Learn what types of injuries cause sensory loss and how you can get compensation.
Needless to say, it can be extremely difficult to live a normal life when your ability to perceive and interact with the world around you is impaired by any type of sensory loss. If you have suffered sensory loss following any kind of accident that was not your fault, you deserve compensation for the distress you are experiencing, plus for the pain, suffering, and medical costs associated with the accident. The Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas can help.
What Kinds of Injuries Cause Sensory Loss?
The two main types of injuries that can lead to sensory loss are:
Head Injuries: A blow to the head–such as may be suffered in a fall or a car accident–can easily result in a traumatic brain injury that could affect regions of the brain and/or specific nerves associated with sensory perception. Victims may find that their ability to see, taste, hear, or smell has been significantly reduced or even lost. Loss of vision is especially likely in an accident that has resulted in physical trauma to the eyes as well as injury to the brain.
Spine Injuries: With a spinal injury, individuals can suffer disruption to their “somatic senses.” This includes the senses needed to perceive heat, cold, touch, and pain. Typically, the sensory loss is confined to the parts of the body below the site of the injury. This means an individual with a lower back injury could suffer sensory loss in their legs, while someone with a neck injury could have problems with virtually the entire body. In the case of a complete spinal injury involving a severing of the spinal cord, sensory loss will be accompanied by paralysis.
Some Victims Gain New Unwanted Sensations
Unfortunately, some individuals who suffer somatic sensory loss in their extremities develop a new kind of pain. This is known as “phantom pain,” and it is particularly distressing because the pain seems to reside in an area of the body that the victim technically cannot “feel” at all. This pain is difficult to manage and can cause great mental and emotional distress.
How to Get Compensation for Sensory Loss
Typically, compensation for sensory loss is rolled into your compensation for pain and suffering, which will be calculated as a multiple of your lost income and/or medical bills. The greater the severity of the sensory loss the larger the multiplier that would be appropriate to use in calculating these pain and suffering damages.
If you have suffered a head injury or spinal injury resulting in sensory loss, it is imperative to get an experienced personal injury attorney like Fernando D. Vargas on your side. Attorney Vargas knows how to describe and present sensory loss to insurance companies and/or juries so that they understand what you are going through and recognize your very real need for compensation.
