Labral Tear

Labral Tears (Torn Labrum) From Car Accidents or Trip or Slip and Fall Accidents

If you have been involved in a car accident or a trip or slip and fall incident that caused trauma to your hip or shoulder, one possible injury that can result is a hip or shoulder labral tear. A simple description of a labral tear is a tear in the tissue that supports the hip or shoulder joint. A labral tear can cause pain in the shoulder or hip, difficulty with performing everyday tasks such as raising an arm overhead or walking, sitting or standing for any extended period of time, and locking or catching sensations in the injured joint. Labral tears are serious injuries that can cause a substantial amount of pain and suffering for a long period of time. 

Contact our office at (954) 833-1440 for a free consultation if you have been injured in a car accident, slip or trip and fall, or other type of accident anywhere in Florida and believe you are suffering with a hip or shoulder labral tear. 

Our labral tear injury attorneys have decades of experience handling cases involving torn labrums. You don’t even have to come into our office to discuss your case, as we can communicate with you via phone, video chat, or e-mail. We are located in Broward County, and we represent clients who have been injured in accidents anywhere in Florida.

What Causes a Labral Tear?

A person can suffer a labral tear at any age. Basically, a labral tear occurs when the labrum, a ring of cartilage that follows the outside of a joint socket, over-stretches and ultimately tears. There is a labrum in each hip joint socket and in each shoulder joint socket. At the hip, this cushioning ring also helps hold the ball at the top of the thigh bone, or femur, securely in the hip socket. At the shoulder, the labrum holds the ball of the upper arm bone, or humerus, in the shoulder socket. In addition, one of the two biceps tendons is attached at one end to the upper edge of the shoulder labrum.

A labral tear can be caused by traumatic injury from an accident such as a car crash or a trip or slip and fall. The labral tear can happen in any number of ways. For example, immediately prior to a car collision, many times your body will tense up and you will clutch the steering wheel to brace for impact. When this happens, your shoulders may end up absorbing a lot of the force of impact from the crash, causing damage to your shoulder, including potentially a torn labrum. Or if you are walking around and you trip or slip and fall and your hip strikes against the ground, that forceful impact between the ground and your hip could cause your labrum to tear.

If you were involved in a car accident or trip or slip and fall in Florida and are now suffering with a hip or shoulder injury, contact our labral tear injury lawyers today for a free consultation to discuss your legal options.

Symptoms and Diagnosis of a Labral Tear

Symptoms of a hip labral tear include:

• Hip pain or groin pain; oftentimes the pain is present as a dull ache when you are at rest, and is aggravated with activity resulting in a sharp pain
• Hip stiffness with decreased flexibility
• A feeling or sound of clicking or locking as the hip moves
• Hip instability, which can feel like your hip or legs are giving out under you
• Pain in the buttocks on the side of the injured hip

A hip labral tear can be difficult to diagnose because other muscles and bodily structures are near the hip joint, and the pain from the labral tear can masquerade as another type of injury. For example, many times a physician will misdiagnose a labral tear as a groin strain.

In order to properly determine whether your injury is actually caused by a labral tear, your doctor will usually review your medical history to determine when you first started experiencing pain or stiffness. The doctor will then conduct a physical examination, which will likely include gently moving your hip and having you walk around, in order to assess your symptoms.

Depending on the results of the exam, the doctor may then recommend x-rays, MRI scans, or CT scans. In some instances, the doctor may inject an anesthetic directly into your hip joint. If the anesthetic relieves your pain, the doctor will at least know that your pain is, in fact, very likely caused by some sort of hip joint injury.

And in some cases, your doctor may recommend minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery to diagnose (and repair) a labral tear. Arthroscopy is generally the most accurate diagnostic tool for diagnosing labral tears because the procedure allows your doctor to very clearly see the tear.

Symptoms of a shoulder labral tear include:

• Pain in the shoulder joint
• A loose or unstable feeling in the shoulder as it moves
• Locking and catching sensations in the shoulder joint
• Popping or grinding feeling in the shoulder joint
• A limited ability to do overhead activities like raising your hands
• A loss of shoulder strength and range of motion
• A loss of velocity when throwing

As with hip labral tears, shoulder labral tears can be diagnosed by your physician through a combination of medical history and physical examination, diagnostic studies like x-rays, MRIs, and CT scans, and arthroscopy.

A person who suffers pain in the hip or shoulder joint that could be from a torn labrum should keep track of their symptoms so they can provide their doctor with a detailed physical history to assist in the diagnosis.

Treatment for a Torn Labrum

Doctors treat labral tears in a number of different ways. Some common treatments include:

• Physical therapy to strengthen the injured areas; therapy could last anywhere from a few weeks to many months
• Extended rest where you simply do not do any extensive physical activity that would impact the injured area, in the hope that the pain caused by the tear would lessen over time (even though the tear itself will not go away)
• Over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen to reduce inflammation
• Anesthetic injections, possibly with a corticosteroid added to the injection, to reduce pain
• In cases where other treatments fail to relieve the symptoms caused by the labral tear, your doctor may recommend arthroscopic surgery to repair or, in some instances, replace the torn labrum

At Law Offices Cytryn & Velazquez, P.A., our labral tear injury attorneys have handled numerous cases where our clients have suffered hip or shoulder injuries, such as torn labrums, due to the negligence of others. We also have worked with many doctors who have substantial experience in diagnosing and treating labral tear injuries. If we handle your case, in addition to fighting to make sure that you receive the financial compensation you deserve for your injuries, we can also ensure that you have access to highly qualified medical professionals to treat your injuries.

If you or a loved one was involved in a car crash, trip or slip and fall, or other accident that may have caused a labral tear, call our office now toll free at (954) 833-1440 for a free consultation.