After an accident you should always see a doctor even if you just got a minor bruise. Even a slight cut or neck sprain can indicate a serious condition that may start showing symptoms days or even weeks after an accident.
The human body is made up of many systems that can be affected during an accident. One part of the body that is often vulnerable in many car accidents is the arm. The arm can experience pain after an accident due to nerve injury, broken bones or bone fractures.
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Brachial Plexus Injury
A brachial plexus injury can cause tingling, pain, and numbness in the arm. The brachial plexus is a network of nerves stretching from the spinal cord to the neck and to the arms.
They control movement and sensation in the arm, forearm and shoulder. They are often injured when the angle between the shoulder and neck is forcibly widened by impact from an accident. The injury also occurs when the distance between the arm and chest wall is widened with force. That is why an injury in that network of nerves causes symptoms in your arms.
Pain From Broken Arms
Your arm is likely to get broken in multiple places in a car accident, which could lead to you having to deal with arm or muscle pain even after the cast has been removed. These kinds of injuries can also lead different kinds of deformity and may affect arm movement. People often break their arms in T-Bone accidents or side impact accidents because the arm gets in direct contact with the vehicle in such accidents.
A deploying air bag or hitting your arm on a dashboard after a collision can also lead to your arm getting broken. Sometimes the injury is so severe that the broken bone pierces through the skin leading to significant blood loss. Such an injury can lead to death. Arms are also prone to injury because drivers brace for impact with their arms. Broken arms are a sign that there are also bone fractures.
Common Arm Fractures
One of the most painful fractures is the fracture on the bone at the tip of the elbow (Olecranon fracture). Apart from this is a crack in the upper arm which is called a humerus fracture. Other fracture injuries include:
- Condylar fracture: Occurs below the elbow knob and needs to be treated properly to prevent nerve damage.
- Supracondylar fracture: This is when the upper arm breaks slightly above the elbow
- Ulna or Radius fracture: A break or crack in one or both bones of the forearm.
These are just some of the serious fractures that car accident victims can suffer depending on how serious the accident is.
You Need an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer
Since insurance companies almost always want to pin the blame on the victim for their injuries, you will need an experienced lawyer to negotiate on your behalf with insurers. Your lawyer can also help gather evidence to prove that the at-fault driver is directly responsible for your injuries. The settlement amount can help to cover the high medical expenses needed to treat arm pain.
