimes with rods, screws, or wires) it is almost certain that arthritic pain will begin and get worse over time. As such, it is sometimes a challenge for an inexperienced Boulder personal injury lawyer to get an insurance adjuster to fully understand why hand and wrist damage can be so far-reaching in the way it impacts a person’s life. This is why we often use real life examples to show the damage and impact of the injury, such as an inability to play golf, grip pots and pans needed for cooking, inability to fish, work a job with instruments such as car repair or even an orthopedic surgeon him or herself!

The unique nature of the hand and wrist is due to the numerous bones that are in these parts of the body. In fact, the human hand contains 27 bones that must work together to provide full range of motion, strength, and function. In a nutshell, these bones are in 5 different groups, all of which can be affected differently after a car accident or impact from a slip and fall.

The first group of bones is the Carpals, which include the bones at the base of the hand toward the wrist. At Cook, Bradford & Levy, LLC, we see fractures to these bones very commonly in a slip and fall accident. The next level above the Carpals is called the Metacarpals, which are the long bones that make up the main body of the hand. Up from that are the Proximal phalanges, which are the long bones extending from the hand and make up the first section of fingers coming out from the hand. After that we have the Intermediate phalanges and Distal phalanges, which are the last to lengths of bone making up the fingers and finger tips. We will often see nerve damage, or our clients will feel tingling and numbness in their finger-tips when an injury to the spine as happened at the level controlling finger and hand sensation and movement.

At Cook, Bradford & Levy, LLC, our experienced Boulder personal injury attorneys understand hand and wrist injuries caused by car accidents and slip and falls. We encourage you to begin building your claim the right way with us by calling us today at 303-543-1000 for a free consultation with our experienced team.