Louisville Personal Injury Lawyers

Kentucky Nerve Damage Lawyers

Experienced personal injury lawyers for all types of nerve injuries

We have a lot of negative expressions about nerves – as in, “you’re getting on my last nerve” or “The nerve of this guy!” These expressions speak to how most people view what nerves do: relay sensation throughout the body. But your nerves also keep your heart rate stable, help you digest your food, and regulate your body temperature. Nerves are necessary for voluntary and involuntary movement, so when a person sustains permanent nerve damage, it is a far more catastrophic injury than many realize.

Damaged nerves can cause a great amount of pain, cause loss of function, and other types of physical problems and emotional trauma. At Wilt Injury Lawyers, our Kentucky personal injury lawyers help folks with nerve damage to hold negligent parties accountable for their losses. We work with your doctors, including neurologists, to understand the full scope and severity of your nerve injuries. Call us in Lexington or Louisville today to learn more.

What do nerves actually do?

Nerves relay electrical impulses between your brain and your body. According to the Cleveland Clinic, there are two “main” types of nerves:

  • Sensory nerves transmit signals to your brain so you can taste, see, smell, and touch.
  • Motor nerves transmit signals to your muscles or glands that help you move and function.

Your overall nervous system is divided into two branches: the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and peripheral nervous system (everything else). The peripheral nervous system, per the Cleveland Clinic, is then divided in the following way:

  • Somatic nervous system: This includes muscles you can control, plus all the nerves throughout your body that carry information from your senses. That sensory information includes sound, smell, taste and touch. Vision doesn’t fall under this because the parts of your eyes that manage your sight are part of your brain.
  • Autonomic nervous system: This is the part of your nervous system that connects your brain to most of your internal organs.
  • Sympathetic nervous system: This system activates body processes that help you in times of need, especially times of stress or danger. This system is responsible for your body’s “fight-or-flight” response.
  • Parasympathetic nervous system: This part of your autonomic nervous system does the opposite of your sympathetic nervous system. This system is responsible for the “rest-and-digest” body processes.
  • Enteric nervous system: This part of your autonomic nervous system manages how your body digests food.

The central nervous system is also divided into two groups. Cranial nerves (there are 12 pairs) start in your brain and run through your head, face, and neck. Spinal nerves (there are 31 pairs) branch out from your spinal cord. When a person sustains nerve damage – depending on where the damage occurs – his or her body may be unable to perform essential functions on its own, such as:

  • Breathing
  • Digestion
  • Blood pressure
  • Breathing
  • Digestion
  • Muscle movement
  • Heart rate regulation
  • Responding to stress

As you can see, nerve damage and trauma can extend far beyond “discomfort” or even chronic pain (though such an outcome can also be catastrophic). In some cases, extreme damage can leave victims unable to care for themselves. People with nerve damage may not have any feeling at all, lose control of their bowel and bladder, have difficulty breathing, experience pain, numbness, have difficulty walking, and may even experience paralysis.

What types of nerve damage are considered “catastrophic”?

Nerve injuries are categorized in three ways. Per St. Louis Children’s Hospital, those three categories are:

  • Neuropraxia, the “physiologic block of nerve conduction within an axon without any anatomical interruption.” These injuries are the quickest to heal.
  • Axonotmesis, the “anatomical interruption of the axon with no or only partial interruption of the connective tissue framework.” This is a more serious injury, and could require surgical intervention.
  • Neurotmesis, the “complete anatomical disruption of the both the axon and all of the surrounding connective tissue (rupture of the nerve).” There is no chance this injury will heal on its own, so surgery will be required to treat it. It is the most severe of the three types of nerve injury.

Some nerve injuries can be genetic (such as hereditary neuropathy). Some may be the result of the aging process; sciatica (pain along the sciatic nerve that runs down your lower leg or legs) is more common in older patients than in younger ones, for example.

Other common examples of nerve injuries include:

Depending on the circumstances of the accident, nerves can be lacerated, crushed, or severed.

What is the diagnosis and treatment for nerve injuries?

Peripheral nerve injuries are diagnosed by using EMGs, nerve conduction studies, MRIs, and ultrasounds.

The Mayo Clinic states that if your nerve is injured but not cut, it has a better chance of healing. Fully severed nerve injuries are very hard to treat. If the nerve can heal on its own, you may not require surgery.

Surgery may include:

  • Enlarging the space for the nerve to give the nerve more space or separate it from a scar.
  • A portion of the nerve may need to be removed and reconnected to healthy nerve ends (repairing the nerve) or grafted with a portion of a nerve from another part of the accident victim’s body.
  • Restoring function “to critical muscles by transferring tendons from one muscle to another.”

The time for nerves to heal can vary. Medications can help with physical pain; so, too, can corticosteroid injections.

Nerve injury treatments that may help restore function include:

  • Braces or splints that keep the affected area in the proper position.
  • Electrical stimulators that help activate muscles “served by an injured nerve while the nerve grows.”
  • Physical therapy to keep the joints and affected muscles active.

What are the causes of nerve injuries in Kentucky?

Any type of accident that can cause personal injury can cause nerve damage, including:

At Wilt Injury Lawyers, our Kentucky personal injury lawyers investigate the cause of your nerve injury and who is responsible.

Do you have a nerve accident lawyer near me?

Wilt Injury Lawyers meets clients at our offices in Louisville and Lexington:

Louisville Office

Louisville Kentucky Map

13113 Eastpoint Park Blvd. Suite A
Louisville, KY 40223
Phone: 502-253-9110

Lexington Office

Lexington Kentucky Map

196 W. Lowry Lane, Suite 1
Lexington, KY 40503
Phone: 502-461-1481

We also conduct meetings by phone and through video conferences. For clients who are in ill health, we make arrangements to see them away from the office.

Speak with our experienced Kentucky nerve injury lawyers now

Experience matters. At Wilt Injury Lawyers, we’ve earned the respect of former clients and adjusters. We’ve been recognized for our dedication to our clients. A record of strong results makes a difference. Please call or fill out our contact form to schedule a free consultation. Our Kentucky nerve injury lawyers are here to advocate for your rights.