A car accident can result in severe, life-altering injuries. One of the most common is an injury to your back. Auto accident back pain can be minor and temporary or severe and permanent.
Back pain after an auto accident is common because of the force of the impact and momentum that often propels your body forward.
If you were recently involved in a car accident and are suffering from back pain and suspect a severe injury, you may be entitled to significant compensation.
Common Back Injuries After a Car Accident
Whether you were hit from behind, t-boned, or any other trajectory, in the moments, days, and weeks after, you may be asking yourself, Why does my back hurt after a car accident?
Your back may be sore and bruised from the crash impact, seatbelt restriction, or airbag deployment. However, it is also possible that you suffered a severe back injury.
Here’s a look at four of the most common back injuries after a car accident.
Spinal Cord Injuries
One of the worst-case scenarios and most severe back injury you could suffer is a spinal cord injury. The spinal cord is necessary to relay messages from your brain to the rest of your body and runs through the protective vertebrae that make up the spine itself.
A break or dislocation in the spine can bruise, crush, or even sever the spinal cord. At best, this might result in temporary paralysis, numbness, or tingling. At worst, it can result in permanent paralysis and even death.
Whether you suffer temporary loss of feeling or movement or are rendered a person with quadriplegia from a car accident, you deserve justice and compensation for the harm suffered.
Herniated Disc
A herniated disc can also cause back pain and are common after a motor vehicle crash. A herniated disc occurs when one of the cushion-like pillows between the vertebrae ruptures, slips, or otherwise moves out of place.
The force of the crash can cause the disc to bulge or move out of place. Symptoms of a herniated disc can be similar to spinal cord injuries, such as weakness, numbness, tingling, and nerve pain. It is common for the pain to radiate outside of the back and down the limbs.
You will typically need radiology tests such as X-rays, MRIs, or CT scans to diagnose a herniated disc formally. Treatment will depend on the severity of the herniation and can range from rest and over-the-counter pain meds to physical therapy or even surgery.
Fractures and Dislocations
A car accident has a high risk of resulting in fractures or dislocations to the back. The severity and type of fracture or dislocation can vary. Examples include:
- Flexion fractures,
- Compression fractures,
- Transverse fractures, and
- Dislocations.
Fractures or dislocations typically happen immediately upon impact and can be excruciating. They almost always require immediate emergency medical attention, and requesting an EMS response from the nearest emergency room is imperative. Ignoring or moving with a back fracture can result in worsening or additional injury. They often require surgery to reset and repair and a long rehabilitation period.
Muscle Strains
A muscle strain or sprain may be the most common back injury from a car wreck. These can occur even in instances of low impact and little to no other injuries.
If you feel sore, pain, or stiffness, have spasms, or have limited mobility or range of motion, you should seek immediate medical attention. There typically is no easy fix for a soft tissue injury either. They can require long rest periods, time missed from work, and the inability to participate in your daily life.
While they do not typically require surgery and usually resolve themselves, it can be a slow recovery. Your doctor may prescribe over-the-counter or pharmaceutical pain medication, anti-inflammatories, heat therapy, ice packs, and physical therapy.
If you suffer one of these common back injuries or another entirely, the physical, emotional, and financial burden can be significant. We will help you hold those responsible for the crash liable for your injuries.
Damages for a Back Injury
The precise damages or compensation you can expect from your back injury will depend on various circumstances, including past and future medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, available insurance policy maximums, who the defendant is, liability, and more.
One of the many factors that substantially influences your damages is whether your back injury necessitates surgery. Whether your case settles or proceeds to a jury award, the compensation you ultimately receive can be significantly less or more depending on the medical treatment you need.
Back Injury with Surgery
Surgery is a huge expense; back surgeries are among the most expensive, invasive, and extensive procedures you can undergo. Therefore, a settlement will be much higher if you need one or more surgeries to correct your back injury.
Necessitating surgery will increase your economic damages because of the high medical costs and time missed from work. Surgery recommendations can also increase your noneconomic or intangible subjective losses, like pain and suffering.
Back surgeries often require extensive physical and occupational therapy, home modifications, pharmaceuticals, and follow-up surgeries, driving your economic losses up significantly.
The lengthy and harsh recovery time can also mean you miss out on daily household and social activities, leading to increased pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life damage.
Back Pain with No Surgery
If you are reading this and thinking I don’t need back surgery, but I am suffering from severe back pain, you may still be entitled to a significant sum of money. Not all back injuries require surgery, but that doesn’t mean they are less severe or painful.
Having an experienced and skilled attorney advocate for you can mean the difference between maximizing your potential settlement or award and losing it.
North Carolina Back Injury Attorneys
At Mehta & McConnell, we approach each case with compassion and aggressive representation for our clients, whether at the negotiating table or in the courtroom.
In 2023, we were recognized as one of North Carolina’s Super Lawyers. Let us put our experience and expertise to work for you. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.
Jason McConnell
Jason McConnell is the managing attorney of Mehta & McConnell Injury Lawyers, a Charlotte, North Carolina Workers’ Compensation law firm. In his free time he enjoys playing golf, cooking, traveling and following the UNC Tar Heels and Carolina Panthers.
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