Compensation for nerve damage after a car accident guide
Have you been wondering whether you may be eligible to claim compensation for nerve damage after a car accident? Suffering nerve damage in a road traffic accident can cause significant pain and suffering, but compensation can help you get your life back.
The central nervous system is made up of the brain and the spinal cord. Here is where the functions of the body are controlled. Our nervous system controls everything from muscle movement to controlling our body temperature. Nerve damage can range from severe to minor, but all severities can have an impact on quality of life
Suffering this type of injury can severely affect your quality of life. You may be wary of making a personal injury claim but compensation is there to help you get back on track. You can contact our team of advisers to check if you may be able to claim compensation for nerve damage after a car accident.
How Car Accident Nerve Damage Settlements Are Calculated
Our friendly team of advisers are available 24 hours a day to offer free legal advice and assess how much compensation you may be able to claim. If your claim is valid, they can connect you to an expert personal injury solicitor to discuss No Win No Fee agreements with you.
You can contact our team of advisers by:
- Calling them on 0800 073 8801 to have a chat about your situation.
- Putting your information into our online claims form to receive a response whenever you’re next available.
- Talking with an adviser via our live chat pop-up box to receive a reply instantly.
Select A Section
- A Guide On Claiming Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident
- What Is Nerve Damage After A Car Accident?
- What Are The Three Types Of Nerves?
- Forms Of Nerve Damage You Could Suffer
- Types Of Injury To Nerves
- How To Treat Nerve Damage After A Car Accident
- Signs Of Nerve Damage After A Car Accident
- Calculating Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident
- Compensation For Expenses And Other Damages
- No Win No Fee Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident
- Why Choose Us When Claiming Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident?
- Begin Your Case
- Learn More
- How Safe Are The UK’s Roads?
- FAQs On Nerve Damage Injury Claims
A Guide On Claiming Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident
To begin with, this guide will look at what nerve damage after a car accident is and what the three types of nerves are. Next, there’ll be a section discussing the different forms of nerve damage you could suffer.
There will then be sections exploring the types of nerve injuries and treatment of nerve damage after a car accident. Moreover, the article will explain the signs of nerve damage and how to spot it.
Furthermore, there’ll be a compensation table to show how much compensation some injuries may be valued. There will then be sections explaining what special damages compensate for and how a No Win No Fee agreement works.
Additionally, there’ll be some road traffic accident statistics to show how common injuries are on the motorway in Great Britain. Finally, there’ll be some further guides and FAQ’s to offer you as much information and advice as possible.
What Is Nerve Damage After A Car Accident?
Nerve damage can be caused by road traffic accidents if the nerve is compressed, cut or crushed. Crushing injuries in road traffic accidents could happen easily as cars are compact areas and there isn’t much space for the body to move. If a car crashes into the back of another car, the driver could jolt forward and crush a body part, such as a leg.
The medical term for nerve damage is peripheral neuropathy. The NHS states that almost 1 in 10 people aged above 55 in the UK are affected by this. The brain and spinal cord are extremely important in our body’s functioning, so nerve damage can greatly affect a person’s quality of life.
If you’ve suffered nerve damage in a car accident, you can contact our team of advisers for free legal advice. If you have a legitimate claim, they can connect you to a personal injury solicitor to talk with you about No Win No Fee agreements.
What Are The Three Types Of Nerves?
The three types of nerves within the body are:
Motor Nerves
The motor nerves control the muscles in our body. It sends motor signals from the central nervous system to the body’s muscles. Damage here can make movement difficult and the body’s muscles may become stiff and painful.
Autonomic Nerves
Autonomic nerves are extremely important as they regulate our heart rate, digestion, respiratory system, sexual arousal and bladder function. If there’s damage to our autonomic nerves, some of our most important bodily functions can be affected.
Sensory Nerves
The sensory nerves are responsible for our sensors such as touch and pain.
Forms Of Nerve Damage You Could Suffer
Here are some forms of nerve damage that you could suffer:
Herniated Disc Injuries
A herniated disc (also known as a slipped disc) is when the tissue in between the spinal bones protrudes. If it presses on nerves, it’s often painful. However, a severe herniated disc injury can prevent nerve impulses and cause permanent nerve damage.
Whiplash Injuries
Whiplash is usually caused by a sudden movement of the head. It’s often caused by road traffic accidents. Severe cases of whiplash can sometimes result in the spinal nerve roots becoming inflamed or compressed. This can cause symptoms such as weakness, tingling, and numbness in the shoulder, hand, fingers and arm.
Pinched Nerves
Compression can result in a pinched nerve. This can cause a disruption of the nerves functioning. The symptoms of a pinched nerve can be numbness, tingling and weakness.
