Our law office sees many clients with herniated discs caused by accidents. In particular, we see quite a few people come to us with herniated disks as a result of car crashes. Herniated discs are nothing to take lightly. They’re painful and can induce years of back problems and other health issues caused by the initial injury.
A herniated disc, simply put, is when a spinal disc suffers trauma, ruptures and puts pressure on nerves in the spinal column. Spinal discs are somewhat like small pillows set between each of the vertebra in a person’s spine. These discs play an important role in absorbing shock as a body moves about in everyday life. Kind of like a jelly doughnut, a spinal disc contains a shock-absorbing “jelly” inside. With a herniated or ruptured disk, this jelly oozes out and causes discs to shift, hitting nearby nerves and showing up as pain and mobility difficulty.
Almost any car accident can easily be the trauma that leads to a herniated disk. Whether you’ve been in a fender bender or a major auto wreck on our Texas roads, there’s a chance you may have a herniated disk. Anytime you get into a car crash, you should see a doctor and call a lawyer.
Symptoms of a Herniated Disc
If you experience any kind of pain after an auto accident, you may have a herniated disc. You don’t even have to feel that pain in your back. The disc trauma may cause any pain to migrate to other parts of your body, depending on the location and severity of the initial injury. While you may feel severe pain in your back, it can also run down a leg or be felt as numbness in the buttocks region. Your thigh or foot might feel pain in addition to, or in place of, pain in the upper, middle or lower back area.
When nerves get pinched, they tend to shoot pain throughout a specific area of the body – even in the arms. Usually, emergency room doctors don’t identify a herniated disc right after an auto accident. Spinal disc injuries don’t always show up on X-rays, so it takes an MRI or CT scan for a doctor to diagnose a herniated disc correctly. Even if a doctor does diagnose a herniated disc, there’s no correlation between the injury and the level of pain felt. So, don’t place all of your bets for wellbeing on how you feel right after a car crash. See a doctor!
Dealing with Costs and Processes of a Herniated Disc
Since doctors typically need an MRI or CT scan to diagnose a herniated disk, you may have to see more physicians and pay more money beyond the emergency room. MRIs and CT scans are expensive tests, so be prepared for you or your insurance carrier to come up with these upfront costs for diagnosis. Insurance companies sometimes discourage these tests. Your doctor may need to insist on an MRI or CT scan after a car crash so you can be properly diagnosed.
After the adrenaline of the accident has worn off, accident victims often begin to feel increasing levels of pain that may be associated with a herniated disk. This can lead to more doctors visits and additional costs for treatment. Extreme pain and loss of mobility due to a herniated disk can make it hard for a person to work and generate income. There are many complications and factors that you need to consider if you’ve been in an automobile accident and suspect a herniated disk.
Patterson Law Group is here to walk you through the process of dealing with a herniated disc or any other injury you may have suffered because of an auto accident. If you’ve been in a car crash, contact Patterson Law Group.
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