Compensation for nerve damage after a car accident

Nerve damage injuries following car accidents can be particularly serious and can have a significant effect on your life. If you have suffered nerve damage following a road traffic accident as a result of someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation. Whether the nerve damage was caused by the road traffic accident itself or medical negligence following the accident, you should think about making a personal injury claim.

 

What should I do after suffering nerve damage?

 

After suffering nerve damage, there are a number of important steps that you must take in order to strengthen your nerve damage compensation claim.

 Following a car accident that has resulted in nerve damage, we advise that you gather evidence of the accident. This could include taking photographs of the scene or collecting CCTV footage of the accident if this is available. If there were any witnesses to the accident, we also advise that you collect witness statements from them, describing how the accident unfolded.

You should also seek medical treatment as soon as possible after the car accident. Not only is this important to do in order to treat your injuries, but recording details of the incident and injuries suffered in official medical records will significantly strengthen your personal injury claim.

It must be noted that it is also important to keep receipts and other evidence of the costs that you have incurred as a result of the nerve damage that you have suffered. This will help when claiming compensation in the form of special damages. Special damages awarded will cover the cost of medical treatment, the cost of travel, the cost of care, and other costs incurred as a direct result of the nerve damage.

 

What are the common types of nerve damage?

 

There are many different types of nerve damage. One of the most common types of nerve damage occurs when the peripheral nerves become damaged. Peripheral neuropathy develops when nerves in the body’s extremities – the hands, feet and arms – become damaged. The symptoms that a claimant will experience as a result of peripheral neuropathy will depend on the type of nerve that has been damaged.

The peripheral nervous system is the network of nerves that are outside of the central nervous system. The nerves that lie outside of the central nervous system include the sensory nerves, the autonomic nerves, and the motor nerves. When one of these types of nerves becomes damaged, peripheral neuropathy will occur.

If this nerve damage was caused by the negligent actions of another person, you may be entitled to claim compensation. In the case of road users, every road user owes a duty of care to other drivers and pedestrians.

If a driver fails to exercise the standard of care required of them, by driving recklessly and causing you harm for example, they will have failed to fulfil their duty of care towards you. As a result of their negligent actions, you will be able to bring a personal injury claim against them.

 

What are the symptoms of nerve damage?

 

The main symptoms of nerve damage can include numbness or tingling in the hands or feet, a burning or stabbing pain in the affected area, a loss of balance or coordination and muscle weakness. Such symptoms can be continuous or may come and go. If the nerves of the cardiovascular system have been damaged, a person’s heart rate and blood pressure can be affected. In such cases, the claimant may experience light-headedness as a result of the fluctuations in blood pressure when sitting or standing.

If you are experiencing any symptoms of nerve damage, it is important to seek medical treatment as soon as possible. Additionally, if your nerve damage has been caused by a car accident that was someone else’s fault, get in touch with one of our personal injury specialist solicitors today to discuss your claim for compensation.

 

What should I do after being involved in a car accident?

 

After being involved in an accident, it is easy for drivers to forget what to do in the immediate moment of shock following the accident. Following an accident, it is important to remain calm and to take the following steps.

It is a legal requirement to stop at the scene of an accident. Therefore, if it is possible to do so, it is important that you pull over safely and turn on your hazard lights to warn other road users.

If anyone is injured, it is also essential that you seek medical treatment immediately. We advise that you call an ambulance and begin by reporting the incident to them. They will dispatch the appropriate services to the scene of the car accident to best assist you.

After the car accident, it is also important to exchange insurance details with anyone else that was involved. You must provide your name, address, phone number, contact details, and registration number with anyone else involved.

Although it is very easy to apologise or admit fault in the emotional moment immediately after an accident, it is important to remember not to do so. It is the role of the insurance company to determine who is at fault.

 

What if the car accident that caused my nerve damage was my own fault?

 

If you were at fault in a car accident, your driving insurance company will cover the costs of providing damages to the other driver and any passengers that were involved in the car accident. If the other driver or passengers suffered a personal injury, your insurance company will pay the damages of their personal injury compensation claim, provided that their personal injury claim is successful.

As a result of being at fault, you could lose your no claims discount and may have to pay the excess on your driving insurance policy. This will depend on the details and terms of your insurance policy.

If both drivers were at fault in the car accident, your claim will not be barred. Instead, the amount of compensation awarded will be reduced to reflect your contribution to your own injuries. This is called contributory negligence.

