Car accidents are one of the most common causes of injury in Texas. Car accidents can result in a range of serious injuries, from broken bones to soft-tissue damage. One potential type of injury that can have lasting effects is nerve damage. If you experience nerve damage in an auto accident, you may be able to collect financial compensation for your related bills and losses.

How Can a Car Accident Cause Nerve Damage?

The nerves of the body make up the nervous system, which is responsible for transmitting signals and messages between the body and the brain. Nerves play a critical role in how the body moves, functions, and experiences sensations. There are sensory nerves, motor nerves, and autonomic nerves.

In an automobile accident, the force of the impact against various parts of the body could injure the nerves, such as causing damage to their structure from blunt-force trauma. Nerve damage can also arise as a secondary outcome of another type of injury, such as a herniated disk in the spine pressing against surrounding nerves.

Common Examples of Nerve Damage Caused By Auto Accidents

Nerve damage is classified into three basic types based on the severity of the injury. Neuropraxia is the mildest type, axonotmesis is a moderate nerve injury and neurotmesis is the most severe type of nerve damage.

Common types of car accident injuries that can result in nerve damage are:

  • Whiplash and other soft-tissue neck injuries
  • Spinal cord trauma
  • Herniated disks
  • Broken bones
  • Severe lacerations
  • Penetrating injuries

Nerves could suffer strains or tears in various parts of the body due to the forces of a car accident. Nerve damage can happen in a car accident that occurs at low or high speed. Even in a minor car crash, the impact forces can be enough to tear, stretch, or compress a victim’s nerves.

Symptoms of Nerve Damage After a Car Accident

Nerve damage can cause a variety of symptoms related to sensation or movement. If you experience any of the following in any part of your body after a car accident in San Antonio, you may have nerve damage:

  • A tingling or “pins and needles” sensation
  • A burning sensation
  • Chronic pain
  • Throbbing or acute pain
  • Numbness or loss of feeling
  • Heightened sensitivity to touch or temperatures
  • Lack of coordination or balance
  • Muscle weakness or atrophy
  • Paralysis, or the complete loss of muscle function and feeling

It is important to see a doctor after an automobile accident in Texas without delay for prompt injury diagnosis. Nerve damage may not be noticed immediately, especially if your adrenaline from the car accident is masking pain.

When to Contact a Car Accident Lawyer in Texas

In Texas, the car insurance system allows an injured accident victim to pursue financial compensation from the driver or party at fault. If a careless or reckless driver is to blame for your nerve injury, his or her car insurance policy can be used to pay for your related losses. Other parties, such as a vehicle manufacturer or the government, could also be responsible.

A San Antonio car accident attorney can help you prove your case against one or more parties and seek fair financial compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other losses associated with a nerve injury – including future foreseeable losses from permanent nerve damage. Your attorney will ensure you are treated fairly throughout your car accident case.