SLAP Tear After a Slip and Fall

SLAP Tear Injury After a Slip and Fall in Indiana

A slip, trip, and fall can cause many different types of injuries. The shoulder is one of the most commonly injured parts of the body. There are many different types of shoulder injuries, but one of the most devastating is a SLAP tear. This is because a SLAP tear can truly only recover through surgery, although some defense lawyers and insurance adjusters will tell you otherwise. That is because a SLAP tear is one to the cartilage in the shoulder which will not heal itself—it may only stabilize itself. But that will never be as strong or as great of a range of motion. If you or a loved one suffered a SLAP tear in a slip, trip, and fall accident, call our experienced slip and fall lawyers at Shaw Law in Indiana for help.

A SLAP tear is one of the more serious types of personal injuries after a fall because it almost always requires surgery to repair the damage done.. Call us today at (260) 777-7777 for your free consultation.

What is a SLAP Tear?

A SLAP tear is a shoulder injury that affects the stability of the shoulder, meaning it will also affect strength and range of motion. A SLAP tear is an injury to the labrum, which is a ring of cartilage that forms from the end of the biceps long head tendon and creates the “socket” of the shoulder joint.

The true socket is on your shoulder blade where the humerus (upper arm bone) fits into it. The ridge or rim of that socket on the shoulder blade is created by a thick and strong fibrous tissue called the labrum. The labrum deepens the socket and helps keep the humerus from sliding in or out, essentially stabilizing the socket and the arm.

When there is a tear to that labrum, it can destabilize the joint. It can cause a significant amount of pain too. A SLAP tear is the worst type of labrum tear because it is a tear all the way around the labrum from the superior (top) aspect to the anterior (front) and to the posterior (back). Hence the name, Superior Labrum Anterior Posterior Tear, or also called a SLAP tear.

Symptoms of a SLAP Tear After a Slip and Fall

There are a few symptoms of a SLAP tear that all mirror other types of serious injuries to the shoulder. As a result, most SLAP tears need to be confirmed through imaging such as an MRI or an MRI with dye contrast.

The most unique signs of a SLAP tear as opposed to other types of tears include the following:

• Locking up or grinding pain in the arm
• Pain with certain movements of the arm, but not others
• Difficultly lifting objects upwards and over the head, especially out in front of the body
• Overall decrease in shoulder strength
• Feeling of instability in the shoulder
• Decreased range of motion but only in the side of the injury
• A zipper-like feeling in the arm when the injury occurs
• No improvement for a long time
• Pain with carrying out basic tasks like racking, folding laundry, or holding grocery bags, and
• Other odd symptoms that make this shoulder injury feel more painful and complex then a normal pain or ache.

How SLAP Tears Occur in Falls

A SLAP tear can occur when a person is either falling directly onto the shoulder and arm and sustains blunt force trauma, or where a person tries to stop a fall and grabs onto something or outstretches an arm but cannot stop the fall. Any position that stretches the arm and extends it to the end of the range of motion can cause a SLAP tear. Further, any yank, pull, or sudden force on the arm can also damage or tear muscles in the arm.

Call Our Slip and Fall Lawyers for a SLAP Tear After a Slip and Fall in Indiana

A SLAP tear is one of the more serious types of personal injuries after a fall because it almost always requires surgery to repair the damage done. The only reason why it will not require surgery is if the patient is older and it may create other risks, or the injury started to re-scar over itself to heal and stabilized the joint enough for a person to live without great difficulty.

If you or a loved one have a SLAP tear after a slip and fall, call the experienced slip and fall lawyers in Indiana at (260) 777-7777 or message us to learn how we can help protect your rights.