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Seattle Peripheral Nerve Damage Lawyers
Strong advocacy for Washington state catastrophic injury victims
Many victims with peripheral nerve damage hurt all the time. Peripheral nerve damage can affect your movement, your senses, and how your body functions. At Smith McBroom Injury and Accident Lawyers, we can hold drivers, property owners, doctors, and others responsible when their negligence causes peripheral nerve damage. We can also work with your physicians to understand just how physically and emotionally traumatic your peripheral nerve damage is.
Our Seattle catastrophic injury lawyers understand the long-term medical care and limitations that peripheral nerve damage causes. Contact us today to pursue compensation for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering.
How can we help?
- What is peripheral nerve damage?
- What types of negligence cause peripheral nerve damage?
- What are the symptoms of peripheral nerve damage?
- How do Seattle doctors diagnose peripheral nerve damage?
- What are the treatments for peripheral nerve damage?
- What are the possible complications of peripheral nerve damage?
- How does peripheral nerve damage affect a victim’s life?
- How much is my peripheral nerve damage claim worth?
- Do you have a Seattle peripheral nerve damage lawyer near me?
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What is peripheral nerve damage?
Your nervous system consists of the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. The Cleveland Clinic states that peripheral neuropathy is a broad term for nerve disorders outside your brain or spinal cord, outside the central nervous system.
Your nerves are made up of neurons that send and relay signals through your nervous system using electrical and chemical signals. Each neuron consists of the following: cell body, axons, dendrites, and myelin.
What types of negligence cause peripheral nerve damage?
At Smith McBroom Injury and Accident Lawyers, we handle peripheral nerve damage due to trauma and medical procedures, such as surgery. This type of peripheral nerve damage can be temporary, long-term, or permanent. Usually, one location is affected. Our Seattle lawyers handle peripheral nerve damage claims due to:
- Vehicle accidents
- Negligent security assaults
- Slip and fall accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Construction site accidents
- Product defects
Non-negligent causes of peripheral nerve damage include type 2 diabetes, alcohol abuse, vitamin and nutrient deficiencies, autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, medications, toxins, tumors, infections, circulatory disorders, leprosy, genetic conditions, and unknown/idiopathic reasons.
What are the symptoms of peripheral nerve damage?
Peripheral nerve damage can affect a single nerve, a group of connected nerves, or many nerves in multiple locations of your body. Your symptoms also depend on which nerve signals are affected.
Peripheral nerve damage symptoms generally fall into the following categories:
- Motor symptoms. These are commands from your brain to your muscles so you can move. Symptoms include:
- Muscle weakness and paralysis. Damage to connected muscles can cause paralysis.
- Muscle atrophy. The loss of a nerve connection can cause muscles to become smaller and weaken. This type of peripheral neuropathy commonly affects the feet, hands, and lower legs.
- Uncontrolled muscle movements. Sometimes, nerves that lose their connection to the brain because of peripheral neuropathy become hyperactive on their own, causing cramps.
- Sensory symptoms. Your peripheral nerves convert information about the outside world into nerve signals. Those signals then travel to your brain, which processes those signals into what you can sense of the world around you. Sensory symptoms of peripheral neuropathy include:
- Tingling
- Numbness
- Clumsiness and a lack of balance
- Pain
- Autonomic symptoms. These are functions that occur without thinking about them, such as digestion, blood pressure control, and sweating. Nerve disorders can prevent your body’s automatic processes from working properly. The symptoms may include:
- Changes in blood pressure, possibly sudden
- Too much or not enough sweating
- Bladder and bowel disorders
- Sexual dysfunction
- Other symptoms, including swelling, changes in skin color, changes in vision, and changes in the pupils of your eyes
How do Seattle doctors diagnose peripheral nerve damage?
