Most people associate nerve damage with medical conditions like diabetes and carpal tunnel syndrome, but it also occurs in motor vehicle accidents. Unfortunately, its symptoms are easy to overlook, meaning you might not realize you are injured.
Severe nerve injuries are costly to treat, often requiring the specialized skills of a neurologist or neurosurgeon. Identifying (or ruling out) nerve damage after a car accident is crucial to ensure your settlement accurately reflects your total harm.
Why is nerve damage hard to identify?
Many of the symptoms of a nerve injury are ambiguous, and you could mistake them for something else. For example, tingling or numbness is a sign you might attribute to poor circulation or another cause. Other symptoms that could indicate nerve damage include:
- Loss of sensation
- Muscle weakness
- Buzzing sensations
- Feeling pressure or tightness
- Sharp pain in the affected areas
If you find yourself dropping items in the days following a car accident, it could also mean you suffered nerve damage.
How is nerve damage treated?
Like so many accident injuries, it depends on the severity of the damage. Some relatively minor injuries may heal themselves over time. Severe injuries, however, typically require surgical intervention (nerve grafting, etc.). Without prompt treatment, permanent damage or complications could further impact your life.
As mentioned before, treatment for nerve damage is prohibitively expensive for most people. Just about the only way to minimize the risk of high out-of-pocket costs is through a car accident and injury claim. Get a complete diagnosis to identify all accident injuries, and then turn to Indiana’s accident and injury compensation laws to obtain the full restitution you deserve.
