Pursue a Legal Claim After Your CRPS Back Injury

An injury to your back can be debilitating for many reasons: not only is your spine the central support system of your body, but it also allows signals to travel to and from the brain. Any damage that occurs can disrupt necessary systems and compromise your health. Your mobility may be greatly limited and you can develop additional sicknesses, conditions, and injuries from back injuries. For someone who had his back injured after a car accident, he may want to merely rest without worrying about any legal actions, but if he develops further complications, it may be wise to pursue financial compensation. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (also known as CRPS, or Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, or RSD) can spring up in the wake of a spine injury from an auto accident. This condition can be extremely painful and has similar symptoms to nerve damage. The top-rated Normandie Law Firm knows that CRPS is not easily caught and diagnosed, but when it is, you should be able to receive restitution for the injury, especially if it were brought on by a car accident you were not responsible for. Our clients ask our experienced lawyers questions about CRPS and the litigation process, some examples of which include:

• Can I sue for complex regional pain syndrome from a spine injury?
• What is the best Los Angeles law firm for CRPS lawsuits?
• Where can I find RSD Lawyers in Los Angeles?

Symptoms of CRPS

CRPS is a condition in which an injured area has a miscommunication with the peripheral nervous system, resulting in the ganglions and nerve bunches sending pain signals to the brain for injuries that are not present. The pain is generally disproportionate to the injury itself and not necessarily located where the damage occurred.

For example, if you were rear-ended while driving and your back was injured with lumbar damage, you may have suffered a sprain or a fractured vertebra. For those unaffected by any complications, pain and swelling are normal effects, but they eventually fade away and die down. CRPS, on the other hand, causes you to feel severe pain in your back or a burning pain that is not located near your spine. You may feel agony in your neck, shoulders, hips, or even your limbs (CRPS in the shoulders can arise from a shoulder injury or a back injury, for example), and it may persist for days or weeks. This is not normal, and you should consult a medical professional immediately.

CRPS also features noticeable symptoms in addition to the perpetual pain. You may experience muscle spasms, stiffness in your back, swelling, a discoloration of the skin or a change in texture and feel, and a greatly increased and very painful sensitivity to touch and temperature. The condition may make it so that any touch can cause unbearable pain, and cold sensation can be agonizing.

If you have been involved in a car crash and now feel CRPS symptoms in the back, you may be able to earn compensation from a personal injury lawsuit. One of our accomplished attorneys with experience in CRPS cases can give you more information.

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If You Don’t Seek Treatment…

If you have CRPS from a back injury, you should seek a doctor immediately to receive his advice and start medical treatment. CRPS that is not addressed can worsen over time and lead to debilitating, incurable effects. However, it should be noted that there is no cure for CRPS – there are merely multiple methods to keep the area from sending wrong signals to the brain and ways to deal with pain management.

CRPS that is not treated can lead to paralysis, muscular atrophy, reduction in mobility and range of motion, chronic nerve pain, and lasting nerve damage. When this happens in your back, you may be faced with using a wheelchair to get around for the foreseeable future, not be able to leave your bed due to pain, or unable to walk and complete daily tasks because of the stiffness and inability to move.

Because many doctors gloss over CRPS when they are examining car accident injuries and residual damages, you may not be able to catch CRPS immediately. In fact, you may live with the pain for weeks or months, operating under the belief that it is normal to feel this way in the wake of a car accident. If this problem persists, you may miss out on the ability to file a claim.

Personal injury lawsuits must be filed within 2 years of the date of the accident or incident. If you do not file a claim within that time frame, your lawsuit will likely be thrown out or dismissed. The longer you wait to file a claim, the more likely it is that necessary parts of the case will no longer be available. Eyewitnesses may relocate, evidence may get corrupted or be thrown away, you may change careers, and more. Those who wait to file a personal injury claim because they are unsure of what their injuries are at a legal disadvantage. An expert lawyer experienced in CRPS cases will be able to make sure you do not miss any deadlines.

