Almost everyone has had blood drawn or received an IV. If we haven’t had surgery ourselves, we all know a friend or family member who has had some kind of operation — maybe to fix a broken bone, repair a torn knee or just remove a mole. We might not think about it, but these everyday procedures can cause permanent nerve injury.
What Your Nerves Do
Nerves work like electric cables throughout the body. Sensory nerves send messages to the brain that give us our sense of touch. Motor nerves tell our muscles to move our bones. During a blood draw, the insertion of an IV or an operation, medical professionals do their work close to many important nerves.
What Happens When A Nerve Is Bumped, Bruised Or Cut
A nerve can stop working anytime it’s bumped, bruised or cut. A surgical clamp pressing on a nerve can cause pain or numbness that lasts for days or weeks while the nerve heals. An IV needle striking a nerve can cause bruising that completely blocks the messages between the brain and the body that leads to searing pain or even loss of function. It can take months for the nerve fibers to grow back and get the nerve working again. A procedure that cuts or tears a nerve can only be repaired with surgery. Even successful repair surgery might not return full function to a patient and, often, repair surgery doesn’t work at all.
A Nerve Injury Can Cost You Function
During elbow surgery, a scalpel cuts the nerve that lets us open our hand and fingers. The patient later has surgery to repair the nerve, but the repair doesn’t take. The injury is never going to get better. The patient has “drop wrist.” His hand droops. He can’t open his hand or move his fingers. He doesn’t have the strength to grab ordinary objects like a ball or a carton of milk or a suitcase.
If An Nerve Is Injured, Get The Problem Diagnosed Quickly
Medical professionals are trained to avoid injuring vital nerves when they draw blood, insert an IV or perform surgery. If they don’t follow recognized safety steps and they injure a nerve, you need to get the problem diagnosed quickly to give yourself the best chance for a full recovery. See a different doctor for an evaluation. If that doctor suspects a nerve injury, then see a neurologist who can recommend the best course of treatment. You don’t want to wait until it’s too late. The sooner treatment begins, the more effective it is.
Call With Questions
If you, a family member or close friend is dealing with a nerve injury and would like to talk about what to do, call Sean Burke at (847) 604-3970 or send him an email at sean@seanburkelaw.com.
If you would like to learn more about how to protect yourself and your family, visit our website at www.seanburkelaw.com and download “The Top 10 Things To Do If You Are Seriously Injured.” Join our mailing list by clicking the icon below. Send our Newsletter to friends or family who might be interested by clicking the “Forward to a Friend” icon below. Thanks for reading.