Whiplash & Whiplash Injury St. Louis

spinal cord injury

What is Causing Lower Back Pain After Car Accident?

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Three major causes of lower back pain after a car accident include damaged spinal discs, muscle strains and sprains, and an injured spinal cord.

Depending on the impact of your car crash, you may experience lower back pain immediately or days later. That’s why it’s important to seek medical attention immediately after a car crash – even if the pain you are experiencing seems negligible. If left untreated, minor injuries or pain could turn into major injuries down the road. This article will explore three major causes of lower back pain in the aftermath of an auto crash.

woman with lower back pain after car accident

Back Pain as a Result of Damaged Spinal Discs

Spinal discs are spongy circular-shaped cartilages responsible for spine stability, and they also make movement possible by offering the vertebrae ‘pivot points‘. Your discs can withstand intense pressure. However, extreme levels of pressure can cause the inner jelly-like substance to push against the outer ring of your disc, triggering back pain and nerve symptoms. The pain can be excruciating. 

Back Pain as a Result of Muscle Strains and Sprains

Your lower back derives its support from soft tissues: ligaments, tendons, and muscles. These soft tissues cover your entire back from the shoulders to the tailbone. These tissues are delicate and can be damaged when subjected to extreme pressure. Depending on the severity of the injury, the strained tissues can take weeks or months to recover. 

Injured Spinal Cord

A high-velocity car accident can likely cause spinal cord damage. A damaged spinal cord can lead to irreversible health conditions, including chronic pain, partial or total paralysis, blood clots, and spinal fluid leaks. 

What to Do If You Have Back Pain After a Car Accident

If your back starts hurting after an accident, don’t ignore it. The injury and pain may get worse as time passes. Seek medical help immediately.

Not only is seeking medical attention important for the sake of your health, but it also helps protect your claim. Insurance companies will often argue that your back pain was not caused by the auto accident. In such a situation, your doctor’s report will help play an important role in proving that the car accident caused your back pain and injuries.

In addition to seeing a doctor right away, it is highly recommended that you speak with an experienced St. Louis car accident attorney as soon as possible. We can’t emphasize this enough: resist the urge to talk to your insurance provider without a lawyer. Any statements you make could be used against you. Also, during this period, make sure you follow your doctor’s advice.

Speak With an Experienced St. Louis Car Accident Attorney

If you have suffered injuries in a car accident, contact The Hoffman Law Firm today. Our experienced attorneys can evaluate your case for free and help ensure your legal rights are protected.

FREE Consultation

Speak with an experienced attorney 24/7

Click to Call: (314) 361-4242

Common Injuries Resulting From St. Louis Motorcycle Accidents

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Motorcycle accidents can be severe and can result in catastrophic injuries or even permanent disability.

While an accident can happen in a split second, the aftermath of an accident and the recovery period can take months, if not years. Even with a helmet, motorcycle riders can sustain a head injury, and these can require ongoing medical care, rehabilitation, therapy, home and lifestyle adaptations, assistive devices, etc. If an accident victim is fortunate enough to recover partially or fully from their injuries, the chances are that the process will be difficult and expensive.

st. louis motorcycle accident scene

Possible Injuries

While a minor accident may simply result in road rash or a fracture or two, it is not uncommon for victims of motorcycle accidents to sustain severe injuries including:

Any of these injuries or the combination of several can be life-altering. Though the recovery process might be long and/or difficult, with medical treatment, most of these injuries can be recovered from. The injuries most likely to have long-lasting implications, however, are spinal cord injuries and brain injuries. Because these injuries can be permanent, they will most likely require ongoing and costly medical treatment. It is possible that a patient may not be able to make a full recovery.

Brain Injuries

Brain injuries are, unfortunately, common injuries sustained in motorcycle accidents. Motorcyclists should always wear a helmet to prevent serious head injuries, but even wearing a helmet does not mean that you are fully protected in a major accident. Brain injuries can be minor, or they can be severe. Symptoms may not immediately present themselves. If you have been in an accident where you may have hit your head, you should always see medical attention to make sure a head injury does not go undiagnosed.

Symptoms of brain injuries can include:

  • Nausea
  • Dizziness
  • Confusion
  • Memory Loss
  • Chronic Pain
  • Headaches

A more serious brain injury can result in cognitive and behavioral problems and physical disabilities. Someone with a serious brain injury may need long-term medical care.

Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal cord injuries are also common in motorcycle accidents. Spinal cord injuries can cause varying degrees of paralysis or physical disability. Caring for someone with a spinal cord injury for the rest of their life can cost millions of dollars, and unfortunately, many of the treatments may not be covered by health insurance.

Legal Help for St. Louis Accident Victims

Discussing your accident and potential case with a St. Louis auto accident attorney as soon as possible is important. Your attorney can advise you regarding the best way to proceed. They can protect your rights and pursue full compensation for you and your family. Your attorney will make sure that the insurance company is not taking advantage of you or underpaying you and will help you to decide whether settling is right for your particular case or not. Acting quickly and finding a supportive attorney to guide you through the legal process is extremely important.

