Nerve injuries often go unnoticed after an accident. Here are the common types of nerve injuries and what you should do if you are involved in a car accident.
Motor vehicle and motorcycle accidents are the leading causes of Peripheral Nerve Injuries (PNIs) at 46% and 9.9%, respectively.
Unlike other auto injuries, nerve injuries are primarily internal and often go unnoticed until it’s too late. Let’s discuss the different types of nerve injuries you can suffer in a car accident and how you can seek compensation for them.
Types of Nerve Injuries After a Car Accident
Nerve injuries result from rapid acceleration/deceleration and blunt force trauma. The most common cause of nerve injuries is whiplash. Broken glass, metal, and extreme force can also twist or compress the nerve endings, leading to severe nerve injuries.
Here are examples of common nerve injuries:
1. Compressed Nerves
Extreme pressure from a dislocated or broken bone can twist or compress the nerves, indicated by numbness, tingling, or muscle weakness. Sometimes, the cushioning discs in between the spinal column may shift or swell and compress the spinal cord in the process, causing a pinched nerve.
2. Stretched Nerves
Whiplash is an excellent example of stretched nerve injuries commonly sustained during rear-end collisions. The violent force swings the head in a whip-like motion back and forth, leading to nerve stretching.
3. Severed Nerves
In severe cases, a sharp edge or sudden movement may tear the nerve insulation or fiber. A torn nerve fiber with intact insulation can regrow, but sometimes, one may need surgical reconstruction if both the fiber and nerve are severed.
4. Nerve Irritation
This phenomenon usually occurs due to rupturing or herniating the gel-like cushioning disks between the vertebrae, which causes severe irritation all over the body.
What to Do After Sustaining Nerve Injuries in a Car Accident
Seek Immediate Medical Care
Seek immediate medical attention as soon as you feel numbness, tingling, migraine, sharp pains, and loss of function in your hands and feet. Seeking immediate medical care will allow the doctor to catch and treat latent injuries and symptoms before they turn into more severe injuries.
Also, you can use your medical records to prove there’s a link between your injuries and the car accident.
Speak With a Car Accident Attorney
Once you receive medical treatment, the next step is to speak with an experience St. Louis car accident attorney. Your attorney can help you seek compensation for your anguish, pain, loss of income, medical treatment, and other medical procedures connected to nerve injuries.
St. Louis Car Accident Lawyers
Have you been involved in a car accident in Missouri? The experienced car accident attorneys at The Hoffman Law Firm are here to help. Call us 24/7 for a free consultation!