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Car Accidents and Back Pain
Painful Back Injury after a Car Accident?
Car accidents can cause devastating damage to a person's back.
These painful back injuries can leave victims reeling and unable to perform their day-to-day activities without excrutiating pain.
Extreme cases can cause spinal fractures, chronic pain, and leave victims bed ridden for extended periods.
Expensive surgeries and prolonged recovery times can leave victims disabled, reeling, and struggling to cope with the damage.
Plus, car accident back injuries do not always show up immediately.
Immediately after a serious accident victims are often in a state of shock. The body releases massive amounts of adrenaline and cortisol that can mask pains and symptoms of their physical condition.
The best auto accident injury lawyers will tell you that if the accident was strong enough to bend metal it had enough force cause serious bodily harm.
If you suffered a back injury in a car crash, contact the personal injury attorneys at Lawsuit Legal to discuss your case right away.
We understand how important securing full compensation is after being seriously injured and can help secure the settlement you deserve.
Back Injuries After a Car Accident: The 3 Types Explained
The human spine is the main highway of nerves for the body’s central nervous system. The brain and the body use it to communicate with each other.
Days or even weeks after a collision if what seemed like just soreness is turning into a nagging sharp pain - you may have a serious issue.
Damage to any of the three main sections of your back after an auto accident is common due to the violent forces involved.
- Neck (Cervical Vertebrae)
- Upper Back (Thoracic Vertebrae)
- Lower Back (Lumbar Vertebrae)
The sudden and unexpected jolt to any of these three areas should be considered damage and result in injury. Our backs have not evolved to a level that can handle the type of force generated in motor vehicle accidents.
Strong, but fragile (The Spinal Cord’s Reaction to a Car Crash)
Our spinal cord has been evolving for thousands of years. Our backs have developed into a strong and crucial part of our everyday lives.
Unfortunately, a car crash exposes our spine’s fragile and vital nature. Slight damage to your back’s discs, vertabrae, joints, muscles or bones can have significant consequences, resulting in chronic pain, paralysis, and mobility loss. Spinal cord injuries can lead to life-long disability and significant pain and suffering.
"The chance of sustaining serious spine and associated multiple injuries in car accidents is high on our nations roadways."
Because of this; pain, numbness or sensitivity to one part of your body may actually be due to damage to your spine.
This example shows the importance of finding a doctor aftar a car accident that specializes in neck and back problems commonly resulting from these events.
Waiting to get an accurate diagnosis can lead to further damage and denial of claims.
A variety of back injuries can occur when motorist hit one another. These injuries have unique symptoms that should be taken seriously.
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Doctor Treatment & Symptoms of Back Problems from Accidents
After an accident you need to seek medical treatment. You may require surgery, medication, and other treatments to avoid riskling life-long mobility loss, chronic pain, and potential paralysis. Review your treatment options with a medical professional.
The pain related to spinal cord injuries is called Discogenic pain. This low back pain is from damage around and to the softer cartilage discs that separate the bones in your spine.
The discs in your spine are damaged easily by the sudden jarring effects of a car crash.
This type of injury most commonly occurs in the lower back.
Keep in mind, back pain from a car accident may not be felt immediately.
When undiagnosed these lower back pain issues can lead to further deterioration of the spine.
This is known as degenerative spine disorder.
Back Pain after a Car Accident: Symptoms Checklist
- Lumbar Sprains: Back pain after lifting items off a counter or floor causes pain that did not occur before the car accident. Known as a lumbar sprain. The back muscles, tendons and ligaments have been overstretched or torn. This lower back pain damage can result in muscle spasms and severe pain.
- Spinal Stenosis: Developing pain, numbness, tingling or weakness in extremities over time. These are signs of spinal stenosis. Evidence of this is revealed through MRI and CT scan. This is a delayed onset injury because symptoms are commonly not felt immediately after a car accident.
- IMPORTANT: This type of injury highlights the importance of getting an MRI or CT scan after a car accident. You could be injured and not feel it for months later.
- Sciatica: Shooting lower back pain, down the buttocks and through the hips and legs. This is painful sciatica. The sciatic nerve is damaged by violent movement common in traffic accidents.
- Facet Joint Injury: Pain that gets worse when bending, turning, walking or lifting and feels better when lying down or reclining. Also has frequent muscle spasms that disjoint the back. A Facet joint injury has occured. This can be revealed through X-Rays.
- Herniated Disc: Instant pain, numbness, tingling or weakness in arms or legs are commonly associated with a herniated disc injury. Some of the soft inner spine has pushed through the thicker outer disc resulting in severe back pain.
- Problems with you arms or upper body indicates a cervical injury.
- Issues with your legs and lower body indicates lumber damage.
Never ignore these back pain symptoms, immediately seek treatment from a doctor and obtain injury lawyer representation to ensure proper compensation for your injuries.
Time is limited after a collision for your injuries to be medically reviewed and proper medical documentation obtained.
Tell your doctors and attorney about any lower back pain you are experiencing. These professionals help victims of traffic accidents everyday and have experience diagnosing and helping people with potential workers' comp and injury claims.
Why Lower Back, Whiplash, and Spine Injuries are So Common
Almost every driver on the road today has been involved in a rear-end collision of some sort. This is the most common type of vehicle accident.
The sudden stop force involved in being rear-ended commonly results in neck injuries, head, shoulder and lower back injuries.
The unexpected collision with a stopped vehicle can involve violent force, whipping the head violently. The driver and passengers are not looking behind them and their body is at rest at the time of impact making a neck injury especially common occurrence.
Without tensing your body, the back is completely unprepared for the violent sudden whipping force.
This is why even lower speed rear-end collisions can hurt so bad and commonly result in serious back injury.
Was your crash strong enough to bend metal?
A good rule of thumb used by auto accident attorneys is that if your crash was was strong enough to bend metal - it was strong enough to cause serious trauma and you should seek medical attention immediately.
Surprise Impact Trauma Example
Think about it like a defenseless wide receiver in a football game. If another driver hits them when they are not ready, the wide receiver can be seriously injured.
This is because their body is not prepared to take such a violent blow. The player that hit them can be fined and suspended for their actions.
The same goes for drivers. If a motorist rear-ends you when you are not prepared, whiplash and back injuries are more likely.
In this case the at-fault driver is usually also responsible for their actions (failure to control speed) and has to pay for their negligence. The average whiplash settlement amounts can vary widely depending on supporting evidence and the details of the case.
Whichever type of car accident lead to your back injury, proper post accident care and legal assistance is the most effective path to recover insurance compensation for the full extent of damages sustained.
Back Pain Compensation After an Accident
Consulting with an experienced attorney is as important as receiving the best medical care for you injury as well as obtaining the best possible legal outcome.
Financial compensation should account for costs of any therapy and treatment plan required and consider the pain and suffering back injuries cause patients. When assessing damages a full & fair tally ofpast, present and future losses suffered as a result of the accident should be included in any claim filed against the insurance company.
Getting the proper short-term and long-term medical treatment is expensive. Serious back injuries can require long-term treatment, extensive corrective sergery and rehabilitation. The injuries sustained can be very painful and the medical bills can accumulate fast.
Review any pretrial settlement offer with an attorney who can help you maximize what you're legally entitled before taking any action you may later regret.
Get legal advice from an experienced accident injury law firm as soon as possible, in order to make sure you don't settle for less than you're owed in compensation.
Speak to our car accident attorneys to review the details of your damages right away, and discuss your legal compensation options. Take advantage of the free consultation to review your legal options. A wreck involving a serious back injury is complex and painful, but with proper representation you can focus on treatment and recovery knowing the legal aspects of your case are in good hands.
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