Car Accidents Can Cause Disabling Nerve Damage
The tremendous forces generated by car accidents can break bones, injure soft tissue, and lead to concussions. Nerve damage is also a problem. This is a type of invisible injury that can be very difficult to come back from. At Halpern Santos & Pinkert, P.A., our car accident lawyers will review your medical records and help you build a strong claim for compensation. Nerve damage cases have many challenges but let us guide you through the claims process.
How Nerves Are Damaged
People have nerves throughout their bodies, but they are particularly common just below the surface of the skin. Nerves allow us to feel pleasure but also pain. In most cases, pain is a useful signal that something is wrong with your body that needs to be checked out. However, damage to a nerve can lead to constant pain that is out of proportion to the injury you have suffered.
Most nerve damage in a car accident stems from trauma. This can include striking a body part on a part of the car, or having your body stretched or shaken beyond its limits. Nerves can be damaged in many ways:
- The traumatic impact can cut a nerve in two
- Soft tissue or bone fragments can press against a nerve, causing constant pain
- The nerves can be scraped by bone or cartilage, damaging the outer layer
Many clients injure nerves when they suffer whiplash or back contortions. Nerves in the neck and back are particularly painful when they are injured.
Signs of Nerve Damage
There are many signs that you have suffered nerve damage and need treatment, including:
- Pain, even when resting
- Numbness
- Tingling, especially in your outer limbs
- Dizziness
- Constipation
- Dry eyes
- Sexual dysfunction
- Incontinence
The severity and location of your symptoms will depend on the type of damage you have suffered. We recommend getting to a doctor immediately. You might have many different injuries, including fractures. But nerve damage itself is very serious.
Treatment & Prognosis
Sometimes, nerve damage responds to conservative treatment. For example, ice packs can reduce swelling to the point that pressure is reduced on a nerve. Certain injections can also reduce swelling, providing much needed relief from near constant pain.
In other cases, a doctor will need to operate to remove bone fragments or to create more space for the nerve. When you suffer spinal column damage, for example, the compressed bones can put pressure on nerve roots.
If the nerve was injured directly, then other treatment options are available. A doctor might perform surgery to reconnect nerves that have been severed in two or perform a nerve graft, where nerves are transplanted from a different part of the body.
Seek Compensation by Contacting Our Law Firm
Nerve damage leaves clients in pain and suffering from depression, anxiety, and disfigurement. Our team of Florida personal injury lawyers will help you document the pain you are feeling so that you can convince a jury or insurance adjuster to take your claim seriously. Call us today at Halpern Santos & Pinkert, P.A. to schedule a free consultation.
Resource:
webmd.com/pain-management/guide/compressed-nerves
