What Is a Degloving Injury?

A degloving injury happens when a shearing force tears the skin and the fat under it away from the muscle, tendon or bone below, much like pulling off a glove. It is a serious injury that can cut off blood supply to the tissue and often needs surgery (Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open). When a crash, a machine or a property hazard caused it, someone else may owe compensation.

What does degloving mean?

“Degloving” describes how the injury looks: the outer layers come away from the deeper structures the way a glove comes off a hand. Surgeons writing in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open describe degloving soft tissue injuries of the arms and legs as limb-threatening injuries caused by shearing forces during high-impact trauma, where tearing tissues apart can cut off their blood supply.

There are two main kinds:

• Open degloving. The skin is torn open and the deeper tissue is exposed. This is the kind most people picture.
• Closed degloving (Morel-Lavallée lesion). The skin stays intact, but a blunt shearing force separates it from the layer below, and fluid collects in the space between them (World Journal of Emergency Surgery). It can show up as soft swelling and may be missed at first. A literature review of 204 lesions found the hip area, thigh and pelvis were the most common sites (Case Reports in Orthopedics).

How do degloving injuries happen?

In one 22-year study of 188 patients with degloving injuries of an arm or leg, 96 percent of the injuries were related to motor vehicles or machinery (data from that study, not a prediction for any one case). Common situations include:

• Motorcycle and car crashes, where a limb is dragged along the pavement or caught under a vehicle.
• Industrial machinery and conveyor belts, where a hand or arm is pulled into rollers or moving parts. Federal rules require employers to guard machines against hazards such as ingoing nip points and rotating parts (OSHA 1910.212).
• Ring avulsion, where a ring catches on something and is pulled from the finger. A review in Eplasty says it classically happens when a wedding band catches on machinery or a protruding object, and it ranges from a cut around the finger to complete amputation (Eplasty).
• Falls and crush injuries, including the blunt hits that cause closed degloving.

How is a degloving injury treated, and how long is recovery?

Treatment depends on how deep the injury goes. The surgeons in the 2020 study describe the basic steps as early diagnosis, removing dead tissue, restoring blood flow and fixing broken bones when needed, followed by reconstruction. In their group of patients:

The same study found that injuries with broken bones underneath needed more procedures and took longer to heal. Ring avulsion injuries are graded by whether the finger still has enough circulation, and the grade guides whether surgeons try to save the finger. Recovery time varies widely. Your own surgeons, not a general article, can tell you what to expect.

Can I file a claim for a degloving injury?

Yes, if someone else’s carelessness caused it. California makes everyone responsible for injuries caused by a lack of ordinary care (Civil Code 1714). Who pays depends on how it happened:

• A vehicle crash. The at-fault driver’s insurer is the usual source of payment, along with your own coverage.
• A work injury. Workers’ compensation is usually the only remedy against your own employer in California (Labor Code 3602) and against a covered employer in Texas (Labor Code 408.001). You may still sue a third party, such as the maker of a defective machine or another company on the site, in California (Labor Code 3852) and Washington (RCW 51.24.030). If a Texas employer has no workers’ compensation coverage, it cannot defend by blaming the worker’s contributory negligence (Labor Code 406.033).
• A property or product hazard. The owner or maker may be responsible if a hazard they should have fixed caused the injury.

Shared fault matters. California reduces damages by the injured person’s share of fault (CACI 405), Texas bars recovery above 50 percent (CPRC 33.001), and Washington reduces without barring (RCW 4.22.005).

What to do now

1. Get emergency care. Degloving can cut off blood supply, so do not wait.
2. Follow every surgical and wound care instruction and keep all follow-up visits.
3. Take photos of the wound over time, if your doctors allow it.
4. Keep the ring, glove, clothing or part involved; do not throw it away.
5. Write down how it happened and who saw it.
6. At work, report the injury to your employer in writing.
7. Talk to a lawyer before you sign anything from an insurer.

Talk to us about a degloving injury

If a crash, a machine or someone else’s hazard caused your degloving injury, call Beverly Law at (310) 552-6959 for a free case review in English or Spanish. You owe no fees or costs unless we win.

Common questions

Related pages

Personal Injury Questions · Motorcycle accident lawyer · Can you sue your employer for a work injury · Construction accident third-party claims · Who determines fault in a car accident · Duty of care examples · Personal injury questions · Law Blog

Important: This page is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Beverly Law. Laws change and every case is different; talk to a lawyer about your own situation. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. You owe no fees or costs unless we win. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: 2026-11-13.