During a car accident, your entire body is subjected to a tremendous amount of force. Even if you have your seatbelt on, even if your airbag cushions you, even if you avoid all visible injury, your body registers the force of the accident. This often results in soreness after the accident, but sometimes it results in more serious soft tissue injuries. If you experience sharp pain, numbness, or weakness in your arms or legs after an auto accident, you may have suffered a disc injury. Disc injury is a form of soft tissue injury that can result in a lifetime of pain or disability and may require ongoing and expensive treatment.
If you have been in a car accident and are now experiencing pain or numbness in your back or limbs, you may have suffered a disc injury and should consult with a personal injury lawyer and get evaluated for a herniated disc. Phoenix, Arizona personal injury lawyer Jerrold Mayro has helped many people with serious injuries after car accidents, including disc injuries, and he can help you. Call or email him today for a free consultation about your rights.
Commonly Missed in Emergency Rooms
After your auto accident, you may have been evaluated by paramedics at the scene or sent to the emergency room. You may have had x-rays taken. Most likely, though, your disc injury would not have been diagnosed. Herniated discs cannot be seen on an x-ray. The characteristic pain of disc injury is often confused with general pain and soreness after an accident. But while your other pain gets better over time, the pain, numbness, and weakness from your disc injury may get worse and may even become disabling.
Diagnosing a disc injury requires more precise testing than an x-ray, such as an MRI or CT scan. There are also more targeted diagnostic tests that can be used in addition, such as discography, myelography, or electromyography.
Understanding Disc Injury
The discs are soft pads of cartilage, protein, and water that hold your spine together, cushion your vertebrae, and allow your spine to bend. They have tough, fibrous exteriors and a fluid center. When your spine is subjected to extreme force, either through repeated strains or through a single traumatic event, the fluid center may be pushed outward, deforming or breaking the fibrous exterior.
When the disc becomes ruptured, it is known as a herniated disc or slipped disc. This portion of the disc can put pressure on the roots of nerves that carry information to and from other parts of the body such as the arms and legs. When pressured by a herniated or slipped disc, the root sends pain signals to the brain and may be incapable of carrying signals to and from the limbs, leading to numbness or weakness in the limb.
When a disc ruptures, many of the symptoms are the same, but it reduces the likelihood that the injury will resolve without treatment, and it may increase the need for surgery.
A disc injury is not the same as a spinal cord injury, but it can be just as bad. If you suffer a disc injury, the pain and weakness in your limbs may prevent you from working. You may need expensive prescriptions, physical therapy, or surgery to reduce your pain, but may never find genuine relief. After your disc injury, you need the help of a lawyer who understands your pain and your problems and can help you get the money you need to continue living your life and supporting those who depend on you.
Insurance Company Denials
Disc injuries are sometimes disputed by insurance companies. Either they will deny that you have an injury, that your injury is not as severe as you claim, or that it is the result of a preexisting condition. Arguments of this type are made to deny or reduce the compensation for your injury. With proper documentation and evidence, these arguments can often be overcome.
Phoenix, Arizona personal injury lawyer Jerrold Mayro knows how to help victims of disc injury. He will help you document your injury and assess its real cost to you in terms of past and future medical bills, diminished earning ability, and diminished quality of life. He will fight to get you the maximum compensation to which you are entitled. Please contact him today for a free initial consultation.