Nerve damage resulting from a car accident can cause serious physical and mental suffering to those affected, and in some cases, can even result in a temporary or permanent disability. When filing a personal injury claim for nerve damage, you may be unsure of what to expect from your potential settlement and whether you will recover damages to cover the costs of your pain and suffering and medical bills.
The settlement amount you receive for your car accident claim will depend on several factors, and there is generally no average settlement amount for these types of cases. Our law firm has dealt with many nerve damage settlements, and we have experience getting our clients the compensation they are owed for their nerve injuries. At The Law Place, we offer a free consultation for you to get honest legal advice from a personal injury lawyer from our firm regarding your case. We will do everything in our power to ensure that you get a fair settlement for nerve damage resulting from a car accident.
Call our law firm today to schedule a free consultation at (941) 444-4444. Our phone lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
What Are Nerve Damage Injuries?
Your nervous system has responsibility for controlling all of your body’s functions, and all of your body’s nerves make up this system. They constantly carry out a wide range of functions throughout your body, including sensing your body temperature, regulating your breathing, and controlling how your muscles move. The three main nerves in your body are:
- Sensory nerves.
- Motor nerves.
- Autonomic nerves.
If these nerves are damaged, it can significantly impact your body’s ability to function. When a car accident happens, your nerves may be compressed, stretched, pinched, spliced, or crushed, resulting in serious pain and suffering and, in some cases, permanent damage. Severe nerve damage can not only cause physical pain but can also have a huge impact on your ability to participate in normal life.
Common Symptoms of Nerve Damage Injuries
If you have suffered nerve damage from a car accident, such as a compressed or pinched nerve, you may experience the following symptoms:
- Twitching.
- Spasms.
- Severe pain.
- Burning.
- Tingling.
- Weakness.
- Lack of bladder control.
- Dizziness.
- Permanent paralysis.
- Sensitivity.
- Sweating heavily or an inability to sweat.
- Muscle atrophy.
Nerve damage severity can vary, but it is important that you seek medical attention as soon as possible if you are experiencing any of the above symptoms. An experienced medical practitioner can assess your nerve injuries and determine what type of medical care you may require.
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Degrees of Nerve Damage Injuries
Typically, nerve damage is divided into three categories, depending on the severity of the damage. The severity of nerve damage can vary from being fully recoverable to causing permanent damage. When you’re filing a personal injury lawsuit, it can be difficult to quantify nerve damage, so you can include in your claim the category of nerve damage you have sustained, which could be one of the following:
- Neurapraxia – This is the least severe type of nerve damage, and it is possible for the nerves to fully recover. Generally, with neurapraxia, the structure of the nerve remains intact.
- Axonotmesis – If you have suffered axonotmesis, your nerve structure will have been compromised, meaning it is possible to recover, but you will likely be permanently paralyzed or physically impaired for a long period of time.
- Neurotmesis – This is the worst type of nerve damage, and it occurs when the nerves are completely severed. If this happens, the victim will be permanently injured, and recovery from this is unlikely. If you suffered neurotmesis in a car accident, your potential financial recovery would be high.
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How Much Compensation Can I Recover in a Nerve Injury Settlement?
If you have suffered nerve damage in a car accident, you may be wondering how much compensation you can recover through an insurance claim or a lawsuit and whether there is an average settlement for these cases. Just like all personal injury cases, however, the amount of financial recovery available to you will depend on a number of factors, including the severity of your injuries, the level of fault of the other party, and how much your insurance policy is worth.
If you have sustained serious nerve damage, the amount of compensation you can recover will be much higher than if your injuries were minor. For example, if you require physical therapy for the rest of your life due to your nerve damage, a personal injury attorney can ensure that you recover medical bills to cover the entire cost of your treatment, thus increasing your car accident settlement massively.
We recommend that you speak with one of our personal injury lawyers from our firm to figure out how much your nerve damage settlement may be worth and what damages you may be able to claim to maximize the amount of compensation you recover.
From the initial call to updates on your case status, we are here to get you answers.
What Damages Can I Recover in a Personal Injury Case?
