You may have suffered a herniated disc from a car accident. Such an injury can change your life, but you shouldn’t panic if you get diagnosed with this injury. Instead, you should speak with an experienced car accident attorney who understands how to protect your rights and maximize your claim. In addition to this, a car accident attorney can assist you in receiving the proper medical treatment from medical professionals who deal with car accident injuries on a regular basis. They will be adept at meticulously documenting your injuries and your medical bills and they will make sure that the proper medical tests are performed to uncover any injury that may not be readily seen. This includes the very painful herniated disc.
Understanding the Spine
You have 33 vertebrae that interlock with the discs of the body. This makes up your spinal cord, and you have five different regions of the spinal cord that include:
- Coccyx
- Sacral
- Lumbar
- Thoracic
- Cervical
How a spinal cord injury has an impact on you will largely depend on the location of the injury. This can also determine the medical costs. After an accident, you may not think that you have been injured, but no matter what you should visit a doctor as soon as possible. That’s because you don’t want the insurance company to try to say that your injuries came from something else. Insurance adjusters are not your friend and their job is to reduce or deny your claim. If you are in an accident, one of the most important things is to retain the services of a car accident attorney who is experienced in dealing with difficult insurance adjusters looking to minimize your claim. An experienced car accident attorney understands what needs to be done in order to deal with these insurance companies and how to maximize your claim.
What Happens When You Have a Herniated Disc?
When you have a herniated disc, it can be quite serious because you have spaces in between the spine that can’t stand up to this type of trauma. You have a disc in the spine that has two main layers. First, you have the annulus, which has fibrous and tough bands that help to protect the discs. Inside of the disc, you have substance similar to jelly that absorbs the shock to the body. If this becomes flat or brittle, you will be at a higher risk of having an injury. In some cases, herniated discs don’t give much pain, but you should still have a doctor look at it to document it.
This medical documentation helps any potential legal case. For example, if you were to experience more problems later, you have covered yourself so that the insurance companies don’t try to blame it on something else. It sounds terrible morally, but this happens every day with the insurance companies.
How a Herniated Disc Changes Your Life
With the proper care and medical attention, you can keep a herniated disc from taking over your life. Things as simple as unwinding on the couch after a long day at work can be difficult due to a herniated disc and the pain you may be experiencing. After a car accident it may be difficult to know if you have a backache or if you have a herniated disc. That’s why you need to have a doctor look at it. As a general rule of thumb, regular back pain will usually go away after six weeks, but a slipped disc has a notorious reputation for becoming worse over time. Some people will even have this problem for years before they seek a doctor’s assistance, and at that point it will be difficult for you to prove that it was the car accident that you were involved in that caused your herniated disc.
Normally, your doctor will order an MRI done to determine the extent of your herniated disc. They will also look at your ability to walk, your range of motion, your reflexes, your level of sensation and your muscle strength. After the diagnosis, your car accident attorney can help you to get a more favorable outcome. They can use the evidence gained to show that you were injured as a result of the car accident. A good attorney will take up your cause and fight for you. They will examine the evidence and figure out how to present it in the best light so that you can get the best settlement possible. We will fight for you!
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