Posted On October 4, 2017 Personal Injury

Nerve Damage Injuries

If you,re in pain after an accident, you need help right away. Read on! The information our attorneys provide is essential to your personal injury claim and your recovery.

An injury from an accident in one location of your body can actually cause a variety of symptoms in other areas, including your extremities. What might feel like a tingling sensation in your hands a day after the accident can develop into numbness or a persistent burning sensation that makes even the smallest movements a difficult task. Dismissing those symptoms as unrelated to your motor vehicle accident or other traumatic event can have a large impact on your personal injury claim and your ability to obtain proper compensation for the true extent of your injuries. Our New Jersey nerve damage injury lawyers have nearly 20 years of experience helping accident victims find top medical doctors to develop effective treatment plans for them.

Doctors can actually see nerve damage in the body by using high-contrast images, including MRIs. Nerve damage shown in dark blue illustrates the tearing of nerve clusters as the result of an accident.

Photo Credit: Nephron, Wikimedia Commons (Creative Commons license).

What is Neuropathy?

Neuropathy is damage to the nerves in the peripheral nervous system, which are the nerves extending outside the brain and spinal cord. These nerves run through all parts of body, including vital organs and muscle tissue. Neuropathy may affect a group of nerves or only a single nerve in your body depending on the severity of your injury.

Types of Neuropathy in Accidents

• Mononeuropathy, This type of damage affects only a single nerve. This commonly occurs when an injury, including a disc herniation in the back, compresses a nerve. Symptoms include: tingling or numbness in hands or feet.
• Polyneuropathy, Nerve damage in polyneuropathy affects multiple areas of the body and can involve multiple nerve groups. Symptoms usually appear on either the left or right side of the body depending on which side the injury originates. Symptoms include: general clumsiness, painful burning sensation in extremities, numbness, and inability to sense textures or temperature, and dizziness. Symptoms may be strongest in the feet with polyneuropathy.
• Neuritis, Caused by inflammation of a nerve. Injuries to the legs or feet in a motor vehicle can cause nerve compression, which may cut off blood supply. Symptoms include: numbness, pain, loss of muscle tissue, loss of reflexes, and tingling in the affected extremities.

Causes of Nerve Damage in Accidents

Nerve damage usually arises as a symptom of a different injury sustained in an accident. Treating the original injury may help alleviate the painful effects of nerve damage, depending on how long it takes doctors to develop a workable treatment plan.

• Herniated Disc, A torn disc in your back can inflame or compress the nerves surrounding that portion of the spine, resulting in neuropathy.
• Broken Bones/Torn Tendons, Bone breaks in car accidents and falls can damage the surrounding nerve fibers, which can trigger neuropathy. Carpel tunnel syndrome is a type of nerve compression resulting from a physical injury sustained in a car accident.

Treating Nerve Damage

Recovering from the painful symptoms of nerve damage can take time. Regeneration of torn nerves is slow, and the treatment doctors use to help you may take several weeks to months before you begin to feel relief.

• Pain Management Therapy, Your doctor may start you on a regimen of pain management medication to reduce inflammation and the discomfort you feel from damage to your nerves. This treatment can help restore functionality to your limbs and get you back on your feet.
• Electrical Nerve Stimulation, Medical doctors send a gentle electric current through your damaged nerves to stimulate the regeneration process. This procedure can also alleviate the pain associated with nerve damage.
• Surgical Repair, While doctors can’t surgically repair damage to your nerves, a procedure performed on the injury causing the neuropathy, including a herniated disc, may help relieve its symptoms.

Neuropathy Injury Lawyers in New Jersey

Pain is an invisible symptom. Following your accident, the insurance company may try to convince you that you,re not actually hurt, that you deserve no compensation for your injuries. The lawyers at Console & Associates P.C. have been helping accident victims with neuropathy just like you for nearly 20 years. We believe you have a right to maximum compensation for your damages, and won’t rest until we,ve obtained the largest settlement possible on your behalf.

For a free evaluation of your case, call us today at (856) 778-5500.

Additional Resources:

• Peripheral Neuropathy
• Peripheral Neuropathy Wiki