How to Negotiate a Workers Comp Settlement for Nerve Damage
We Help Injured Workers Who Suffered Nerve Damage Causing Pain, Partial Disability, and Paralysis Recover Lump Sum Awards
A work related injury or occupational illness resulting in permanent nerve damage is one of the most disruptive injuries you can suffer. Often the nerve damage results in significant medical bills, permanent disability, and the need for future medical treatment.
Nerves are critical to everything you do: breathing, digesting, moving, thinking, feeling, and more. And nerve damage can affect your ability to use parts of your body, making it impossible to return to work and devastating your quality of life.
Fortunately, the patchwork of federal and state workers’ compensation systems provides a remedy if you suffer an eligible workplace injury or illness causing nerve damage.
This article examines common work-related nerve injuries and neurological disorders and shows how to get a fair workers comp settlement amount for nerve injury.
Keep reading to learn more.
And contact our law firm if you have questions about workers’ compensation or want us to help negotiate a reasonable settlement for nerve damage.
What Does the Nervous System Do?
Your nervous system is your body’s most complex system. It includes the brain, spinal cord, and nerves.
The nervous system controls the following:
- The five senses
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- Sight
- Hearing
- Taste
- Smell
- Touch
- Thoughts
- Emotions
- Sensations (including the skin)
- Memory
- Learning
- Sleep
- Stress (and your body’s response)
- Aging
- Breathing
- Body temperature
- Blood pressure
- Hunger
- Digestion
- Movement (sitting, standing, pushing, pulling, lifting, carrying, walking, running, jumping, operating hand and foot pedals)
- Balance
- Coordination
- Healing
What are the Parts of the Nervous System?
The nervous system consists of two parts: the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system.
Central Nervous System
The central nervous system has two significant structures: the brain and the spinal cord.
Your brain sits in the skull, protected by the cranium. It sends chemical and electrical signals (neurons) to the rest of your body to regulate bodily functions and processes in response to the world around you.
The brain uses the spinal cord to send these signals throughout your body.
Your spinal cord reaches from the brainstem at the base of your skull to the lumbar region (lower back) of your vertebral column. The bony spinal canal encloses the spinal cord and offers protection.
Peripheral Nervous System
The peripheral nervous system is a vast network of nerves (made of nerve fibers, blood vessels, and connective tissues) that connect the brain and the spinal cord to the rest of your body.
Your peripheral nerves originate from the brain (cranial nerves) or spine (spinal nerves) and carry signals to and from your arms, legs, hands, fingers, feet, toes, skin, and other body parts and organs.
The medical field often divides the peripheral nervous system into three parts:
- The somatic nervous system affects your voluntary movements.
- The autonomic nervous system controls involuntary functions. This system includes the sympathetic nervous system (the “fight-or-flight response”) and the parasympathetic nervous system, which affects activities occurring when your body is at rest.
- The enteric nervous system controls the gastrointestinal system.
What Are Common Causes of Work-Related Nerve Injuries and Permanent Damage?
Traumatic injuries to the brain, spinal cord, or the specific body part causing you pain are common causes of work-related peripheral nerve injuries and damage.
For example, your job may cause or contribute to (aggravate, exacerbate, etc.) your nerve injury in several ways, such as the following:
- Musculoskeletal injuries: Work-related car crashes, falls from heights, slips and falls, overexertion (lifting, carrying, pulling, pushing), deep cuts or lacerations, and burns can stretch, crush, compress, sever, entrap, inflame, and otherwise damage nerves directly or indirectly (such as by worsening osteoarthritis and degenerative disc disease that pinches or presses the nerve).
- Cumulative trauma: Repetitive motion injuries may cause nerve damage. For example, specific occupations (musicians, athletes, typists, writers, etc.) have a greater risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), hand-arm vibration syndrome, and focal dystonia.
- Electrocution
- Exposure to toxic chemicals or gases
- Gunshot wounds
- Severe bruising
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI): A head injury resulting in a concussion and post-concussion syndromes may affect your vision, hearing, and balance and cause frequent migraines and headaches.
- Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS): A work-related injury may cause you to develop CRPS and need medical treatment for chronic pain.
What are the Symptoms of Nerve Injuries and Damage?
Nerve injuries are unpredictable, presenting differently from person to person.
Some notable signs that you have nerve damage include the following:
- Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
- Muscle weakness in the arms and legs
- Fatigue
- Difficulty holding things in your hand (dropping them)
- Muscle spasms and cramps
- Twitching
- Headaches
- Contusions that take a long time to heal
- Muscle atrophy
- Lack of sphincter or bladder control (incontinence or retention)
- Vertigo
- Constant pain
- Tremors
- A sharp sensation that feels like an electrical shock
- Loss of balance
- Loss of sensation
- Sensitivity to touch and temperature
- Diminished reflexes
- Drop in blood pressure
- Cognitive decline
- Vision changes
- Swelling
- Partial paralysis
What Type of Doctor Treats Nerve Injuries?
