Can a Car Accident Trigger Shingles? What You Need to Know

It was a violent, head-on impact and our 87 year old client, Mrs. B, was thrown into the exploding airbag. Yet she reported to the emergency room that she had no specific injury and “just wanted to get checked out.”

Three weeks after the crash Mrs. B came down with a painful case of Shingles that damaged her eyesight and caused her to be bed-ridden for months. She incurred medical bills totaling $12,000+ as a result of several hospital visits and numerous primary care physicians and ophthalmology appointments.

Mrs. B’s ophthalmologist stated that the shingles were not related to the accident but Mrs. B insisted that it was. One of our licensed claims adjusters employed at the Haymond Law Firm looked into the case. Researching the issue, she discovered that a Shingles outbreak can be caused by stress.

The motor vehicle accident had been very stressful as Mrs. B’s husband had also been injured and their vehicle of many years had been destroyed. Despite being surrounded by naysayers, she vigorously advanced the claim on Mrs. B’s behalf. She recovered the full policy limits from the tortfeasor and an additional sum from Mrs. B’s underinsured motorist coverage.

*Some names and details have been changed to protect confidentiality.  While we can’t guarantee the same results; we can assure you the same effort.