Can a Car Accident Cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

When it comes to the aftermath of a car accident, many individuals may wonder about the potential for unexpected injuries, including carpal tunnel syndrome. Florida personal injury attorneys, often get asked questions about this specific condition and its possible connection to auto accidents.

Understanding Traumatic Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Traumatic carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the median nerve, which runs from the forearm into the palm of the hand, becomes compressed. This can lead to symptoms such as pain, tingling, and weakness in the hand and wrist. While repetitive motion and prolonged use are commonly cited as the main culprits, car accidents can also play a role in their development.

Can Carpal Tunnel Be Caused by a Car Accident?

Yes, car accidents can potentially cause carpal tunnel syndrome. If there’s a direct injury to the wrist—like in the case of a broken wrist from gripping the steering wheel during an impact—this may lead to the onset of carpal tunnel symptoms. Clients can develop carpal tunnel syndrome after being involved in various types of accidents, particularly rear-end collisions. In these situations, the force of the impact can cause the wrists to bend unnaturally, leading to potential injury.

Medical Evidence is Key

Building a case for carpal tunnel syndrome related to a car accident requires solid medical evidence. If you’ve suffered a wrist injury in a collision, it’s crucial to obtain documentation from healthcare professionals to link your condition to the accident. Additionally, it’s important that you do not have a prior history of wrist issues, as insurance companies will scrutinize this aspect closely.

Treatment and Recovery

Treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome often involves conservative measures such as wrist splints, anti-inflammatory medications, or corticosteroid injections. However, in some cases, surgery may be required. The typical procedure, known as carpal tunnel release, has been effective for many of our clients.

Complications and Claims

If complications from an injury arise, they can still be included in your personal injury claim, provided they are directly related to the initial accident. For example, if you sustained a neck injury in a collision and later developed carpal tunnel syndrome as a complication, you can still seek damages for this additional injury, as long as your initial lawsuit was filed within the statute of limitations.

The Importance of Timely Filing

It’s essential to file your lawsuit within the designated statute of limitations to protect your right to seek compensation. If symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome develop later on, as long as your initial claim was timely, you can still pursue damages related to those symptoms.

The Challenges with Insurance Companies

Insurance companies often push back against claims for carpal tunnel syndrome, viewing it as a condition primarily caused by repetitive motion rather than trauma. They may also question other injuries, such as low back pain or traumatic brain injuries, especially if no visible signs are present on imaging studies. However, if you can demonstrate that your condition worsened as a result of the accident, you have a valid claim for compensation. Navigating Allstate car accident settlements in these situations can be particularly challenging, making it essential to present strong evidence.

Carpal Tunnel Car Accident Settlement

How much compensation you get for a carpal tunnel car accident settlement in Florida varies based on the unique circumstances of each situation and the severity of your injuries. Based on our own settlement data on this page, the average carpal tunnel car accident settlement is between $250,000 to $5,000,000.

$250,000 Car Accident Settlement with Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery

Our client was walking across U.S. !9 in Citrus County, FL at around midnight. At that time, a driver, who was headed southbound on U.S. 19, negligently operated his or her vehicle so that it collided with our client. The vehicle then continued down the road without stopping, rendering aid, or notifying law enforcement of the accident. Unfortunately, the hit-and-run driver could not be identified.

Our client suffered significant injuries including a serious broken arm, a concussion and acute respiratory failure. He required extensive surgery to his arm as a direct result of the accident.

Although the hit-and-run driver could not be identified, our client was not without recourse since he had purchased uninsured motorist insurance to protect him from uninsured as well as hit-and-run drivers. Through aggressive negotiation, we were ultimately able to convince our client’s insurance company to pay $250,000.00, the limit of our client’s insurance coverage. Our client was very happy with the outcome and with our representation.

$5,000,000 Car Accident Settlement with Carpal Tunnel Surgery

Our client, who is a medical doctor, was stopped at a green traffic signal due to an ambulance responding to an emergency call. The Defendant driver was unable to stop and collided with the rear of our client’s vehicle at a high rate of speed pushing it forward into the intersection. Both vehicles sustained significant property damage with our client’s vehicle being totaled.

The client was transported from the scene by ambulance to a local emergency room where he complained of neck pain radiating into his arms. He had no prior significant history of neck pain. He was treated at the hospital and then underwent a course of physical therapy. An MRI of his neck revealed multiple large, herniated discs. After conservative treatment failed to alleviate his pain, he elected to undergo a lengthy and complex two-part surgery where his surgeon went in both the front and back of his neck and fused four levels of his cervical spine. Unfortunately, during the surgery he suffered a spinal cord leak, and he had to return for emergency surgery days later. Following the second surgery, he suffered from severe debilitating pain due to nerve damage and his left arm was severely compromised. He was diagnosed by physicians with a condition known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (“CRPS”) and underwent numerous stellate ganglion nerve blocks injections and ketamine infusions. Unfortunately, nothing the doctors tried helped alleviate his debilitating pain.

Our firm proactively filed a lawsuit early on and undertook extensive discovery. Depositions were taken of the defendant driver and other witnesses. In addition, our firm retained numerous expert witnesses including a life care planner/physiatrist, who evaluated our client’s future medical care needs, an economist, who determined the cost of our client’s future care and an accident reconstructionist, who assisted in establishing the defendant’s fault for causing the accident. We also obtained pain management / CRPS specialists, a radiologist, and a spine surgeon to educate the jury regarding the nature and extent of the injuries our client had suffered. The defendants also hired several experts, including their own spine surgeon, as well as other witnesses to dispute the cost of our client’s medical treatment and the need for future medical care. The defense even hired their own accident reconstructionist to claim that the client could have safely proceeded through the intersection without stopping for the ambulance.

After the case was set for trial, the defense made their first offer of $1,500,000.00. We immediately rejected this offer as it was insufficient to fairly compensate our client for his tremendous losses. The defense made several more offers before proposing to settle the case for $3,100,000.00. We rejected all of these offers and insisted that the defense pay our client just compensation. During this time, the parties undertook depositions of the expert witnesses. Most notably, at the deposition of the defendant’s expert spine surgeon, we were able to establish that the crash caused the need for surgery and the subsequent surgical complications resulting in lifelong damages. With the trial date approaching, the defense recognized that their liability was substantial. They filed two written proposals for settlement for $4.0 million and $4.25 million which we also rejected. Finally, following some late negotiations, we accepted the defense’s offer of $5,000,000.00 and the case was settled. In all we rejected eight offers before settling for an amount that was $3,500,000.00 more than the defense initially wanted to pay our client.

Contact Us for Assistance with Your Carpal Tunnel Car Accident Settlement

Car accidents can indeed lead to carpal tunnel syndrome, particularly if there’s direct trauma to the wrist area. If you or someone you know has experienced this condition after an accident, it’s vital to seek medical documentation and consult with an experienced personal injury attorney near you. Understanding your rights and the nuances of these claims can significantly impact your ability to receive compensation for your injuries.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need assistance navigating your case. Remember, you only get one chance to settle, so it’s crucial to process your claim correctly from the start.