Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) and Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD)

Accidents can be devastating for individuals and families. For non-fatal accidents, healing and recovery is always the most important priority for the injury victims. Unfortunately, some cases where an injury “heals” may result in longer-term chronic pain.

“Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a condition marked by severe, prolonged chronic pain (lasting more than six months) that may be constant.” (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes)

CRPS used to be referred to as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) Syndrome, but physicians now refer to RSD as Type I CRPS.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the symptoms of Type I CRPS include:

Continuous burning or throbbing pain, usually in your arm, leg, hand or foot
Sensitivity to touch or cold
Swelling of the painful area
Changes in skin temperature — alternating between sweaty and cold
Changes in skin color, ranging from white and mottled to red or blue
Changes in skin texture, which may become tender, thin or shiny in the affected area
Changes in hair and nail growth
Joint stiffness, swelling and damage
Muscle spasms, tremors, weakness and loss (atrophy)
Decreased ability to move the affected body part

When it comes to personal injury and accident cases, the common accidents that cause CRPS include:

Type 2 CRPS (CRPS-II, Previously Called Causalgia)

The nature of Type I CRPS is that it is regional pain. One of the reasons why it is difficult to diagnose is that pain tends to radiate from a nerve. It radiates locally, not regionally. This is a significant contributing factor to why Type I CRPS is difficult to diagnose -- it does not instinctively fit the way a physician diagnoses a problem.

Type II CRPS (CRPS-II), formerly known as causalgia, distinguishes itself from Type I CRPS because there is an “associated, confirmed nerve injury.”

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke notes the complexity of CRPS in general, stating that it is unclear if the two disorders will always be divided into type 1 or 2, and that the treatment for both is very similar.

Diagnosing CRPS - The Budapest Criteria

Diagnosing CRPS is a challenge. Type I CRPS is diagnosed using the “Budapest Criteria,” which the Cleveland Clinic outlines noting that patients must show one symptom in two or more of the following four categories:

Motor changes - (tremors, muscle weakness, dystonia) or trophic changes (hair, nail or skin abnormalities/asymmetries)
Sensory changes - hyperalgesia (excessive response to noxious stimuli) or allodynia
Vasomotor changes - (changes or asymmetries in temperature or skin color)
Sudomotor changes and edema - (sweating, swelling, etc)

Identifying asymmetries -- which again must include pain disproportionate to the injuring accident -- demonstrates the existence of the pain issue.

This is a critical matter in an injury case for one reason: insurance companies are notorious for spreading doubt and disbelief about someone “feeling pain.” Feeling pain is difficult to prove, especially in Type I CRPS where tangible nerve damage is not evident and the symptoms are different from typical neurological damage.

Hence if you can demonstrate temperature changes in excess of 1 degree Celsius, you have a tangible metric illustrating the vasomotor problem, for example, that is indicative of CRPS. Insurance companies may want to deny the existence of pain, but your case can be made with evaluation by a competent, experienced pain physician.

Importance of Experienced CRPS Lawyers in Kentucky

All injuries are very personal to the victims and their families. Seeking the proper medical attention is absolutely the focus, but CRPS is very complicated and difficult to diagnose. Physicians often arrive at a diagnosis by simply ruling everything else out, and that is not something that happens quickly.

An experienced CRPS lawyer will help you understand the entire process, ensure you are reaching out to the proper pain specialists and receiving an adequate diagnosis.

Another complicated aspect of CRPS is that it is not something backed up with lots of research. No single drug or combination of drugs has been approved specifically as a cure for the disorder. Because oftentimes the symptoms of CRPS may seem far more serious than the initial injury, there is some question as to whether or not the symptoms are truly caused by physical injury versus mental issues.

Guess who, in injury cases, pushes the idea that CRPS is not a physical injury? Insurance companies.

In trucking, motorcycle or car accidents, the party at fault is supposed to have an insurance policy that covers liability. If injured at the workplace or on the construction site, there is workers’ compensation insurance. In slip and fall accidents, they are a premises liability case where the property owner, business, or municipality has liability insurance.

In all cases, the sole interest of an insurance company is minimizing their financial risk. There is no upside in them treating your CRPS claim as legitimate, no matter what a pain specialist says.

Accident victims who suffer from CRPS need experienced injury lawyers who know how to stand up to insurance companies and secure the compensation you deserve.

FREE Consultation with KY CRPS/RSD Lawyer

The experienced Kentucky personal injury lawyers at Dallas & Turner, PLLC, have the experience in dealing with complicated CRPS cases. Our attorneys work tirelessly to make sure that our patients have received the best care they can, and that they receive the compensation that they are entitled to.

We provide FREE consultations to go over your case and understand its merits. We don’t get paid until you get paid, so clients who sign with us do so knowing that they have the financial peace of mind that they are in good hands, working tirelessly on their case.

It is easy! Call now at (859) 630-0666, talk to us via live chat or email us using our FREE online contact form. We guarantee you will be speaking with an experienced CRPS/RSD lawyer within 24 hours!

Don’t hesitate! Act now and let’s begin your journey together.

"Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a very difficult injury case, and having an attorney experienced in Kentucky CRPS cases can help you on the road to treatment, recovery and receiving the compensation you deserve. Don't hesitate -- call now!"
James Ryan Turner, Experienced Injury Lawyer in Florence, KY