Treatments

Victims who suffer from CRPS after a car accident that resulted in back injuries should look to one of our CRPS attorneys for knowledgeable recommendations on what doctors to visit. Not every doctor is familiar with CRPS, and even those who can recognize the symptoms sometimes prescribe wrong treatments. We can point you in the right direction to talk to knowledgeable doctors who have experience with CRPS.

These doctors may provide one of two kinds of treatments: medication or therapy. Some medication includes:

• Corticosteroids, such as prednisone or cortisone, which are meant to reduce swelling and inflammation in the body and increase your dexterity. These steroids can help you move better and keep the affected area from sustaining too much damage.
• Nerve-blocking medication can be prescribed as well. Essentially, these anesthetics are injected into the affected area on your back and block off the fibers and nerve endings that transmit pain signals to your brain.
• Antidepressants contain compounds that can help deal with neuropathic pain. They may have adverse effects on your mental state, however, and you should always proceed with caution when taking antidepressants.
• Pain relievers are some of the most commonly prescribed medications, but their efficacy is unknown. Simple drugs like Advil, Tylenol, and Naproxen are thought to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. The benefit of these drugs is their availability – they are able to be purchased directly at pharmacies over the counter. Other pain relievers, like Vicodin, are much stronger, and require a doctor’s prescription to purchase. They can block pain for hours at a time, but there is a risk of dependency.

As with all medication, there are many risks involved in taking them. You should always go over all aspects of your health with a doctor before you opt to take any drugs. If you do not wish to travel down the medication route, or if your doctor feels you can benefit from a different type of treatment, you may be given therapies to deal with the pain of CRPS. These therapies include:

• Topical Analgesics, which are applied directly to the skin and not imbibed or injected, can relieve pain that feels like it is on the outer layer of skin. These creams or sprays may contain numbing agents, anesthetics, capsaicin, or other ingredients.
• Temperature therapy is usually recommended no matter what the injury is. Alternating application of heat pads and cold compresses to the area can both reduce inflammation and provide relief for back pain coming from CRPS after a motorcycle accident.
• Electric therapy is also a possible route to examine. Essentially, nerve endings are shocked by electric impulses or your spinal cord is subjected to tiny electric currents. These flashes of electricity can relieve pain and temporarily keep the nerves in check.
• Physical therapy is recommended for those who have suffered a loss in mobility due to CRPS after a truck accident or any auto accident. You may need a therapist to stretch your back and help you get your range of motion back to where it used to be. As the condition progresses, however, and the muscle and nerves atrophy, the less effective physical therapy becomes.

No matter what form of treatment you pursue, you may be able to receive compensation for it if you were the victim of a car accident that led to your CRPS. A qualified attorney with expertise in CRPS injury lawsuits will be able to help bring you a settlement.

Legal Action and Normandie Law Firm

If you were hurt in a car accident and developed CRPS in your back, you may be able to file a personal injury claim against the responsible driver. You can be reimbursed for your medical bills, lost wages, lost or damaged property, and emotional or psychological suffering. However, you have the best chance of earning a sizeable settlement if you enlist the help of one of our skilled attorneys with experience handling CRPS injury claims.

At Normandie Law Firm, one of the top legal groups in Los Angeles, we pride ourselves on bringing our clients compensation. We do not want you to feel stressed out over finances and bills, and we feel it is our duty to ease that stress in the best way we know how – by making sure the liable party covers the costs of your damages. Our team of attorneys will aggressively fight to bring you a payout you are satisfied with and we will do everything in our power protect your rights as a victim.

Call us today for a free legal consultation on your case with an experienced attorney. You can ask any questions you like about CRPS and what you may be able to receive if your lawsuit goes through. We also offer you a zero fee guarantee on your claim, which promises that you will pay no money for our services out of your own pockets. Our fees come from the settlement we win for you. As a result, we are only paid if we win; if we lose, you don’t owe us anything at all.

Contact Normandie Law Firm today to speak with an attorney who has experience in cases of CRPS in your back after a car accident.

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