Jimmy Fallon Suffers a Degloving Injury

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Jimmy Fallon Suffers a Degloving Injury

I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento personal injury attorney. If you are a fan of late night television, you might recall seeing Jimmy Fallon sporting a surgical bandage on his finger. Turns out it was an injury caused by tripping on a rug in his kitchen and catching his finger on the fall to the ground. What some might refer to as a “freak occurrence,” the reality was Fallon had a classic degloving injury or in his case a ring avulsion. The fall actually resulted in the ring pulling off his finger!

Although he was quoted as saying “I should say the fall was funny,” it’s important to realize that he spent 6 hours in microsurgery and 10 days in the intensive care unit of a NYC hospital.

Watch the Video – Jimmy Fallon Explains His Finger Injury

What Is Degloving?

Degloving injuries are so named for their similarity to removing a glove from the hand. Degloving can involve the removal of small to extremely large sections of skin and bone from any part of the body, resulting in anything from a minor injury to a limb amputation to death. Many cases are dangerous and, if not treated immediately as emergencies, may be fatal. In fact, according to EMS world, degloving injuries warrant separate training modules for first responders and EMS personnel. Even when successfully diagnosed and treated in a timely manner, they often involve a difficult, lengthy and very expensive process of treatment and recovery.

Underreporting of Injuries to Soft Tissues

According to one published article by the National Institutes of Health, degloving soft-tissue injuries are underreported and can be potentially devastating. These injuries require early recognition, and early management. A multidisciplinary approach is typically needed to ensure an effective rehabilitation of these patients”.

Incidence of Degloving Injuries

The majority of degloving injuries occur while at work, in a car, motorcycle or sports accidents. According to OrthoBullets, of the 150,000 or so ring avulsions each year, most occur while working with moving machines or equipment or by objects protruding from work surfaces. Auto and motorcycle accidents are also frequent causes. It has also been observed that an air bag deployment may cause a degloving injury. Degloving has any number of causes resulting in the removal of skin from limbs, joints or any surface of the body. 

Treatment Options in a Degloving Injury

Degloving injuries may require major surgical intervention. Treatment options include reattaching the degloved skin, or when this is not medically possible, skin grafts may be employed. In extreme cases, amputation may be advised or required to save a patient’s life. Postoperative physical therapy is of particular importance for degloving injuries involving the limbs. In a certain number of cases, it is also likely to assume, as we do with many injuries, there may be psychological trauma or PTSD. The pain and discomfort from these injuries can be severe and long term.

Addressing Safety to Prevent Degloving Incidents

Degloving injuries in the workplace can be addressed through worker safety audits and additional training of employees. Motorcycle safety vests and certain, rugged types of outerwear may protect drivers to a certain extent on the road. Motorcycle riders are difficult to see on the road. All categories of motorcycle mishaps and accidents might be reduced by using headlights, wearing brighter colors and highlighting vehicles with brighter, easy to recognize colors.

The average driver can take precautionary steps to avoid these traumatic injuries through the strict enforcement of passenger seat belt use, proper installation of child safety seats and eliminating distracted driving practices, such as texting and driving.

Sacramento Personal Injury Attorney

I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento personal injury attorneyWhen you or a loved one are injured, you are entitled to receive financial compensation for your injuries. If you have lost a loved one through negligence, you may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Please contact me at  for my free and friendly advice. Outside the telephone calling area, call (800) 404-5400.

During the 35 years I’ve practiced as an injury lawyer, I have helped numerous Californians, including those in Sacramento, receive compensation for their traumatic injury and wrongful death claims.

Reviews by previous clients and their comments are available at Google, Avvo and Yelp. You can also review my website verdicts and settlements page to see prior cases I have resolved. 

I am a California member of a group of top trial attorneys who belong to the Million Dollar Advocates forum. Its members have won $1 million or more in case settlements and verdicts for their clients.

Photo Attribution: https://pixabay.com/en/surgery-surgeons-operation-medical-843840/

Video Attrubtion: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon / Youtube

Sources: National Institute of Health

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