Maison Law can guide you through the claims process when you suffer a degloving injury in an accident in California. It’s true that these kinds of injuries can happen to various parts of your body, but the vast majority of them involve your hands and fingers. And it’s not hard to see why this is such a huge problem. When you can’t use your hands, everything else suffers. We can help you through the aftermath. Set up a free consultation today.
Why Would I Need a Lawyer?
You use your hands for everything—driving, working, playing with your children, and just enjoying your life. So then, it’s pretty easy to see why a degloving injury to your hands and fingers are so traumatic. But once your initial shock wears off, very real questions about what comes next come up. That’s when you really need real guidance and support. That’s what our team at Maison Law can give you by:
- Looking closely at what caused the accident and who may be responsible
- Pulling together your medical records, bills, and other key evidence
- Dealing with the insurance company so you don’t have to go back and forth
- Moving things forward if the insurance company isn’t being reasonable
The reality is, you’re already dealing with surgeries, wound care, and a long recovery. Trying to figure out a legal claim on top of that is a lot. We take that piece off your plate so you can focus on healing.
What Kinds of Accidents Lead to Degloving Injuries to the Hands and Fingers?
Degloving injuries to the hands and fingers usually happen in situations where your hand gets caught, pulled, or crushed. As the Tampa General Hospital explains, this type of injury happens when:
- The skin and tissue are forcefully torn away from what’s underneath—sometimes in a split second.
So it’s easy to see why this is so impactful to your hands and fingers. That’s why they’re called “degloving” injuries. But they can happen in a variety of different types of accidents:
- Car accidents where your hands are on the steering wheel at the moment of impact
- Bicycle or motorcycle accidents where your hand hits the ground or gets caught during a fall
- Workplace accidents where machinery, tools, or equipment grabs or pulls your hand or fingers
- Crush injuries where your hand gets pinned between objects
It’s still about specifics with these accidents, so you could be left facing injuries like:
- Skin being torn away from part or all of your hand or fingers
- Severe damage to soft tissue, tendons, and nerves
- Loss of sensation or movement in the fingers
- Heavy bleeding and a high risk of infection
- Multiple surgeries, including skin grafts or reconstruction
- In severe cases, partial or full amputation of a finger or hand
There’s no “small” version of this kind of injury—especially when it involves your hands. Treatment usually starts immediately and can involve multiple procedures and a long recovery, often with physical therapy to regain function.
What Evidence Can Help My Degloving Injury Claim?
After an injury like this, your focus should be on treatment and recovery. But when you’re ready, your claim comes down to showing what happened and how it’s affected your life—especially your ability to use your hands. That usually includes:
- Medical records. This is where your story really shows up—ER visits, surgeries, skin grafts, hand specialists, and physical therapy. It also helps show how the injury affects your movement, grip, and overall function.
- Accident reports. Police reports or workplace incident reports give a clear, official account of what happened and who was involved.
- Photos or videos. Pictures of the scene, the equipment, or your injuries can help show how serious the impact was—especially with hand injuries that are visible and easy to see.
- Your own notes and experiences. A big part of your claim is going to be based around your specific injuries and experiences. Keeping daily notes in a pain journal or just simply providing evidence about how your life has changed since the injury can be extremely powerful
- Witness statements. If someone saw what happened, they can help explain how your hand or fingers were injured. Your doctors can also explain the medical side—like how the trauma caused the damage.
If that sounds like a lot, it is. And you don’t have to gather it all on your own. We help put everything together so it tells a clear, complete story. But it’s ultimately about what you’ve lost because of the accident, and that’s where the claims process comes in
How Can I Get Damages After an Accident Leaves Me With Degloving Injuries to My Hands or Fingers?
Not surprisingly, a degloving injury to your hands or fingers changes everything about your daily life. Even simple tasks—buttoning your shirt, holding your phone, typing—can become difficult or impossible. Filing an injury claim is about getting financial support to help cover the costs and losses that come with that change. You can usually do this by:
- Filing an insurance claim outside of court, or
- Filing a personal injury lawsuit if needed
Whichever option you decide to go with, you’re trying to get “damages” for things like:
- Medical care, including surgeries, wound care, and hand therapy
- Future treatment or additional procedures
- Lost income if you can’t work—or can’t return to the same type of job
- Loss of earning potential if your injury affects your long-term career
- Damage to personal property
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional stress from dealing with a serious, visible injury
- Changes to your daily routine and independence
Every situation is different, but especially with hand injuries, showing how much this injury affects your life day-to-day is a big part of your claim. There’s also deadlines to meet. In California, you only have two years from the date of the accident to file. But there are even more important aspects of your claim, like figuring out who actually has to pay for your damages.
Who Pays For My Damages After a Degloving Injury?
A huge part of the claims process doesn’t come when you file your claim—it comes before. It’s all about showing:
- Who was negligent or careless and caused the accident that led to your degloving injury.
This obviously opens the door to a lot of different people, but most of the time, liability is going to fall on:
- A driver who was distracted, speeding, or not paying attention
- An employer who didn’t provide safe equipment or proper safety measures
- A company that made unsafe or defective machinery or tools
- A property owner who failed to fix or warn about a dangerous condition
Sometimes more than one person or entity is involved, like in workplace or equipment-related accidents. That can make things complicated, but it doesn’t change your right to pursue a claim and recover damages.
Get Legal Help With Degloving Hand and Finger Injuries in California
A degloving injury to your hand or fingers isn’t just painful—it changes how you go about your day. Recovery can take time, and there’s often a lot of uncertainty along the way. At Maison Law, we understand what’s at stake with injuries like this. We can make sure you have the legal help you need to make a recovery. Set up a free consultation today to talk over your options.
