Car accidents can cause damage to the nerve when tears or stretches from a car accident impact. The nerves are cables that can carry electrical pulses from a person’s brain to the rest of the body, allowing you to feel sensation, move your muscles, breathe, sweat, and digest food. A nerve injury caused by a car accident can sever the nerve’s connection to the rest of the body and can affect the brain’s connection with muscles and vital organs.
If you suffered neurological issues due to a car accident, you could hold a negligent driver accountable for your damages in a car accident claim. A car accident lawyer can help determine whether the at-fault party’s negligent or reckless actions caused the car accident and establish your best path for recovering fair compensation for damages like medical bills, lost earning potential, and loss of enjoyment of life.
How Can a Car Accident Cause Nerve Damage?
Victims of car accidents can suffer nerve damage when they experience whiplash and blunt-force and penetrating trauma that impacts one of the body’s nerves. These are important for the body’s functioning, as they allow the brain to send electrical pulses to other parts of the body. Nerves allow for muscle movement, sensory functions, and autonomic functions like breathing, digesting food, and sweating.
The following are the three types of nerves that allow the body to function:
- Autonomic nerves: These are the nerves that allow the brain to send signals to control the body’s autonomic functions, such as controlling the body’s blood pressure, heart rate, and digestion.
- Motor nerves: These nerves send signals to your muscles and glands that allow you to move your body parts.
- Sensory nerves: These nerves send signals to allow you to experience the five senses. They send sensory information to the central nervous system to allow you to see, feel, smell, hear, and taste.
Car accident impact can apply pressure to the body’s nerves, leading to them severing from the rest of the body. A car accident victim can suffer neurological issues that prevent signals from controlling the body’s muscle movement, senses, and autonomic functions.
Symptoms of Nerve Damage After a Car Accident
If your nerves suffer from damage due to a car accident, you can suffer neurological issues that can affect your body’s functioning. After the car accident, you may begin to experience symptoms that indicate you suffered a neurological issue.
The following are some symptoms of nerve damage from car accidents:
- Paralysis of limbs or appendages
- Muscle twitching
- Inability to control muscles
- Muscle pain
- Prickling sensation
- Sensitivity to hot and cold temperatures
- Inability to grasp objects
Car accident victims that suffer the above symptoms should go to the hospital, so a medical professional can diagnose whether they suffered a severe injury. It’s vital to identify and begin treating a neurological issue early before it grows worse and leads to a life-altering impact. Treatment for a neurological issue includes medication, physical therapy, and possibly surgery.
Peripheral Neuropathy Caused by a Car Accident
Peripheral neuropathy occurs when the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord, otherwise known as peripheral nerves, suffer damage from a car accident impact. These nerves are vital, as they send information from the central nervous system to the rest of the body. This severe neurological health issue can lead to significant symptoms, such as sharp pain, numbness, sensitivity to touch, and lack of coordination. Without the ability for the brain to send signals to the rest of the body, peripheral neuropathy can also result in worsened motor function, drops in blood pressure, and digestive issues.
Car Accident Impact Can Cause Radiculopathy
A car accident can cause radiculopathy if the impact results in the victim suffering a pinched nerve in the spine. There are nerve roots where the nerve meets the spine that can become compressed or irritated from car accident impact. Radiculopathy causes pain, numbness, and a tingling sensation in the area where the pinched nerve occurred. It can also result in muscle weakness that can make everyday tasks much more difficult.
What form of radiculopathy a car accident victim suffers depends on where the nerve compression occurred. Car accident victims can suffer nerve compression in the neck (cervical neuropathy), lower back (lumbar radiculopathy), and middle portion of the spine (thoracic radiculopathy). Those who have to live with radiculopathy have to live with constant pain, as a movement that affects the pinched nerve can cause shooting pain. Victims of damage to the nerve roots in the spine can file car accident claims to recover compensation for damages that result from their radiculopathy.
How Can a Car Accident Accident Lawyer Help You Recover Compensatory Damages?
Drivers that cause car accidents through negligent driving behavior, such as distracted driving, speeding, and running red lights, can be held accountable for nerve injury damages they cause. Hiring a car accident lawyer can help with the process of pursuing car accident damages, as their vast experience can inform the claims process. They will understand the most effective way to pursue compensation for damages and can advise you on the best path to take while you recover from your injuries.
The following are some ways a car accident lawyer can help with your car accident claim:
- Calculate the value of your car accident claim
- Determine the liable party that caused the car accident
- Explain the laws that can affect your car accident claim
- Gather evidence to prove your car accident claim
- Collect testimonies from eyewitnesses and expert witnesses
- Negotiate a fair settlement with the liable party’s insurer
- Represent you in court
Contact The Russo Firm for Help With Your Car Accident Claim
At The Russo Firm, our car accident lawyers have experience helping victims recover compensation for their damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, and loss of consortium. We understand how nerve damage can cause reduced quality of life, daily pain and suffering, and difficulties in performing everyday tasks. We wish to provide personalized legal counsel that can help with the car accident claim process and put you in the best position to recover compensatory damages. Contact us for a free car accident claim case evaluation at (561) 270-0913 or leave a message on our online contact page.