Neurology is the medical specialty focused on injuries, diseases, and conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves.
And a neurologist is the type of physician that practices in this specialty.
Usually, you will treat with other doctors, such as emergency room physicians or orthopedic surgeons, before you get a referral to a neurologist for your work injury.
For example, a neurologist may join your medical team if you suffer one of these injuries:
- Back pain
- Concussion
- Episodic loss of consciousness
- Memory loss
- Numbness and tingling in one or more of your extremities
- Weakness in the arms or legs
How Will the Doctor Diagnose a Nerve Injury?
A traumatic injury or workplace exposure to a neurotoxin may harm one or more nerves and lead to peripheral neuropathy.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, peripheral neuropathy is the term for medical conditions involving damage to the peripheral nervous system.
The damage from the occupational injury or illness disrupts the nerve signaling by:
- Distorting the message to or from your central nervous system
- Causing signaling when it should not.
- Losing signals
Usually, you will receive the diagnosis of a nerve injury resulting in peripheral neuropathy after the following:
- Conservative treatment with a primary care provider, orthopedic doctor, or pain management specialist fails, resulting in a referral to a neurologist.
- Office visits with the neurologist.
- Diagnostic imaging studies (an MRI or CT scan of the brain or spine to determine if a structural issue is to blame for your symptoms)
- EMG/NCV (electromyography and nerve conduction studies). These tests measure a muscle’s response or electrical activity when the nerve that operates that muscle is stimulated. In addition, these tests show the speed and strength of the nerve signal.
Classifying Damage from Peripheral Nerve Injuries (and Recovery Times)
Workers’ comp nerve injuries vary in severity.
Some doctors use the Sunderland Classification of Nerve Injuries, which defines five grades of peripheral nerve injury:
- First-degree: This type of nerve injury heals with conservative treatment. Usually, you will recover within weeks or a few months.
- Second degree: This nerve injury disrupts the axons (the nerve fibers making up the nerve). However, conservative treatment works (no surgery necessary), and you should recover within several months.
- Third degree: A third-degree nerve injury disrupts the axons and sheaths, with scarring. Recovery from this degree of nerve damage is unpredictable. However, neurolysis or grafting can help recover at least partial nerve function.
- Fourth degree: With this injury severity, scarring prevents nerve regeneration. You will need surgery to regain function.
- Fifth degree: These injuries occur when a laceration or severe stretch injury cuts the nerve in two. You must undergo surgery. Otherwise, you will not recover any function.
What Medical Treatment is Available for Nerve Injuries?
The treatment recommended by your neurologist will depend on the location and severity of the nerve damage suffered in the workplace accident or chemical exposure.
For example, your doctor may recommend one (or more) of these treatment modalities:
- Acupuncture
- Brachial plexus surgery
- Carpal tunnel surgery
- Epidural steroid injections (ESIs)
- Free functional muscle transfer (FFMT)
- Medication (prescription and over-the-counter)
- Open decompression surgery
- Nerve blocks
- Nerve graft
- Nerve repair
- Nerve transfer surgery
- Nerve transplant surgery
- Physical therapy
- Weight loss
How Specific Nerve Injuries Can Affect Your Ability to Work and Diminish Your Quality of Life
The peripheral nervous system has two types of nerves: cranial nerves originating from the brain and brainstem and spinal nerves arising from the spinal cord.
There are twelve pairs of cranial nerves and 31 pairs of spinal nerves. These nerves control sensation, movement, and motor coordination.
The nerve harmed in the incident decides which body’s parts lose function and whether you can return to work.
For example:
Cranial Nerve Injuries
- First cranial nerve: An olfactory nerve injury may cause you to lose your ability to smell.
- Second cranial nerve: An optic nerve injury may damage your sight (visual fields, color perception, etc.).
- Third cranial nerve: An oculomotor nerve injury may cause difficulty moving your eyes and eyelids.
- Fourth and sixth cranial nerves: Injury to the trochlear or abducens nerves may cause diplopia (double vision) when looking downward.
- Fifth cranial nerve: Trigeminal nerve damage may result in trigeminal neuralgia, a disorder causing chronic, severe facial pain and weakness. In addition, trigeminal neuropathy may affect your chewing and teeth grinding.
- Seventh cranial nerve: Facial nerve injuries can cause facial paralysis and trouble eating.
- Eighth cranial nerve: Vestibulocochlear nerve damage may affect your hearing and balance. For example, a sudden, loud noise can cause acoustic shock syndrome.