The only way to recover compensation in a car accident settlement is to file for damages, and the amount of money you receive will depend on what damages you can file for. Some of the damages our lawyers can help you claim for nerve injuries include:
- Medical costs – You can claim compensation for any medical care resulting from your nerve damage, including bills for hospital appointments, transport to and from these appointments, and bills for future medical care.
- Lost wages – If you have been left unable to work due to your nerve damage, you can file for damages to cover the costs of any wages you’ve lost, including any potential future earnings.
- Property damage – Aside from your nerve damage, if your vehicle was injured in a car accident, you can claim compensation to cover repair or replacement costs.
Trying to recover damages for car accidents can be difficult, particularly if you are dealing with difficult insurance companies or if it is difficult to quantify the harm you have suffered, which is often the case with nerve damage cases. A car accident lawyer can help ensure that you get justice and that the compensation you recover adequately reflects the harm you have suffered.
Pain and Suffering Damages
As nerve damage cases typically result in long-lasting injuries, victims often have to file for pain and suffering damages to compensate for the emotional and physical harm they have suffered. Essentially, pain and suffering damages account for the trauma, distress, and physical anguish you may suffer as a result of a car accident, including a lack of enjoyment in life and an inability to participate in hobbies that you previously enjoyed.
If you have been permanently disabled, disfigured, or suffer chronic pain due to nerve damage, you will be unable to recover compensation for this through economic damages, as it is difficult to quantify this pain in monetary value. By making a claim for non-economic damages, or pain and suffering damages, you can ensure that you get justice for the harm you have suffered and that your car accident settlement adequately reflects this.
How Do I Recover Compensation for Car Accidents?
Car accident victims are often unsure how they can go about getting compensation for the injuries and harm they have suffered. Firstly, if you have been involved in a car accident in Florida, you are required to report it to your insurance company immediately. The law requires that all drivers have personal injury protection (PIP) of at least $10,000, in addition to property damage coverage of the same value in order to legally operate a motor vehicle on the roads.
As Florida is a no-fault state, your insurance company will cover the costs of any personal injury you have suffered, up to the extents of your own policy. However, if the costs of recovery for your injury exceed $10,000, or if your injury is classed as permanent, you will have to file a lawsuit to recover the damages.
Generally, as nerve damage is permanent, a nerve damage accident victim will have to file a lawsuit against the negligent driver or their insurance company to cover the costs of their harm. Lawsuits can be lengthy and difficult, particularly without the help of a lawyer, which is why we recommend that you contact us today at our law firm for a free case review about your case.
Do I Need a Personal Injury Lawyer for Car Accident Cases?
Florida law does not require that you hire a lawyer to make an insurance claim or to file a lawsuit. However, studies have shown that having the backing of an injury attorney increases your chances of recovering compensation if you have suffered damage from a car crash and that, on average, the settlement you receive will be much higher.
Getting compensated for the pain and suffering you have endured due to a serious injury or nerve damage from a car crash can be difficult, and often the insurance companies involved are reluctant to pay you out damages. You will have to prove that the other driver owed you a duty of care, that they breached this duty of care, that the driver’s negligence resulted in you suffering harm, and that you suffered damages as a result in order to win your case.
Doing this alone can be difficult, which is why we recommend that you seek legal assistance as soon as possible if you have suffered nerve damage from a car accident. Florida’s statute of limitations states that you have four years since the date of the auto accident to file an injury claim. However, acting fast in these situations is important and will give you a better chance at getting the compensation you are owed for your injuries.
Contact The Law Place Today
It is difficult to know what to expect from a car accident settlement for nerve damage, and as noted above, the amount of money you can recover from a settlement will depend on numerous factors. Car accidents can be stressful, particularly if you have suffered severe damage that impacts your ability to participate in normal life.
Our law firm recommends that you seek legal advice immediately if you have sustained nerve damage from a car accident, as navigating Florida’s legal system alone can be stressful. At The Law Place, we offer a free consultation meaning you can speak to a lawyer with no strings attached.
For a free legal consultation, call us today at (941) 444-4444. Our phone lines are open 24/7.
