Neurological Problems After a Car Accident

Our Personal Injury Lawyer Helps Win Compensation

Neurological Problems after a Car Accident

Car accidents are notorious for causing injuries to our brains, spinal cords, and nervous systems. When a crash results in these injuries, victims may be left dealing with not only physical and emotional pain and trauma, but with financial losses from medical, hospital, and rehabilitative bills, at a time they are unable to work. Life may never be the same.

If you or a loved one has suffered neurological injuries after an accident caused by another party’s negligence or fault, you may be entitled to compensation through insurance or a personal injury lawsuit. While no amount of money can compensate for the suffering you are going through, a successful personal injury lawsuit against the parties whose negligence caused your accident can alleviate your financial problems and allow you to focus on getting well and rebuilding your life.

However, Indiana laws regarding personal injury are complicated; insurance companies and their lawyers will attempt to deny your claim or get you to settle for the lowest amount possible or get you to say something that they can use against you. Making mistakes can be costly, so it helps to have an experienced Indiana personal injury lawyer on your side to fight for a fair settlement.

At Stephenson Rife, LLP, our Indianapolis personal injury lawyers have represented many clients who have been injured due to another person’s negligence or careless actions. We have the skill, experience and resources needed to prepare a case that will give you the best possible chance of getting justice and receiving the financial compensation that will allow you to get through this difficult time. We can take the burden off you by handling all investigations, negotiations with insurance companies and their attorneys, and legal hurdles involved in getting you the compensation you deserve.

We offer a free consultation to discuss the circumstances of your accident and determine the best way to move forward, and there are no fees to you unless and until we win your case.

How Our Neurological Damage Lawyer Helps You

Why Choose Stephenson Rife

Neurological cases are extremely complicated, so you should choose an attorney you not only feel comfortable with and have confidence in, but who has the experience necessary to research and build your case. Here are some reasons why we believe that Stephenson Rife is your best choice:

• We are experienced. We have been meeting the needs of people throughout Indiana since 1976. Mike Stephenson has 40 years of experience handling injuries and is a trusted advisor to many individuals and companies. Brady Rife handles serious personal injury matter and has successfully tried both jury and bench trials as lead counsel.
• We get results, win large settlements, and have many satisfied clients. You can read their testimonials and their cases.
• We are recognized in our field. Attorneys Mike Stephenson and Brady Rife have both been named as Indiana Super Lawyers and have won distinguished legal awards.
• We handle all legal paperwork and court appearances required by Indiana law.
• We deal and negotiate with insurance companies, so you won’t have to.
• We are recognized for our expertise and are the law firm that other law firms consult.
• We offer free initial consultations to get you started.
• We are able to provide cost-effective legal services to keep fees low, and you pay us nothing unless we win and you get your money.

How Our Car Accident Nerve Damage Attorney Helps

When you have our Stephenson Rife attorneys on your side, we will get to work on your behalf immediately. We will:

• Meet with you to discuss how the accident occurred, who the at-fault parties may be, and determine if you have a valid lawsuit and what type of settlement to go after.
• Make sure you get proper medical care for your neurological damage and that all symptoms and treatments are documented.
• Conduct investigations to gather evidence, such as photographs and videos from the accident scene, and police, ambulance, hospital, and medical records and reports.
• Interview witnesses and first responders.
• Get expert opinions from accident reconstruction professionals as to how the accident occurred and who was at fault, and from medical professionals and therapists as to the care you will need, and the costs and effects on your life into the future.
• Negotiate with insurance companies and opposition lawyers for a fair settlement.
• Build your case and bring it to court and present it in front of a judge and jury if necessary.

Damages Our Accident Lawyers May Recover

Nerve Damage Settlement from a Car Accident

In a successful personal injury accident case, you may recover compensation for your injuries and financial losses, called damages. In Indiana, these should cover your economic or monetary losses resulting from the accident, as well as your noneconomic damages that do not have a specific dollar value but negatively impact your life.

Damages may include compensation for:

• Present and future medical expenses, including hospital and rehabilitation costs, prescription medication expenses, and mental healthcare
• Lost income from being unable to work
• Property damage
• Pain and suffering and other non-financial damages, such as emotional distress, mental anguish, anxiety, depression, loss of quality of life, loss of consortium, and post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the accident

In some rare cases, punitive damages may also be awarded to punish negligent parties for willful negligence or especially egregious behavior. Punitive damages are over and above actual economic and non-economic damages and serve to act as a deterrent for similar misconduct in the future.

Amounts of Damage Awards

There is a wide range of settlement amounts possible in a neurological injury case, ranging from the thousands to millions of dollars. The amount that you receive will depend on the circumstances of the case and factors that include:

• The extent, seriousness, and permanence of your injuries and whether you will need continuing care
• Your actual costs for medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage
• Your age, family situation, and earning capacity
• The availability of insurance and assets to go toward a settlement
• The inclination of a particular judge and jury
• Whether a wrongful death was involved.

The skill of your attorney in negotiating, building, and presenting your case is also a factor, so contact our neurological injury lawyers today.

Nerve Damage after a Car Accident

Traumatic brain injury, which is one kind of physical damage that produces neurological problems, occurs in 14.3 percent of all motor vehicle crashes, according to the CDC. Such crashes are the most common reason for TBI hospitalization among those aged 15 to 44 and the leading cause of death for those aged 5 to 24.

But TBI is only one kind of neurological injury that produces symptoms and difficulties. Injuries that involve the nerves themselves without direct damage to the brain are the focus of this article.

How Are Nerves Damaged?

In a car accident, injuries often depend upon the speed and the type of impact forces involved. In physics, force equals mass times acceleration. Therefore, the faster you are going, the more severe the crash is likely to be. Impact forces depend on the mass of the vehicles involved and directional factors, such as whether it is a head-on crash or one that twists your body and head. If you’ve been involved in a car accident in Indiana, it’s crucial to seek guidance from an experienced Indiana car accident attorney to secure the compensation you deserve.