Our Seattle peripheral nerve damage lawyers work with your doctors (and our network of doctors if necessary) to confirm the diagnosis and severity of your peripheral nerve damage. Possible diagnostic tests include:
- Taking an oral history of your health
- Asking you about recent and current symptoms
- Conducting a physical examination and a neurological examination to look for physical symptoms, sensory symptoms, difficulty walking, muscle weakness, and other symptoms
- Conducting lab, diagnostic, and imaging tests, including:
- Blood tests
- An electromyogram
- A nerve biopsy
- A nerve ultrasound
- An MRI test
- Genetic testing
What are the treatments for peripheral nerve damage?
The treatments vary depending on many different factors. Possible treatments include the following:
- Medications. Your physician may recommend different medications, including pills, injections, slow-release medications, and patches that stick to your skin.
- Surgery. Surgeons may work to reconnect cut nerves and relieve pain due to trapped nerves. They may also sever or remove damaged or malfunctioning nerves to keep their signals from reaching the brain and vice versa.
- Physical therapy. This type of rehabilitative therapy involves exercises and hands-on care to prevent falling, improve balance, and provide other benefits.
- Devices and wearable equipment. Walkers, canes, braces, and prescription footwear may help.
- Podiatry/foot care. Peripheral neuropathy often affects a victim’s feet, which can cause sores, infections, soft tissue changes, and bone changes.
- Other pain treatments. Other treatments may include acupuncture, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, injections, or the injection of a spinal cord stimulator.
What are the possible complications of peripheral nerve damage?
The possible complications and length of pain depend on your overall health, the cause of your peripheral nerve damage, and many other factors.
Temporary vs. permanent nerve damage
According to the Cleveland Clinic, peripheral neuropathy can be temporary or permanent. Peripheral neuropathy is more likely to be permanent if you have a chronic condition, such as a genetic condition, an autoimmune disease, or diabetes. The more nerves that are affected, the more nerve damage you’re likely to have.
How does peripheral nerve damage affect a victim’s life?
Generally, medications and other treatments should help with your pain symptoms. Motor and sensory symptoms can affect your ability to work and enjoy life. They can affect your balance, coordination, and movement. The pain and suffering can make it hard to enjoy family and friends. You may need to hire or ask for help. For severe nerve damage, such as paralysis, you may need to remodel your home and seek psychological help to cope with your disability.
The biggest concern with peripheral nerve damage is usually your autonomic symptoms, which involve your body’s vital functions.
How much is my peripheral nerve damage claim worth?
At Smith McBroom Injury and Accident Lawyers, we can consult with your physicians to understand the full scope and severity of your peripheral nerve damage. We may also consult with other professionals, such as your employer, to verify your financial damages.
Our Seattle catastrophic injury lawyers can seek compensation for all your past and future damages (if you have long-term or permanent peripheral nerve damage). These include the following:
- All your medical bills. These include emergency care, hospitalizations, physician visits, surgeries, rehabilitative care, psychological counseling, medications, and assistive help.
- Your lost income. This may include compensation for lost wages and reduced earning capacity when supported by medical and vocational evidence.
- Your daily physical pain and emotional suffering. This includes compensation for your physical pain, emotional distress, and reduced quality of life.
- Other damages. These include:
- Any scars or disfigurement
- Any property damage
- The loss of bodily function, including paralysis
- The inability to enjoy life’s pleasures
- The loss of consortium
Do you have a Seattle peripheral nerve damage lawyer near me?
Yes. We can meet new clients at our office, located at 16400 Southcenter Parkway, Suite 210, Seattle, WA 98188.
Our attorneys also consult with new clients by phone and through Zoom and other online platforms. We can arrange to see you at your home or a healthcare facility if necessary.
Contact our Seattle catastrophic injury lawyers today
At Smith McBroom Injury and Accident Lawyers, we understand how traumatic catastrophic injuries, like peripheral nerve damage, can be. You hurt all the time. The need for medical care may never end. Your bills are mounting. Our personal injury lawyers can pursue the compensation available under Washington law. Please contact us to schedule a free consultation.