Kennewick Nerve Damage Lawyers
Tough representation for Tri-Cities when you suffer nerve injury in an accident
Nerve damage is a common injury in many types of personal injury accidents. Nerve damage can be hard to diagnose and harder to treat. Severe nerve damage can cause paralysis. Many Kennewick accident victims who suffer nerve damage live with a lifetime of chronic pain. This pain can prevent the victim from working, functioning, and enjoying his/her life. Many nerve injury victims work with a range of healthcare providers just to be able to get through their day with some degree of hope and comfort.
We work with your medical team and our network of doctors when nerve damage happens due to a personal injury accident. We want to know what’s causing the nerve damage, what can be done to treat it, and how the injury affects every part of your life. At Telaré Law, our Kennewick nerve damage lawyers represent victims of car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, medical malpractice, premises liability accidents, dog bites, and other types of negligence.
What is nerve damage?
Johns Hopkins Medicine states that “the peripheral nervous system is a network of 43 pairs of motor and sensory nerves that connect the brain and spinal cord (the central nervous system) to the entire human body.” The peripheral nervous system controls your sensations, movement, and motor abilities. Peripheral nerve injuries include:
- Brachial plexus injury
- Peroneal nerve injury (foot drop)
- Spinal accessory nerve injury
The peripheral nervous system includes the nerves that branch out from the brain and spinal cord – reaching out to the muscles, organs, and other parts of the body. The central nervous system includes the brain and the spinal cord.
What types of accidents cause nerve damage?
Common causes of nerve injuries include trauma, lacerations (cuts/tears of nerve tissue, contusions (severe bruising), traction, drug injection, injury, electrical injuries, and gunshot wounds. Trauma can be caused by most types of personal injury accidents including vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, slip and falls, construction accidents, nursing home abuse, bicycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, sports-related accidents, and other accidents.
According to the Mayo Clinic:
- “The most severe type of nerve injury is an avulsion, where the nerve roots are torn away from the spinal cord.
- Less severe injuries involve stretching of the nerve fibers or a rupture, where the nerve is torn into separate pieces.”
Nerves can be damaged through direct force (such as when a part of your body strikes a dashboard or window). Whiplash injuries can cause the nerves to become pinched or stretched as your head and neck suddenly move forward and backward.
Motorcycle accidents are especially likely to cause nerve damage because victims are often injured by the initial impact with another vehicle and then again when they strike the hard ground. The rider can then be dragged along the road for a good distance. In addition to nerve damage; riders may also suffer brain injuries, amputations, burn injuries, broken bones, road rash, and other severe injuries. Many riders suffer spinal cord damage.
What are the symptoms of nerve damage?
Symptoms of nerve injuries include intense pain, burning sensations, loss of sensation, tingling, dizziness, numbness, limb weakness, shoulder weakness, hand weakness, loss of motor control, and other types of pain. Peripheral nerve damage is categorized, using the Sunderland classification system, as anywhere from a first-degree (the least serious) injury to a fifth-degree injury. Surgeries such as nerve grafting and other procedures are normally required for fourth- and fifth-degree peripheral nerve injuries.
One of the most severe types of nerve injuries is a spinal accessory nerve injury:
The spinal accessory nerve is the 11th of 12 cranial nerves, which originate in the brain. It allows two sets of muscles in the neck to function: the sternomastoid muscles, which allow the head to tilt and rotate, and the trapezius muscles, which allow for several motions, such as shrugging the shoulder or moving the shoulder blades. The spinal accessory nerve can be damaged during trauma or even during surgery when surgeons are operating on lymph nodes or the jugular vein in the neck.
The treatments for this type of injury can range from physical therapy to nerve grafting, nerve regeneration, or tendon or muscle transfer.
How are nerve injuries diagnosed in Kennewick?
Peripheral and central nervous system damage may be diagnosed by electrical conduction tests that pass electrical currents through nerves. These tests include electromyography and nerve conduction velocity. Imaging tests include CT scans, MRIs, and an MRI neurography.
How is nerve damage treated in Kennewick?
Our Kennewick nerve damage lawyers understand that many types of nerve damage cannot be fully repaired. The best many nerve damage victims can do is to learn how to best cope with and manage their pain.
John Hopkins summarizes the possible treatments as follows:
- Non-surgical treatments. These treatments include medications, physical therapy, vocational therapy, orthotics, massage therapy, acupuncture, and weight loss.
- Surgical treatments. There are many different types of nerve surgery, performed by neurosurgeons, which can be very complicated. Possible surgeries for nerve damage include:
- Brachial plexus surgery
- Carpal tunnel surgery
- DREZ procedure
- Free muscle transfer
- Nerve repair or nerve graft
- Nerve entrapment surgery
- Nerve sheath tumor surgery
- Nerve transfer surgery
- Nerve transplant surgery
- Open decompression surgery
- Sensory nerve surgery (for meralgia paresthetica)
- Thoracic outlet syndrome surgery
How much is my nerve damage claim worth?
Our Kennewick nerve damage lawyers demand compensation for all your financial and personal damage. At the heart of most nerve damage claims is the likelihood that victims will live with pain every day of their lives. We demand the responsible individuals and companies for all your current and future:
- Medical expenses
- Income loss
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of function
- Loss of consortium of a spouse
- Property damage
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Other damages
In some cases, we may seek punitive damages.
Do you have a nerve damage lawyer near me?
Telaré Law meets personal injury victims at our office in Kennewick at 819 South Auburn St. We have another office in Richland. Our lawyers also make home and hospital visits for clients who are too ill or injured to travel to us. Video conferences may be possible.
We’ll answer all your questions, work with your doctors, and guide you through the claims process.
Need a Kennewick personal injury lawyer who understands nerve damage? Contact Team Telaré today
Telaré Law understands just how difficult your life is. Just reaching for a towel or sitting can hurt like the dickens. When the pain is multiplied for each motion, each stretch – every day of your life – the trauma is extreme. Telaré Law represents nerve damage injury victims in Kennewick, Richland, Pasco, Walla Walla, Pullman, Othello, Moses Lake, Ritzville, and all of Southeast Washington. Call our Kennewick attorneys now or use our contact form to schedule a free consultation.