Basically, nerves can be damaged in three ways:

• Severed: Nerves that are sliced in two can be severed from all contact with the nervous system and no longer operate.
• Crushed or compressed: Nerves can no longer work properly because of forces that acted upon them.
• Stretched: Forces that elongate a nerve, injuring it, can mean the nerve no longer functions properly.

In a car crash, the common neurological injuries are:

• Whiplash, involving a severe wrenching of the head and neck. Nerves can be stretched or compressed.
• Blunt force trauma involves striking a body part on a hard surface, which can crush or compress nerves.
• Lacerations, which can mean a cut deep enough to sever nerves.

Type of Neurological Damage: Peripheral Neuropathy

The peripheral nervous system consists of the nerves connected to your spinal cord (central nervous system) and brain. That means just about all of your body—your hands, feet, arms, legs, face, mouth, and even your internal organs—are part of the system. We could not perform everyday tasks if it were not for the peripheral nervous system.

Any kind of neuropathy, or nerve damage, can be produced by accidents and by repetitive motion injuries. Car crashes can certainly leave you suffering from neuropathy (chronic nerve pain), especially peripheral neuropathy, due to a nerve or nerve bundle that has been compressed, crushed, or stretched by external forces. Broken bones, or dislocations, can also be the reason for nerve compression and damage.

Symptoms of peripheral neuropathy include:

• A feeling of pressure or compression, like wearing a tight sock or glove
• Tingling or numbness
• Sharp, stabbing pain
• Weakness or heaviness in your arms or legs
• Feelings of “shocks,” or a buzzing sensation
• Dropping things in your hands on a regular basis
• Various digestive difficulties, including constipation and diarrhea
• Sexual dysfunction (often in men)
• Thinning of the skin.

When you suffer from peripheral neuropathy, your nerves can send pain signals where there is no painful stimulus, or they might not send a pain signal when something is truly wrong. Treatments include pain relief and, with some injuries, can include surgical repair.

Cervical and Lumbar Radiculopathy

The compression or irritation of a nerve in the spot where it connects to the spine is called radiculopathy, and it is not a specific condition so much as a general descriptor of the nerves not working correctly. Radiculopathy causes tingling, numbness, pain, and weakness all along the path of the nerve. The disorder can occur anywhere on the spine, with any connecting nerve point, depending on the injury.

This condition is sometimes called a “pinched nerve.” Pain radiates from the source at the spine and can feel as if it originates in a different bodily location. Thus, whether it’s lumbar radiculopathy causing discomfort all the way down a leg or cervical radiculopathy extending pain to your fingers, consulting with an experienced Indiana spinal cord injury lawyer becomes crucial.

After a car accident, radiculopathy is generally found in the neck (cervical) or lower back (lumbar); it is less commonly found in the middle back (thoracic).

Radiculopathies are usually treated with combinations of anti-inflammatory drugs such as corticosteroids, non-steroidal pain relievers (ibuprofen or naproxen), and physical therapy. Sometimes steroids are delivered by epidural injection, into the space above the membrane surrounding the spinal cord. Physical therapy often means traction, gentle movement, and exercises. Occasionally, surgery may be called for.

Symptoms to Watch for Post-Crash

Perhaps you were in an auto accident—maybe even a pretty serious one—and yet you walked away. You felt okay, basically. But a day or two or seven later, you are suffering. Certain injury signs may not appear until after an accident, sometimes long afterward. If you or someone you love was recently in a car crash, and initially felt okay but now feels terrible, you might want to check this list of symptoms:

• Headaches can develop days after a crash. As with any headache that develops suddenly, you should seek medical attention. It could be caused by serious injury or a blood clot.
• Neck or shoulder stiffness and pain. The symptoms of whiplash, which can be serious, often are delayed.
• Back pain. Reasons for lower back pain can be injuries to ligaments, muscles, or nerves. In rear-impact or side-impact crashes, lower back pain is especially common after an accident.
• Numbness, or the loss of feeling in extremities, which can be another sign of whiplash or damage to the spine.
• Abdominal swelling or pain can indicate internal injuries and bleeding. Deep bruising, along with dizziness or fainting, can also indicate internal injuries. Such a condition is life-threatening and requires emergency medical attention.
• Inability to function physically at a normal level, or changes to personality. If you have symptoms of vision, hearing, movement, or memory problems, difficulty reasoning things out, or personality changes including depression, seek help. It could be a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Consider consulting with an Indianapolis brain injury lawyer to navigate the legal aspects and seek appropriate compensation for your situation.
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often occurs after a crash. Symptoms include vivid memories, nightmares, and sudden crying for no apparent reason. Children are especially vulnerable to PTSD. Seek help should you suspect that you or a loved one is suffering from it.

Call Our Nerve Damage and Peripheral Neuropathy Lawyer

If you were in a serious crash, and you were not at fault, it is critical to have a knowledgeable and trustworthy legal professional representing you. The neurological injury lawyers at Stephenson Rife bring the full weight of our 30+ years of experience and substantial financial resources to bear on each case we handle. We know the laws and the system, and are fully prepared to fight for optimum compensation that covers all your losses.

Be aware that there are time limits for filing. Indiana has a statute of limitations for most personal injury claims. According to law, Indiana Code (IC) 34-11-2-4(3), you must file a claim within two years from the date of the accident or the courts will not hear your case. In addition, evidence tends to disappear, and memories of witnesses fade over time.

So do not delay. Call the personal injury lawyers at Stephenson Rife today at (317) 680-2501 for your free, no-obligation consultation and move toward the compensation you deserve.