Brachial Plexus Injury From Fall

The brachial plexus represents an extensive network of highly sensitive nerves that transmit signals from the spinal cord to the arms, hands, and shoulders. An injury develops to the brachial plexus when a traumatic event stretches, compresses, or in the most severe cases, rips apart the highly sensitive spinal cord nerves. Referred to as stingers, minor brachial plexus injuries develop frequently because of the strong impacts delivered in contact sports. The most serious brachial plexus injuries can cause one or both arms to lose feeling, and in the worst cases, fall into a state of paralysis. Falling and damaging the spinal cord can have the same negative impact on the brachial plexus as a sport-related contact injury.

The signs of a brachial plexus injury from a fall vary, depending on the location and seriousness of the injury. Brachial plexus nerve damage typically affects one arm, but a fall can trigger a disruption in the nerve signals sent from the spinal cord that negatively impacts both arms.

A minor brachial plexus injury often feels like a burning sensation that shoots down one or both arms. The impacted arm or arms also might turn numb, or you feel a weakness, especially when you try to grab and lift an object. Symptoms of minor brachial plexus injuries after a fall usually last from a few seconds to a couple of days.

When spinal cord nerves tear or rupture, the victim has sustained a severe brachial plexus injury after a fall. A severe brachial plexus injury makes it difficult to move certain muscles in the arm, hand, and/or shoulder. You also might lose complete movement of the muscles, which indicates the development of paralysis. The worst cases of a brachial plexus injury from a fall generate excruciating pain.

The long-term healthcare consequences of a brachial plexus injury include the development of stiff joints, chronic pain, muscle atrophy, and even a permanent disability.

If you sustained a brachial plexus injury from a fall, all of your focus should be on recovering from the potentially serious injury. Hiring an experienced personal injury attorney from Morgan and Morgan ensures you receive several types of legal support.

Conduct a Thorough Investigation

One of the most important roles filled by your personal injury attorney involves conducting a detailed investigation. Your lawyer reviews the formal incident report to determine whether the cause of the fall resulted from one or more acts of negligence. Security camera footage represents a persuasive piece of physical evidence that can reveal whether another party committed at least one negligent act. Your lawyer also interviews witnesses to verify what transpired before, during, and after the fall that caused a brachial plexus injury

Act as an Intermediary with the Insurance Company

Insurance companies love dealing with policyholders that do not retain legal representation when filing a claim. If you do not hire a personal injury attorney to help you file an insurance claim, the insurance adjuster processing your claim might deny it or approve it for a value that falls well below what you deserve for compensation. Your lawyer also ensures you do not sign any documents that waive your rights as a consumer. Another way your attorney helps you interact with the insurance adjuster processing your claim is to monitor the claim closely to keep it moving through the review system.

Calculate a Fair Value for Compensation

Insurance adjusters have many reasons to deny an insurance claim. One of the most common reasons for denied insurance claims concerns the submission of an unreasonable value for compensation. Hiring an experienced personal injury attorney helps you submit a fair value for compensation. Your lawyer adds up all the tangible expenses such as medical bills before determining how much you should receive in non-economic damages. Non-economic damages cover the costs associated with pain and suffering, which results from developing emotional distress issues. Developing the symptoms generated by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) negatively impacts personal and professional relationships.

Your personal injury attorney calculates a fair value for non-economic damages by using a formula that factors in the value of economic damages.

Negotiate a Settlement

If the insurance adjuster processing your claim denies it, you should try to negotiate a settlement before filing an appeal. During a civil trial, you have several opportunities to negotiate a settlement. The discovery phase of a civil trial represents the best opportunity to find common ground with the other party. Negotiations start when your lawyer submits an initial offer, which the other party can accept or reject. If the other party rejects the initial offer, you might receive a counteroffer or a letter stating negotiations have ended. Several rounds of counteroffers can follow the initial offer until you reach a settlement or both parties decide to end negotiations.

Prove the Other Party Committed Negligence

Before your personal injury attorney files the documents to initiate a civil lawsuit, your lawyer must prove the presence of the four elements of negligence. The first element is to show the judge hearing your case that the other party owed you a duty of care to prevent an incident from causing you harm. Then, you must demonstrate the other party breached the duty of care doctrine by committing one or more acts of negligence. This is typically the most difficult element of negligence to prove. 

The third element is to present overwhelming physical evidence that the negligent act or acts committed by the other party caused a brachial plexus injury after a fall. Finally, you must submit copies of documents verifying you sustained financial losses as the result of your injury.

Another important role for a personal injury attorney from Morgan and Morgan to fill involves ensuring you file a personal injury lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations. Every state has established a deadline for taking legal action, with most states opting to set the filing deadline between two and four years. However, you might live in a state that has established a deadline as long as six years and as short as one year. The clock typically starts for a personal injury lawsuit on the date when the client sustained injuries. However, some injuries such as a brachial plexus injury after a fall might not develop symptoms until a few days after a personal injury incident. This means your attorney can ask for an extension for filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

Although it seems like you have plenty of time to take legal action, you should act with a sense of urgency for two important reasons. First, taking prompt action might help you recover from financial losses much sooner than if you wait to file a personal injury lawsuit near the deadline. Unless you work out a medical lien arrangement with your healthcare providers, you can expect to receive medical bills shortly after generating healthcare expenses. The second reason to take swift legal action concerns your attorney’s need to interview witnesses as close to the date of the fall as possible. Witness accounts are much more accurate when provided right after a personal injury incident.

If you fail to file a personal injury lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations, you can expect the court clerk processing your case to remove it from the judicial docket.

Sustaining a brachial plexus injury from a fall can quickly produce medical expenses that run into thousands of dollars. Diagnostic tests, treatment programs, and especially physical therapy sessions require a substantial financial investment. At Morgan and Morgan, the personal injury attorney assigned to your case provides the legal support you need to receive just compensation.

Schedule a free case evaluation today with one of the personal injury attorneys from Morgan and Morgan.