Brachial Plexus Injury After a Car Accident: Symptoms, Treatment, and Legal Options

TL;DR: A brachial plexus injury damages the nerves that control your arm and hand, and it can cause weakness or full paralysis. Getting the right treatment early and documenting the injury matters for your health and for any claim you may have.

The brachial plexus is a bundle of nerves that runs from your neck down through your shoulder and into your arm. These nerves control feeling and movement in your shoulder, arm, hand, and fingers. When a car crash stretches, tears, or crushes these nerves, the result can be numbness, weakness, or in serious cases, paralysis of the arm. As of 2026, this injury remains one of the most misunderstood outcomes of a serious New York car accident, because the arm can look normal on the outside while the nerve damage underneath changes what a person can do for the rest of their life.

If you or someone you love has this kind of nerve damage after a crash, you are likely dealing with pain, confusion about what comes next, and worry about paying bills while you cannot work. This guide explains how the injury happens, what treatment looks like, and why these cases often lead to significant compensation.

How a Car Crash Damages the Brachial Plexus

A brachial plexus injury happens when the head and shoulder are forced in opposite directions during a crash, stretching or tearing the nerve network beyond its limit. This is different from a broken bone. There is no cast that fixes a torn nerve.

Picture a delivery driver in Queens whose van gets hit from the side at an intersection. The force throws his body one way while his seatbelt holds his shoulder in place, stretching the nerves in his neck and shoulder past their normal range. Or think about a home health aide in the Bronx riding as a passenger during a rear end collision. Her head snaps forward while her shoulder stays pinned by the seatbelt, and the sudden stretch injures the nerve bundle before she even knows something is wrong.

This type of injury is common in high-speed crashes, motorcycle accidents, and any collision where the body is thrown with force. Doctors classify the damage in stages, from a mild stretch that may heal on its own to a complete tear of the nerve root from the spinal cord, which is the most severe form and often cannot repair itself without surgery.

Many people with a brachial plexus injury do not notice a problem at the scene of the accident. Adrenaline can mask early numbness or tingling. It is often hours or days later, when the arm feels weak or will not respond the way it should, that the seriousness of the injury becomes clear.

Loss of Function and What Long Term Care Can Look Like

A brachial plexus injury can range from temporary weakness to permanent loss of movement in the arm and hand. The nerve damage decides how much function returns, and that damage is not always visible on a standard X-ray.

Someone with a mild stretch injury, known as neurapraxia, may recover feeling and strength within weeks or months as the nerve heals itself. A more severe injury, where the nerve is torn or pulled away from the spine, often does not heal without surgery, and even then, full recovery is not guaranteed.

For a construction worker in Manhattan who depends on both hands to do his job, losing grip strength or the ability to lift overhead can mean the end of his career. For a caregiver in Brooklyn who needs both arms to lift and support a family member, even partial paralysis changes daily life at home and at work. Long term care can include ongoing physical therapy, adaptive equipment for the house or car, and in some cases, help with basic tasks that used to take no thought at all.

The emotional toll is real too. Losing the use of an arm affects independence, confidence, and the ability to provide for a family. This is not just a medical injury. It is a disruption to a person's entire routine.

Treatment Options for a Brachial Plexus Injury

Treatment for a brachial plexus injury depends on how severe the nerve damage is, and options range from physical therapy to reconstructive surgery. The earlier the injury is diagnosed, the more treatment options tend to be available.

For milder injuries, doctors often start with physical therapy to maintain range of motion while the nerve has a chance to heal on its own. Occupational therapy can help a patient adjust daily tasks while strength slowly returns.

For more severe injuries, surgical options may include nerve grafts, where a healthy nerve from another part of the body is used to bridge the damaged section, or nerve transfers, where a working nerve is rerouted to restore some function to the arm. In the most severe cases, where nerve repair is not possible, tendon transfer surgery can sometimes restore limited movement by using a working muscle to replace a paralyzed one.

Recovery is often slow. Nerves regenerate at a rate of about one inch per month, which means healing from a nerve graft near the shoulder can take a year or longer before a patient knows how much function will return. Patients often need months of physical therapy after surgery just to retrain the muscles once the nerve signal starts working again.

This is a lot to manage while also dealing with lost income and mounting medical bills, and it is exactly why documenting every part of your treatment matters from day one.

Why These Injuries Often Lead to High Settlement Value

A brachial plexus injury often results in significant compensation because it affects long-term earning capacity, requires extensive medical treatment, and can permanently limit what a person can physically do. Insurance companies know these cases carry real financial weight, which is also why they often push back hard.

Several factors drive the value of a brachial plexus injury claim. The severity of the nerve damage matters, since a complete tear that requires multiple surgeries is valued differently than a mild stretch that heals in a few months. Lost wages and reduced future earning capacity matter, especially for workers whose jobs depend on physical strength and coordination. The cost of ongoing medical care, including surgery, physical therapy, and any adaptive equipment, adds up over years, not weeks. Pain and suffering are also part of the picture, since living with a partially or fully paralyzed arm changes daily life in ways that are hard to put a number on but are still real.

Insurance companies sometimes try to argue that a nerve injury is exaggerated because it does not always show up clearly on standard imaging. This is one of the biggest misconceptions people run into. A brachial plexus injury can be confirmed through nerve conduction studies, electromyography testing, and a detailed neurological exam, even when an X-ray looks normal. Do not let anyone tell you that an invisible injury is not a real one.

If your case involves a torn nerve, ongoing weakness, or any lasting loss of function, it deserves a full review before you accept any settlement offer. Segal Law Firm has experience helping New Yorkers document the full scope of a nerve injury claim, from the initial diagnosis through years of future medical need, so that nothing gets left out of your case.

Get Help Understanding Your Case

If you or someone you love is dealing with a brachial plexus injury after a car accident in New York, you do not have to figure out what comes next on your own. Call Segal Law Firm at (646) 810-3337 for a free case evaluation or visit the Meet Segal in 5 Minutes page to get started.

Keep Reading

Two related guides cover the questions that usually come next: what neck injuries cause arm pain and compartment syndrome after an accident.

Every case turns on its own facts. Tell us what happened in a free case evaluation with Segal Law Firm. There is no fee unless we win.

One last thing before you go. Accidents never happen at a convenient time, so take seven seconds to save Segal in your phone and our number is already there when you need it.