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The Orange County eye injury attorneys at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo have been helping people recover from eye injuries since 1979. They know what you want: quality representation to help you receive maximum compensation, get to Maximum Medical Improvement quickly and return to your regular life. They know that when you hire a lawyer, you want to be educated on your options and have the majority of the stress of a legal trial off of your back. Call us now at (714) 783-2205 to set up your free initial consultation and case evaluation to get your case started.
With any injury where you believe you might have a case, it is very important that you retain legal help quickly to investigate and prepare your case and to ensure you are receiving proper medical treatment. Whether your eyes were hurt at work, at home, in public, in a car accident, or anywhere else, our qualified personal injury lawyers in OC can start helping you and getting you on the road to recovery.
Eye injuries are when the eye, eyelid, or retina has either been perforated, fractured, penetrated, cut, burned by chemicals, burned by UV rays, displaced, or scratched. Retaining one’s ability to see is the first goal of most eye injury treatments. The majority of causes for injuries to the eyes can be split into two categories: chemical and physical.
Our eyes are very sensitive to most foreign fluids and objects. The eye is designed to do its best to keep our eyes protected and foreign substances out with our eyelids, its inset feature, our eyelashes and the eye’s automatically quick reflexes. The amount to which your eyes stings when a chemical gets in or touches your eye(s) does not directly relate to how badly that foreign substance will hurt our eye(s). For example, chemicals that are basic (alkaline) can be much worse for our eyes but those chemicals won’t sting our eyes very much. Basic chemicals are the ones with a high pH. They include many types of metal polishes, cement, cleaning fluids like most oven cleaners, ammonia, lime, and chalk dust.
Acids, on the other hand, have a low pH. They will mostly do the majority of their damage to the front of the eye. A common (and unfortunate) injury to the eyes by acid is when a car battery explodes and its battery acid sprays. Some acids that are known to cause damage to the eyes include sulfurous acid, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and nitric acid. In some cases, acid chemical eye injuries can be flushed out rather effectively. This is especially true when flushed soon after the chemicals come in contact with the eyes. Irritants are chemicals with a neutral pH (not basic or acidic). An example of an irritant is pepper spray.
As described above, our eyes are shaped to do their best to keep objects out of them. Our natural protections do not have a chance in the case of many physical traumas. The following list shows some physical causes for injuries to the eye(s): car or automobile accidents, bicycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, motorcycle accidents, crosswalk accidents, skateboarding injuries, flying shards or pieces of glass, wood, metal, or brick, defective products, work injuries, violence, fistfights, firecracker accidents, BB gun accidents, sports injuries like badminton eye injury, football eye injury, hockey eye injury, baseball/softball eye injury, boxing eye injury, tennis eye injury, racquetball eye injury, soccer eye injury, basketball eye injury, wrestling eye injury, lacrosse eye injury, or ice skating eye injury, paper eye scratches, fingernail eye scratches, and tripping, slipping and falling. The damage caused to the eyes by many of the listed injuries range from scratches to an object penetrating or crushing the eye.
Hot liquids, corrosive fumes, diseases, laser beams, welding flashes, and molten metal are more causes for eye injuries. For the best chance of recovery, it is important that you or your family call a doctor or 911 as soon as possible after an eye injury.
Non-penetrating eye trauma is where the eye is still intact and in place after there was force or physical harm that happened to the eye(s). Penetrating eye trauma is where an object has entered the eye. Perforating eye trauma is where an object has entered and exited the eye. A blowout fracture of the eye happens due to blunt forces like a fist or a ball. Other effects of eye injuries include blood in the eye, orbital fractures, eyelid lacerations, corneal abrasions, snow blindness, arc eye, orbital fractures, traumatic optic neuropathy, and hemorrhaging. It is also possible for a blunt force, flying object, or a piece of equipment to poke the eye out. Some complications that arise due to eye injuries include retinal detachment, corneal scarring, and post-traumatic glaucoma. Traumatic Iritis is another result of a physical eye injury (like a poke or hit to the eye) and it is when the iris becomes inflamed.
Black eyes are common. They get their dark color from the swelling that happens around the eye(s) after an injury to the face, head, or eyes. It does not directly signal an eye injury (but the eye could be injured as well). Black eyes are also called ecchymosis.
Eye injuries frequently happen on the job. Due to that, we have helped many workers with their workers’ compensation claims for eye injuries. Some of the typical causes for eye injuries at work include: car/automotive accidents, working with and around heavy objects, falling objects, truck accidents, table saw accidents, conveyor belts, tractors, slip, trip and fall injuries, mine equipment accidents and construction equipment accidents. The Orange County work injury lawyers of DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo has over three decades of experience conducting workers’ compensation claims as well as personal injury cases for eye injuries. We know how to investigate your injury case to look for a third party that is also at fault for your eye injury. We will include them in your case to maximize your possible recovery.
Eye injuries can be very painful, life-altering and disorienting for the victim. The signs of an eye injury include bruising around the eye, pain, tearing, eye redness, double vision, inability to keep the eye open, swelling, temporary blindness, sensitivity to light, and the inability or difficulty to move the injured eye.
For chemical eye injuries, sterile water is usually utilized to flush the eyes. For physical eye injuries, patches are one common type of treatment device. There are two types of patches: shield and pressure patches. Shield patches are used when it has been deemed OK to open the eye under the patch and there is a desire to not put pressure on the injured eye. Pressure patches are used when the goal is to keep tension on the eye and to keep the patient from opening their eye. Stitching is a treatment possibility for lacerations to the eyes. Eye surgery may be needed for eye or orbit fractures or other eye injuries.
There are many types of eye surgeries. Some of the more typical eye surgeries are glaucoma surgery, canaloplasty, cataract surgery, vitreoretinal surgery, corneal surgery, oculoplastic surgery (or reconstructing the eye), eye muscle surgery, and eyelid surgery.
Laser eye surgeries are becoming very popular for people who wear glasses or contacts. There are even surgeries to try to implant contact lenses, to repair astigmatism, and much more. But, even with improving techniques and technology, these procedures do not go perfectly 100% of the time. Side-effects or failed eye surgeries can possibly be very painful and may have difficult results for your vision and eyes (eg: double vision). Be sure to call our firm so we can discuss your options and evaluate your case.
Our eyes need our retina to interpret what we see and convert those images into neural impulses. This very crucial part of the eye can peel off or become detached after trauma, an injury, or swelling. As retinal detachments could lead to blindness, it is important to call a doctor as soon as possible after an eye injury or troubling eye symptoms.
Call us today to set up your free consultation and case evaluation with an experienced Orange County accident attorney. We will discuss your case, your legal options, and what our injury law firm could do for you and your family. We have helped thousands of people since 1979. We work solely on a contingency basis where you will not owe or pay us anything unless we win your injury case. The Orange County eye injury lawyers at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo will come to you at your home or your hospital room if you are unable to come to our office. Contact our attorneys today online or call us at (714) 783-2205 to schedule your free consultation.