- Ninth cranial nerve: Glossopharyngeal nerve injuries disrupt your brain’s ability to monitor your blood pressure and affect your swallowing ability.
- Tenth cranial nerve: Vagus nerve damage can be catastrophic, causing difficulty speaking, swallowing, digesting food, and more.
- Eleventh cranial nerve: Accessory nerve injuries may result in shoulder pain, postural changes, and trapezius muscle weakness.
- Twelfth cranial nerve: Hypoglossal nerve damage may paralyze the tongue, making speech and swallowing difficult.
Spinal Nerve Injuries
The spinal nerves consist of the following:
- Eight pairs of cervical nerves (C1-C8)
- Twelve pairs of thoracic nerves (T1-T12)
- Five pairs of lumbar nerves (L1-L5)
- Five pairs of sacral nerves (S1-S5)
Now let us look at common spinal nerves injured in work accidents.
Cervical Plexus
The cervical plexus consists of the first four cervical spinal nerves from C1 to C5. These nerves are distributed at the back of the neck and head, deep in the neck muscles, and the diaphragm. And they are called the lesser occipital nerve, the great auricular nerve, the transverse cervical nerve, the supraclavicular nerve, and the phrenic nerve.
Damage to nerves in the cervical plexus may affect your ability to move your head, neck, and upper shoulders. In addition, a phrenic nerve injury may paralyze the diaphragm, the major muscle for breathing (respiration).
Further, you may suffer neurapraxia, also called a “burner” or “stinger.”
Brachial Plexus
The brachial plexus consists of nerves that help you use your arms, shoulders, and hands. These nerves include the following:
- The musculocutaneous nerve aids the elbow flexors and lateral forearm skin. A damaged musculocutaneous nerve may cause difficulty bending the elbow or loss of feeling in the lower arm.
- The median nerve provides sensation to most of the hand (including the thumb) and controls the ability to use some hand muscles (such as for pinching) and the forearm’s flexor muscles. A median nerve injury or damage is associated with carpal tunnel syndrome.
- The radial nerve affects the extensors of the elbow and fingers. An injury to the radial nerve may diminish your ability to use your wrist.
- If you suffer an axillary nerve injury, you may have decreased range of motion in the shoulders (rotator cuff) and arms.
- The ulnar nerve controls some of the hand muscles. A damaged ulnar nerve may result in an inability to use the hand for gross or fine manipulation. In addition, an ulnar nerve injury may result in cubital tunnel syndrome.
- The long thoracic nerve helps control the scapula and shoulders.
Lumbar Plexus
The lumbar plexus starts within the psoas major muscle. It includes the following nerves:
- Iliohypogastric nerve (T12-L1)
- Ilioinguinal nerve (a branch of the L1 spinal nerve)
- Genitofemoral nerve (L1-L2)
- Lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (L2, L3). Lateral femoral cutaneous nerve compression may result in meralgia paresthetica, a disorder affecting the outer thigh.
- Obturator nerve (L2-L4): An injured obturator nerve may refer pain from a hip injury to the knee.
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- Femoral nerve (L2-L4): This nerve gives sensation to the front of the thigh and innervates the muscles that allow knee extension. It is the largest nerve arising from the lumbar plexus.
- Saphenous nerve (L3, 4): This sensory nerve is the longest nerve in the body and may suffer damage if you have a torn meniscus requiring surgical repair.
Sacral Plexus
The sacral plexus consists of the following nerves:
- A work-related back injury or herniated intervertebral disc can damage the sciatic nerve (L4-S3), the largest nerve in the body, and cause sciatica. A common sciatica symptom is radiating pain from the lower back into the legs and feet.
- The tibial nerve (L4-S3) is a branch of the sciatic nerve. Compression of this nerve may result in tarsal tunnel syndrome and foot problems.
- The common peroneal nerve is behind the knee and wraps down the fibula. Its location makes the common peroneal nerve susceptible to injury, particularly with a knee injury. You may experience foot drop and difficulty walking if you suffer peroneal nerve damage.
- Superior gluteal nerve (L4-S1): An injured superior gluteal nerve may cause an altered gait (a change in how you walk).
- Inferior gluteal nerve
- Perforating cutaneous nerve
- Nerve to the piriformis muscle
- Pudendal nerve
- Nerve to quadratus femoris
- The posterior cutaneous nerve of the thigh
- The nerve to the levator ani
- Sural nerve (S1-2)
An injury to any of these nerves may affect your ability to use the lower back, legs, and feet.
What is the Average Workers’ Comp Nerve Damage Settlement?
You may want to know the amount you can expect to receive in a workers’ comp nerve damage settlement.