Contacting an experienced St. Louis motorcycle attorney as soon as possible is the best way to maximize your chances of getting full compensation.

FREE Consultation

Speak with an experienced attorney 24/7

Click to Call: (314) 361-4242

Investigating Injuries After a St. Louis Auto Accident

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two doctors looking at MRI

It’s imperative to see a doctor as soon as possible after a car accident. Some injuries are not visible right away, but a doctor will be able to diagnose and treat them accordingly.

Your GP or the emergency unit doctors will make sure to recommend the proper investigations, but sometimes it’s up to you to request certain tests that might not be suggested at first, due to long waiting times or lack of insurance coverage.

Here are the three most common medical investigations you might consider if you’ve been injured in a car crash.

X-Ray

What Is It?

The most common use for X-Rays in medicine is to identify bone fractures. X-Rays are electromagnetic waves that penetrate soft tissue but don’t go through bone. They provide an image of your skeletal structures, showing fissures, fractures or dislocation.

What Is It Recommended for?

X-Rays will be most probably the first investigation that will be done in an emergency unit. It is meant to detect any bone fractures or other injuries to bone tissue, joints or skull.

CT Scan

What Is It?

A CT scan is performed when the suspected injuries might go beyond just the bone. A CT scanner is a medical device where the patient is laying down and is pushed through a circular scanner. This ensures that there are electromagnetic rays coming from all directions, giving the doctors detailed images of the patient’s insides. The images often appear as “slices” of the human body.

What Is It Recommended for?

A CT scan can detect traumatic brain injuries, internal organs ruptures, soft tissue and blood vessels injuries, tumors, etc. A CT scan will pick up injuries that will go undetected in an X-Ray exam.

MRI

What Is It?

The most complex exam of the three is the MRI scan. It’s not often recommended to car accident patients as their injuries are usually detected with the prior two methods. But, in some cases, certain body parts can be affected in such a way that a diagnosis becomes difficult. An MRI scan is crucial in determining the source of the problem and the right treatment they should take.

What Is It Recommended for?

Most often used when there’s a suspicion of TBI (traumatic brain injury) in a car accident victim, the MRI will be able to show more about the nature of the injury and how the brain was affected. Another diagnosis possible through an MRI scan is related to spinal injuries.

How Can a Car Accident Attorney Help?

If you believe you need extra investigations and your doctors seem reluctant to do them because of administrative issues like insurance coverage, your attorney can advocate for you and demand a more comprehensive evaluation of your injuries. Your St. Louis car accident attorney will ensure your legal right to compensation is protected.

FREE Consultation

Speak with an experienced attorney 24/7

Click to Call: (314) 361-4242

Spinal Cord Injury Myths That Can Affect Your Car Accident Claim

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There are many myths surrounding spinal cord injuries that may end up hurting your settlement.

car accident victim with a spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injuries are caused when there is damage to the spinal cord or nerves. This type of injury can cause permanent or temporary issues, and the medical treatment that is often required is quite extensive.

It’s why spinal cord injuries are common in car accident claims. However, there are many myths surrounding this type of injury that may end up hurting your settlement. Here are the most common ones:

1. If the Victim Is Young, Rehabilitation Is Easier and Total

A common misconception for really all types of injuries is that when they happen to young people, they are easier to heal. Though it is true that older people can have an increased likelihood of complications, the fact that a person is young is not enough to establish how long it will take them to recover from this type of injury.

The only one that can do that is your doctor. If the insurance company tries to offer a lower settlement because they claim you don’t need as much time to recover as older victims, they are wrong, and you need to push back.

2. Spinal Cord Injuries Are Uncommon in Car Accidents

Another myth is that spinal cord injuries are most commonly caused by falls or direct hits to the spine region. Except, there is no evidence to suggest this is true, and in fact, spinal cord injuries can be very common in high-impact car accidents. The insurance company may ask for additional proof to show that your injury is indeed a cause of the accident, and not something else. But don’t worry, a medical expert can effectively prove it is, based on your medical history and other relevant tests.

3. Doctors or Therapists Can Accurately Predict a Patient’s Recovery

In a car accident claim, the insurance company may bring their own medical expert to weigh in on your case. They do it to show any inconsistencies in your treatment, and sometimes the biggest issue has to with the time for recovery.

The medical expert will claim you can get better in a specific timeframe, usually much lower than the one estimated by your doctor. The insurance company can then use that statement as leverage to lower your settlement. However, it’s almost impossible to predict exactly how long a person will need to recover or how much medical treatment they require. Some data can allow medical experts to assess a potential time frame, but it can’t be used as fact.

Speak With an Attorney

If you’ve been the victim of a car accident and have suffered a spinal cord injury as a result, don’t let these common myths about this condition be used to the insurance company’s advantage. Get in touch with a St. Louis car accident lawyer and work together with them to prepare a strong case that can counter any claims made by the adjuster. Give us a call 24/7 at (314) 361-4242 for a FREE case evaluation.