Types Of Injury To Nerves
Here are the three most common types of nerve damage:
- Neuropraxia – This is a mild type of peripheral nerve injury.
- Axonotmesis – This is where the surrounding tissue and axon are injured. This is a moderate nerve injury.
- Neurotmesis – This is the most severe type of nerve damage. Both the connecting tissue and the axon are damaged. This is when the nerve ruptures.
If you’d like to discuss claiming compensation for nerve damage after a car accident, our team of advisers are available 24/7 to offer free legal advice. They can have a chat with you about your situation and advise you on the next appropriate steps and whether you may be able to make a personal injury claim.
How To Treat Nerve Damage After A Car Accident
After any car accident, it is highly recommended that you are looked over by a medical professional even if you are not in pain as you may have suffered damage that you are not aware of yet.
If the doctor suspects nerve damage they may order an X-ray and MRI scans. These will produce clear images of your bones and an MRI to look beyond this. They can help to detect herniated discs, pinched nerves or other nerve injuries. Furthermore, nerve damage can be diagnosed using electromyography (EMG) tests that record electrical activity in the muscles.
With mild nerve damage, it’s unlikely you’ll need surgery. In this case, full recovery may take a number of months or years. You may be left with permanent nerve damage for the foreseeable.
Your doctor may prescribe painkillers or other medication if you experience pain due to nerve damage.
In more severe cases, surgery may be necessary to treat the nerve injury. If the damaged nerve is completely severed and cut, your surgeon can remove the damaged nerve and connect the remaining functioning nerves.
Our team of advisers are available 24 hours a day and would be happy to explore whether you may be able to claim compensation for nerve damage after a car accident. If your claim is legitimate, they can connect you to a personal injury solicitor to discuss your case.
Signs Of Nerve Damage After A Car Accident
Now we’ve looked at the diagnosis and treatment of nerve damage, let’s look at the signs of nerve damage after a car accident. Here are some common signs of damage to sensory nerves, autonomic nerves and motor nerves:
Signs Of Damage To Sensory Nerves
Here are some common symptoms of sensory nerve damage:
- Sensitivity
- Pain
- Numbness
- Burning
- Prickling
- Tingling
Signs Of Damage To Autonomic Nerves
Hee is some typical signs of autonomic nerve damage:
- Diarrhoea
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Inability to swallow easily
- Heartburn
- Feeling full quickly
Signs Of Damage To Motor Nerves
Here are some signs of motor nerve damage:
- Cramps that are painful
- Shrinking of muscles
- Visible muscle twitching that’s uncontrollable
- Weak muscles
You should seek medical help immediately if you’ve experienced these signs.
Calculating Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident
Not everyone who suffers nerve damage after a car accident will be eligible to make a personal injury claim. The onus is on the claimant to prove they have been injured because a duty of care that was owed to them was breached. You would have to prove that another road user or third party was responsible for your accident.
Some articles may include a personal injury claims calculator to show how much compensation you may be able to claim for your injury. However, this guide instead includes a compensation table to show how much compensation some injuries may be worth.
The figures in the table below are the latest figures from the Judicial College Guidelines JC. This publication is often used when valuing injuries. However, please note that the table is purely for example purposes and the figures may change.
| Injury: | Notes: | Compensation: |
|---|---|---|
| Back Injuries | Severe (i). Spinal cord and nerve roots damage resulting in severe disability and pain. | £85,470 to £151,070 |
| Back Injuries | Moderate (i). Crush or compression fracture of the lumbar vertebrae with constant pain and a significant risk of osteoarthritis. | £26,050 to £36,390 |
| Hand Injuries | Serious Injury to the Thumb. The tip of the thumb may be amputated. Fracture or nerve damage may require wires to be inserted into the thumb. | £11,820 to £15,740 |
| Hand Injuries | Moderate Injuries to the Thumb. Injuries that require arthrodesis of the interphalangeal joint or that cause nerve damage. | £9,080 to £11,820 |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | Severe. The person won’t be able to work at all and every part of their life will be affected significantly. | £56,180 to £94,470 |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | Moderately Severe. Significant long-term disability but with a high possibility of recovery. | £21,730 to £56,180 |
The above table shows general damages. These are awarded for pain and suffering caused by the injury. If you make a successful claim you can be awarded two types of damages. These are general and special damages. The awarded bracket for the above figures is based on the severity of the injury and how long it takes to recover.
The physical and mental effect the injury has had on you is compensated by general damages. For example, you may develop post-traumatic stress disorder due to how traumatic the accident and injury were.
Special damages provide compensation for the financial loss you’ve suffered due to your injury. However, it’s difficult to claim special damages if you don’t provide evidence of the financial impact the injury’s had on you.