The amounts vary depending on the likelihood you are eligible for workers comp, the amount you earned before the nerve injury, how well you recovered, and whether your employer can accommodate any permanent work restrictions resulting from the nerve damage.
But in my experience, the average workers’ compensation settlement for nerve damage is from $45,000 to $95,000 or more, depending on the nerve you injured and other factors.
What Factors Determine the Amount of a Workers’ Compensation Nerve Injury Settlement?
The likelihood that the Workers’ Compensation Act covers your nerve injury and the types of workers’ comp benefits you may qualify for play a critical role in determining a fair settlement amount for nerve damage.
For example, I analyze the potential amount you can recover for the following items when calculating a reasonable settlement range for nerve injury cases:
- Temporary Total Disability (TTD): You may qualify for TTD benefits if your nerve injury prevents you from returning to your pre-injury job and you remain out of work. In Virginia (and other states), your TTD payments equal two-thirds of your wages before the workplace accident.
- Temporary Partial Disability (TPD): The nerve damage may permanently restrict you to light-duty work. And as a result, you may suffer ongoing wage loss if you change careers for a less physically demanding job. If this happens, you may qualify for TPD payments equal to two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury and post-injury wages.
- Permanent Partial Disability (PPD): Nerve damage may limit your ability to use one or more extremities (arms, legs, hands, feet, etc.). If you suffer a loss of use of one of these body parts when you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI) for the nerve injury, you can get an impairment rating to receive compensation for permanent loss of use.
- Medical Bills: If you receive a Workers’ Compensation Award Letter by stipulation or after an evidentiary hearing (trial), the employer must pay for medical treatment for the nerve injury for life (unless you cash out this medical award). The medical costs for a workers’ comp claim involving nerve damage are often significant due to the need for doctor visits, diagnostic tests, prescription medication, physical therapy, surgical procedures, and medical devices.
- Weekly Pay Rate: The value of indemnity benefits (temporary total, temporary partial, and permanent partial) depends on what you earned when the nerve injury happened. The more money you make, the higher the potential workers’ comp nerve damage settlement.
- Compensable Consequences: Living in constant pain or losing the ability to enjoy one of the senses can cause depression and anxiety. Workers’ comp covers these conditions if you can prove they are related to the nerve injury.
- Vocational Rehabilitation: When you reach MMI, your doctor or the claim administrator (Sedgwick CMS, Gallagher Basset) may ask you to undergo a functional capacity evaluation (FCE). An FCE is a tool to determine permanent work restrictions from a nerve injury (or other injuries). Then the employer may hire a vocational rehabilitation counselor to find a job within your limitations. If the employer believes vocational rehabilitation will work and reduce its liability to pay benefits, it may offer a lower settlement for nerve damage.
These items are just a sample of factors contributing to the value of a workers’ comp nerve injury case.
How to Strengthen a Workers’ Comp Nerve Injury Case?
Performing these actions can increase the value of your workers’ compensation settlement for nerve damage.
- Seek medical treatment at once.
- Report the workplace accident and injury to your employer within 30 days.
- Follow your physicians’ advice and recommendations.
- Ask your doctor for referrals for diagnostic studies, including MRIs and Electromyography/Nerve Conduction testing (EMG/NCS), to prove nerve damage.
- Submit a claim for benefits to the Workers’ Compensation Commission within the applicable statute of limitations.
- Ask your doctors to complete disability letters addressing legal and medical causation. These reports are essential if you have a preexisting neurologic condition such as rheumatoid arthritis or diabetes and must show the work injury contributed to disability and the ongoing need for medical care.
- Get ledgers showing how much your healthcare providers charged or private health insurance paid for treatment related to the nerve injury.
- Issue written discovery (interrogatories, request for production, request for admission) to the insurer to determine its defenses and how to overcome them.
- File your pre-injury pay stubs (and post-injury, if applicable).
We Win Claims and Negotiate Top-Dollar Settlements for Injured Workers with Permanent Nerve Damage
A work-related nerve injury can cause permanent damage. And the resulting pain, numbness, tingling, and loss of use may lead to depression and anxiety.
Call my firm at (804) 251-1620 or (757) 810-5614 instead of dealing with the workers’ comp adjuster’s tricks or learning rules of procedure and evidence while you are trying to heal.
We will simplify the claim process, help you get all the cash benefits and medical treatment owed, and use strategies to scare the insurance adjuster into accepting your settlement demand. In addition, we will evaluate the evidence to determine if you should apply for Social Security disability benefits (SSDI or SSI), given your age (older is easier to win), work history, and residual functional capacity.
See why other attorneys and past clients vote me as one of the state’s top workers’ compensation lawyers year after year.
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