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Nerve damage can lead to permanent, debilitating injuries. In many instances of severe nerve damage, you can face total paralysis, muscle spasms, and loss of feeling in the affected area. Even in more minor cases, you could still face discomfort, pain, pins-and-needles sensations, and other effects that could make it harder to work and support yourself.
If you or a loved one suffered nerve injuries due to surgical mistakes or medical malpractice, call the Arlington attorneys for nerve damage during surgery at The Queenan Law Firm. Our injury and malpractice lawyers may be able to take your case and fight to get you the compensation you deserve for nerve damage and other injuries caused by surgical errors and medical mistakes. For a free legal consultation on your case, call our attorneys today at (817) 476-1797.
Types of Nerve Injuries after Surgical Mistakes
Nerves are made of fragile and delicate tissue. Unlike skin, muscle, or bone, nerves typically do not heal from injury or regrow as well as other tissue. This means that nerve damage is often permanent. Some movement or feeling can be recovered through surgery, rehabilitation, and physical therapy, but this may still not recover you to 100%.
Injuries to nerves during surgery typically happen from a few causes. Some of these injuries involve incidental mistakes that are within the standards of acceptable care. Other injuries, however, are the result of negligent healthcare that falls below reasonable expectations. Some examples of these kinds of injuries include the following:
- Nicked nerves
- Severed nerves
- Nerve damage from positioning injuries
- Forceps injuries to the facial or cranial nerve during childbirth
- Brachial plexus injuries during surgery or childbirth
- Accidental injury during spinal surgery
If you suffered any of these injuries, you might be entitled to sue the doctor for negligent care.
Proving Negligence in Nerve Damage Cases
To collect compensation for your injuries, you must prove that the injury was caused by your doctor’s negligence. Typically in injury cases, the victim accuses the at-fault party of negligence rather than intentional harm, since this is often easier to prove and these injuries usually are not intentional. To prove negligence, you must prove the following elements:
- The at-fault party owed you a duty based on your relationship to them.
- The at-fault party breached that duty.
- The breach caused your injuries.
- You suffered damages the court can order compensation for.
In a case involving surgical mistakes or medical malpractice, the legal battle is typically fought surrounding the duty and breach elements. As mentioned, some injuries are just part of the normal complications expected during a medical procedure. For instance, patients commonly suffer from blood loss, pain, tiredness, and discomfort after a procedure, but they cannot usually sue for these issues because they are normal side effects that could happen even with a physician who used the utmost care and skill.
To prove the doctor was at fault, you must show the jury that the injuries you suffered were outside the normal care standards and that your doctor caused them through negligence. For nerve injuries, whether the injury is a complication or the result of negligence can usually be shown by using a medical expert that can testify to what the doctor’s duty should have been and whether they breached it. The doctor’s attorney will typically use their own expert as well, so this will be one of the main battlegrounds for the trial.
Ultimately, the jury can award you the damages you deserve if they find it more likely than not that your claim is correct – there is no need to meet the high “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard used in criminal cases.
Filing a Lawsuit for Nerve Damage
If you suffered nerve damage during a surgical procedure, it is difficult to know what to do next. Talking with an attorney about your case and the side effects you faced from the procedure can help you understand your right to sue for these injuries and how your case may be able to proceed.
Physicians are usually covered by medical malpractice insurance that will cover them and provide an attorney if a patient sues them. This means that your doctor will have an attorney who has experience with these kinds of malpractice cases, so it is vital for you to match this by hiring an attorney of your own.
Your lawyer can help guide you through your options when filing your case and work to help you maximize the compensation you receive. Many insurance companies will offer settlements to injured patients to help cut the insurance company’s cost of going to trial. This means that many offers to settle your claim out of court could be low offers and may not cover your full needs. Medical malpractice injuries involving nerve damage often require additional medical care expenses, reimbursement for lost wages, and substantial compensation for pain and suffering. Your lawyer can help you evaluate your case and understand whether aggressive settlement offers are reasonable. If you are not offered a settlement, our attorneys can help fight your case in court and demand the compensation you deserve.
Call Our Arlington Surgical Error Nerve Damage Attorneys for a Free Consultation
If you or a loved one underwent surgery and suffered nerve damage because of your doctor’s errors or mistakes, talk to an attorney immediately. The Queenan Law Firm’s Arlington attorneys for nerve damage caused by surgery may be able to take your case and work to get you the compensation you need for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. For your free legal consultation, contact us today at (817) 476-1797.