Clients often come to me with questions about injuries resulting from car accidents. The most common type of injury complaint that I see here in Mississippi is pinched nerves. There are a wide variety of factors that influence whether you will be compensated for a pinched nerve after an accident. One thing is critical to know—you will need to have experienced personal injury counsel help you attain your fair share of compensation from a car accident injury. Barrett Law has the experience to help you through this process. Contact us now at (800) 707-9577.
What is a Pinched Nerve?
A car accident involves a tremendous amount of trauma to the body. Swelling, broken bones, and contusions are a common, immediate effect. However, when the swelling goes down, bruises disappear, and the bones heal, other injuries can appear for the first time. That is because that trauma and prolonged swelling can result in nerves being compressed by a bone, a ligament, tendons, or soft tissue during the recovery process. While the initial injury may heal, the nerve pain persists. You may have heard of sciatica, which is the most common variety of pinched nerve. It is caused by the sciatic nerve, which runs down the back to the legs. A back injured in a car accident can turn into sciatica over time.
Recovering for Pinched Nerve Injuries after an Accident
Some injuries are clearly caused by the trauma of a car accident—broken limbs, bruises, cuts from broken glass. These are the easiest injuries to recover compensation for, as they have an obvious cause, the impact of your vehicle against some object. Pinched nerves, by comparison, are far less obvious in their origin. First, they often do not arise until weeks have passed, so they are not as closely linked to the accident in time. Second, sitting at a desk all day can also cause a pinched nerve, so their presence after an accident does not necessarily mean that they were caused by an accident. If you are seeking compensation for a pinched nerve, expect an opposing insurance company to claim that the condition was caused by your lifestyle and predated the accident.
The takeaway from all of this is that attaining a complete medical examination after an accident is critical. Even if you feel alright, it is important to get a benchmark against which subsequent injuries that arise can be measured. For example, if you have a medical exam and indicate that you do not have back or nerve pain at that time, it will be easier to prove that subsequent sciatica pain was caused by the accident and not some preexisting injury. This is vital if you hope to recover compensation for the pain you have experienced.
What Should You Do If You Were Injured?
Getting in a car accident can be traumatic and confusing. Even if you are not seriously injured, you should seek out medical attention. Hopefully, no serious nerve pain develops. But if you do suffer from subsequent nerve pain, contact an experienced personal injury attorney so that you can focus on yourself and on healing. Let experienced counsel take care of preserving medical records, dealing with worker’s compensation, attaining expert diagnoses, and dealing with insurance companies. These are important tasks that a personal injury attorney can handle for you.
Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered a workplace injury.
Barrett Law has the experience to take on defense attorneys and insurance companies that are focused on denying your compensation for the injury you experienced. Contact us now at (800) 707-9577.