Compensation For Expenses And Other Damages
Special damages compensate for the financial loss you’ve experienced due to your injuries. Here are some examples of how your injuries may have impacted you and the types of evidence you could provide throughout your claim:
- Loss of earnings – If your injuries required you to take off work whilst recovering, you may have suffered a loss of earnings. You could show payslips as evidence to prove your pay deduction.
- Care costs – You may have had to pay out of pocket to hire a carer to look after you whilst you recovered from your injuries. Alternatively, you may have had to hire a carer to look after a family member you usually care for but couldn’t whilst recovering. An example of evidence you could use to prove this is bank statements.
- Travel costs – Did you pay out of pocket when travelling to and from medical appointments for your injury? If so, you may be able to prove this by showing bus tickets or bank statements showing what you paid.
- Prescription medication – If you paid for prescription medication for your injury, you may be entitled to special damages compensation. An example of evidence you could use to prove this expense could be the prescriptions and your bank statements.
You can contact our team of advisers for free legal advice. They can assess how much compensation you may be entitled to and connect you to an expert personal injury solicitor if you have a valid claim.
No Win No Fee Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident
A No Win No Fee agreement is also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement. It’s a contractual agreement between you and your personal injury solicitor stating that you don’t have to pay your solicitors fees if your case loses.
If your case is successful, your lawyer will deduct a legally capped, small percentage of your compensation. This percentage is based on the amount of work your solicitor has done.
There’s little to lose with a No Win No Fee agreement and a range of financial benefits. Why wait to discuss your case? Our team of advisers would be happy to have a chat with you about your situation and discuss whether you can make a personal injury claim.
Why Choose Us When Claiming Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident?
It’s completely your choice which personal injury solicitor you decide to work with. Or whether you work with a solicitor at all. However, It’s important to find a solicitor who fits your needs best. Therefore, it may not be beneficial to only search for lawyers in your area.
Our personal injury solicitors work with claimants all across the country helping them receive the maximum amount of compensation they deserve. They’re empathetic and professional when handling personal injury claims and always put the claimants needs first.
You can contact our friendly team of advisers today to have a chat about your situation. If you have a valid claim, they can connect you to an experienced personal injury solicitor to discuss No Win No Fee agreements with you and assess the most compensation you may be able to claim.
Begin Your Case
Our team of advisers are available around the clock to get to know more about you and your situation. They can offer a helping hand by giving you free legal advice and exploring whether you can make a personal injury claim. Afterwards, they can connect you to a personal injury solicitor for your claim.
Our solicitors know the best ways to help you gather evidence to support your claim and how to support you whilst you recover from your injuries.
If you’d like to get in touch, you can contact our team of advisers via:
- Telephone on 0800 073 8801 to explore whether you can make a claim.
- Our live chat instant pop-up box to chat with an adviser straight away.
- Our online claims form to receive a response at your earliest availability.
Learn More
Cuts and Grazes – If you’ve suffered lacerations, cuts and grazes, this NHS guide explains the treatment for this.
Does My Cut Need Stitches? – If you’ve suffered a laceration and are wondering whether it may need stitches, this NHS guide can help.
Peripheral Neuropathy – This NHS guide explains important information and advice about nerve damage.
Wrongful Death Claim – If you’ve experienced a loved one passing away due to someone breaching their duty of care, our article explores whether you may be able to make a fatal accident claim.
Accident At Work Claims Guide – Have you suffered a workplace accident? Our article will discuss how you could make an accident at work claim.
Clinical And Medical Negligence Claims Guide – If you’ve experienced medical negligence, our article looks at how you may be able to make a clinical negligence claim.
How Safe Are The UK’s Roads?
The below table includes Department for Transport statistics taken from GOV.UK. It shows the number of reported road casualties of all severities on the motorway in Great Britain between 2018-2020.
As you can see, 2018 had the most amount of reported road casualties on the motorway in 2018, with 4,566. On the other hand, the least amount of reported road casualties were in 2020, with 2,581.
This shows that injuries of all severities on the motorway in Great Britain have decreased over the past 3 years.
Compensation For Nerve Damage After A Car Accident Guide
FAQs On Nerve Damage Injury Claims
How do you treat nerve damage?
As we are not medical professionals if you have suffered nerve damage after a car accident it is always recommended to seek medical advice.
How long does nerve damage takes to heal?
This will depend on the type of nerve damage you have suffered.
Who could be liable for my nerve damage?
The driver who was negligent will typically be liable for your nerve damage. To discuss claiming compensation for nerve damage after a car accident, you can contact our team of advisers today.
Thank you for reading our guide about receiving compensation for nerve damage after a car accident.
Guide by SN
Edited by MM.