 

What are the consequences of nerve damage?

 

When determining the amount of compensation that you may be awarded, it is important to assess how long the symptoms of nerve damage last for. In some cases, the nerve damage may resolve itself over time. In these cases, the amount of compensation awarded will reflect the relatively shorter amount of time that the claimant has had to suffer from their damaged nerve.

In other cases, however, the nerve damage may be irreparable, leading to a much longer time of suffering for the claimant. The damages awarded in this situation will not only reflect the permanent damage and loss of function suffered, but it will also reflect the possible effect that such permanent damage may have on the claimant’s mental health.

It is difficult to assess how severe the nerve damage is without there being an assessment carried out by a medical professional. As mentioned, we therefore advise that you seek medical treatment as soon after the car accident that caused the damaged nerve as possible.

 

What is the claims process?

 

Our specialist solicitors will help you during every stage of your compensation claim. Your personal injury claim will begin with an initial consultation with one of our specialist solicitors. Here, you will be asked to provide details of the car accident that led to the nerve damage, including the date, time, and circumstances surrounding the accident. You will also be asked to provide evidence of the nerve damage that you have sustained, as well as the details of anyone who witnessed the accident.

Provided that you are happy to proceed with the personal injury claim, a personal injury solicitor will then provide you with some paperwork to fill out about your personal injury claim. Once this paperwork has been completed, your personal injury solicitor will contact the defendant – the other person who was involved in the car accident and who was responsible for causing the nerve damage that you have sustained. Your personal injury solicitor will notify the defendant about the claim being brought against them.

If the defendant admits liability, negotiations for an appropriate settlement fee can commence. Negotiations will be done directly with the defendant’s driving insurance company, as they will be the ones who provide the funding for the compensation that you may be awarded. If the defendant driver does not accept liability for your injuries, court proceedings will be pursued.

 

How much compensation can I claim for?

 

The amount of compensation for nerve damage after a car accident that you will be awarded will depend on the severity of the nerve damage that you have suffered and the subsequent duration of the suffering that you have had to endure. As aforementioned, a medical expert’s evaluation of the nerve damage will help when calculating an accurate compensation figure.

Provided that your personal injury compensation claim is successful, general damages will be awarded to compensate for the pain and suffering that you have had to endure as a result of the nerve damage. General damages will also compensate for the loss of amenity caused by the injuries sustained in the car accident.

Special damages will also be awarded to compensate for actual financial loss that you have suffered as a result of being involved in the car accident. This could include the loss of earnings due to needing to take time off work, or due to being left unable to work. This could also include the cost of medical treatment, and the cost of ongoing care if this is required following the car accident.

As the amount of compensation awarded depends on the severity and duration of suffering, we recommend that you contact one of our specialist solicitors today to discuss your personal injury claim in more detail, where a more accurate compensation figure could be provided.

 

How much does a personal injury claim for compensation cost?

 

At Beacon Law, we operate using a ‘no win, no fee’ agreement for all personal injury claims. Put simply, if your claim is unsuccessful, you will not be required to pay any legal costs.

If your claim is successful, you will be charged success fees. You will also be required to cover other legal costs if your claim is successful. For example, the defendant driver will only be required to contribute towards your legal costs. Therefore, depending on what your personal injury solicitor charges, you will be required to pay the outstanding legal fees.

Do not worry, however, about all of your compensation being taken up by legal fees if your claim is successful. The amount that your personal injury solicitor will be able to take from the value of compensation awarded will be limited to 25%.

 

How Beacon Law can assist you

 

At Beacon Law, we have a team of personal injury claims solicitors who have years of experience dealing with road traffic accident claims resulting in nerve damage. Whilst pursuing compensation for nerve damage after a car accident, Beacon Law can be your source of support and will endeavour to recover the amount of compensation that you deserve.

After being unfortunate enough to have suffered an injury as painful and frustrating as nerve damage, we believe that you should have access to the best medical care and support available. Due to our association with medical professionals, we are able to provide you with private physiotherapy and rehabilitative treatment to assist you when recovering from the nerve damage that you have sustained.

Beacon Law values each client that we work with; we listen carefully to our client’s wishes and will work to support you through this difficult time. If you are planning to claim compensation for nerve damage after a car accident, contact one of our specialist personal injury solicitors today to begin the claims process. You can use our contact form or call 0330 1332 857.