Spinal nerves belong to the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and are responsible for communicating sensory, motor and autonomic signals to the rest of the body. You have 31 pairs of spinal nerves located on either side of the vertebral column in your spine. While nerve damage primarily results from degenerative medical conditions, they can also occur from injury or sudden trauma caused by negligence. Spinal nerves can be damaged by traumatic events like auto accidents, falls, physical injury from an assault or medical malpractice injuries like surgical errors and trauma from childbirth resulting in debilitating nerve damage in a spine.
If you are suffering from spinal nerve damage as a result of negligence in an auto accident, workplace accident, medical malpractice or a vicious assault, you need a legal advocate to help deal with law enforcement and insurance companies so you can focus on the process of healing. Your injury may entitle you to both economic damages for medical expenses and non-economic damages for the destructive effect that the pain and discomfort of your spinal nerve damage have impaired your quality of life and the lives of your loved ones. Contact our experienced catastrophic injury victims lawyer at Johnson Attorneys Group in California at 1-800-208-3538 today.
Understand Spinal Nerve Damage
Nerve pain and damage can seriously affect the quality of your everyday life because our nervous systems are essential to everything we do like sensing cold or heat, breathing regulation, balance and muscle control for movement. Variables like determining if multiple nerves have been damaged and the specific nerve(s) that have sustained damage help healthcare professionals determine the correct diagnosis. Symptoms will vary depending on the function of the damaged nerve; the peripheral nervous system includes three classifications of nerves by function:
- Motor Nerve Damage – Motor nerves are responsible for a voluntary movement like walking, talking or handling things. The most common nerve damage associated with muscle weakness is motor nerve damage. Other symptoms can include decreased reflexes, painful cramping, muscle twitching and muscle atrophy.
- Sensory Nerve Damage – With a broad range of functions, sensory nerve damage symptoms include an impaired sense of touch, loss of position sense, recognizing temperature change, loss of pain sensation all of which can seriously affect a patient’s emotional well being, overall health, and quality of life.
- Autonomic Nerve Damage – Controlling nearly every organ in the body, autonomic nerves that are damaged can cause very serious symptoms like heat intolerance due to the lost ability to sweat, bladder or bowel incontinence and an inability to regulate blood pressure due to the loss of muscle control for blood vessel expansion and contraction that can cause dizziness or fainting.
Treatment for Nerve Damage in the Spine
Since there is no direct medical treatment to cure nerve damage in the spine, your doctor will first address underlying conditions that may be contributing to your nerve damage to help alleviate pain and the progression of other resulting symptoms. It is important to work with your doctor to determine the proper combination of treatments that may include:
- Dietary Regulation
- Physical Therapy
- Medication
- Surgical Options
Spinal nerve damage is often a progressive condition that can lead to permanent damage – it is very important to follow-through with medical treatment to control and prevent symptoms. More information about peripheral neuropathy is available at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH) website.
You Need an Experienced Spinal Nerve Damage Advocate to Protect Your Rights in California
When you are faced with nerve damage in the spine as a result of someone else’s negligence, it is very important to take action and contact an experienced, qualified catastrophic injury attorney to deal with law enforcement, insurance companies and other parties of interest so you can focus on healing and the process of moving forward. Call Johnson Attorneys Group at 1-800-208-3538 for a free consultation. We have recovered more than $100 million for our clients in California over the past few years, learn more about clients we’ve helped by viewing our case results.
