Nerve Injury Accidents

Fall accidents and car accidents are common causes of neck pain. Whiplash is a neck strain or sprain. Neck injuries also frequently involve pinched nerves or nerve damage.

Nerve injuries can be among the most debilitating and misunderstood injuries an accident victim can suffer. The most serious form of nerve damage is an injury to the spinal cord, which can result in quadriplegia or paraplegia. Spinal cord injuries can be complete or partial, which means some feeling remains.

Often back injuries suffered by accident victims involve nerve injuries. Many back wounds never fully heal or get worse over time. Nerve damage can impact feeling in the arms and legs and can lead to disability.

This nerve condition can be triggered by a car accident and the associated trauma, particularly in the upper spinal region. This chronic condition is characterized by widespread aches, fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome, headaches, and facial pain. Widespread and diffuse symptoms can also lead to depression, anxiety, mood swings, difficulty concentrating, and irritability.

Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)/Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD): A chronic pain disorder that develops when injuries to muscle, bone, or nerves do not follow a standard healing path. When an injury occurs, nerves send messages back and forth from the brain to the injury site. With CRPS/RSD, that process does not shut off. Symptoms include severe pain, pain to light touch, and swelling. Over time, the pain may migrate to other extremities. The pain may last for weeks or, in severe cases, go on indefinitely – even for years.

A herniated disc causes pains throughout the body, often described as shooting pains up and down the legs or through the torso. Because a herniated disc is often difficult to detect, it is essential to undergo a thorough medical examination after an accident or injury. Pain from a herniated disc may not be apparent; injury victims should monitor their bodies for any developments and should not hesitate to determine if a herniated disc may be the root cause of their symptoms.

Spinal discs are round cushions that lie in between the vertebrae of the spinal column. These discs act like shock absorbers between the vertebrae, cushioning them when we contort our bodies in everyday life. These discs have an external shell and a liquid substance in the middle. The metaphor we often use with juries in personal injury cases is that the discs are like jelly donuts. If a disc is injured as the result of trauma in an auto accident, the “jelly” may leak out of the disc. If the inner core of the disc extrudes back into the spinal canal, it may impact a nerve root. The weak spot in a disc is directly under the nerve root, and a herniated disc can put tremendous pressure on the nerve, which can cause pain to radiate throughout the person’s body.

Where it appears that nerve impulses have been interrupted, but the nerve body is unharmed, most likely because of nerve compression or loss of blood supply (ischemia), the diagnosis likely will be neurapraxia. The likelihood of recovery is good and can happen in as fast as 3 to 4 weeks. Where it appears that the nerve body has been damaged, but the myelin sheath is still intact, most likely because of a crush injury or overstretching, the diagnosis likely will be axonotmesis. The likelihood of recovery is guarded, and where there is a recovery, it can take as long as one year. Where it appears that the nerve body and all connective tissue have lost their continuity, mostly likely because of a severe crush injury, contusion or laceration, the diagnosis likely will be neurotmesis. The likelihood of recovery is poor, and neuromas are common.

Quadriplegia is irreversible paralysis that can partially or entirely prevent a person from being able to use, control, and feel their limbs and torso. Quadriplegia is a severe spinal cord injury that occurs when the brain or the upper spinal cord (between vertebrae C1 and C8) is damaged. When the injury occurs between the C1 and C4 vertebrae, the case of quadriplegia will affect the arms and fingers more so than the injury between C5 and C8.

Any type of trauma can cause quadriplegia. Statistically, the most common causes of quadriplegia include: Motor vehicle accidents (37 percent); Falls (21 percent); Sports accidents (6 percent, Interestingly, however, 66 percent of sports accidents that result in quadriplegia are caused by diving accidents).

About 11,000 new quadriplegia cases arise each year, in most cases, injured parties are between the ages of 16 and 30. In fact, according to The University of Alabama National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, those who become quadriplegic at 25 will spend, on average, more than $425,000 in treatment costs over the course of their lifetime.

You need an attorney well-versed in nerve injury accidents who will get you the right medical personnel to get you the care you need and a settlement commensurate with your injury today and the consequences tomorrow.

FOCUSING ON COMPENSATION

Arthur Liberty has the experience and knowledge needed when encountering any nerve injury accidents. With over three decades of experience, Arthur Liberty has the resources and is the dedicated Santa Monica nerve injury lawyer you need to follow through with your claim.

Arthur Liberty will thoroughly investigate the facts of the accident or incident to determine the legal strategy to take in your particular situation. During your initial consultation, we will fully discuss your case, including potential sources of information not readily apparent, including potential witnesses, video and audio recordings, which must be acquired quickly before they are recorded over, law enforcement reports, and investigation whose initial conclusions can be altered if quickly dealt with early on. Arthur Liberty will try to answer all of your questions. He is committed to providing you with personal attention throughout your claim and will pursue every possible means of compensation on your behalf. Whether you have medical costs, lost wages, emotional pain and suffering, our efforts will be towards maximizing your potential settlement.

It is never easy to get through a difficult situation where you suffer a nerve injury. Arthur Liberty strives to provide caring and compassionate representation.  His goal is simple: resolve your claim fairly, effortlessly, and quickly.  If your case requires that a lawsuit be pursued, rest assured that as an experienced and successful attorney, Arthur Liberty will still have the same goal.

Contact Arthur Liberty to discuss your nerve injury claim.