Sustaining a back injury can be debilitating. You could struggle with chronic pain, stiffness, or even mobility issues. Some catastrophic injuries, such as spinal cord damage, can involve paralysis. These injuries could be the result of a variety of incidents, from car accidents to assaults, so it’s vital to have a clear idea of your legal options.
By beginning a personal injury claim, you may have the chance to recover your losses and, if you have ongoing medical needs, pay for all the future care you require.
If your back experiences sudden blunt, penetrating, or twisting forces, it could result in a variety of different injuries, with some potentially leaving you with lasting damage. Continue reading to learn more about the most common types of back injuries you could sustain.
Soft Tissue Injuries
Soft tissue injuries impact your muscles, ligaments, or tendons throughout your body, including your back. Back strains are one form of this, resulting from microscopic tears to the muscles or tendons. Back sprains, on the other hand, refer to stretching or tearing of the ligaments that connect each of the bones that make up your spinal canal, called vertebrae.
Soft tissue injuries can cause dull aches along with sharp pain when you move. Some people also experience tight muscle spasms. Lifting heavy objects without proper technique, sudden twisting motions, or other awkward movements can cause these injuries.
Bone and Structural Injuries
If you suffer a fracture in one of your vertebrae, which can result from severe accidents like rollover or speeding crashes, you can suffer vertebral compression fractures. These are injuries that could trigger a spinal canal collapse that causes severe pain in the mid- to lower-back that gets worse when you stand or walk. Compression fractures can even result in height loss.
Another potential structural injury you could suffer is spondylolisthesis. This is a condition in which a vertebra slips out of place and shifts onto the bone below it. Serious falls and crashes can cause these injuries. Symptoms can include low back pain and stiffness in your back or leg muscles. You can have pain in your sciatic nerve, too, and trouble walking or standing for a long time.
Disc Injuries
Discs sit between your vertebrae, cushioning them. Severe force can cause the soft, gel-like interior to push outward through a crack in the outer layer. This is known as a herniated disc.
A herniated or bulging disc puts pressure on nearby nerves and other structures. Symptoms include sharp, radiating pain, weakness, tingling, or numbness in the legs or arms.
Spinal Stenosis
Spinal stenosis occurs when the space inside your backbone narrows. This can lead to your spinal cord being squeezed. It’s most common in the neck and lower back regions of the spine. You can experience numbness or tingling in your hands, legs, arms, or feet. Weakness and pain, along with leg cramping, can also occur.
Spinal Cord Injuries
The most severe injuries connected to back wounds are those that cause harm to the spinal cord. Your spinal cord is part of the central nervous system, so any harm that it suffers could mean losing sensation or control over areas of your body. Spinal cord injuries can often be permanent.
Personal Injury Claims After Back Injuries
If you have suffered a back injury in an incident that another party caused, you may be entitled to file a personal injury claim to recover your losses. This legal process involves demonstrating that the other party owed you a duty of care that they failed to live up to, resulting in injuries for which you can be compensated.
To begin these claims, it’s essential to have an attorney by your side. You can expect the other party to attempt to pin the blame for your losses on you, which could mean receiving less compensation than you deserve. With an attorney, you can put together a strong case with a significant amount of evidence and fight for a settlement or jury award.
In all types of personal injury cases, it’s essential to act quickly. Not only do you have a statute of limitations to worry about, which is typically two years from the date of the injury, but you also need to have access to the freshest evidence possible. As time goes by, you may no longer be able to find witnesses, or physical evidence could degrade.
Contact the Santa Ana Personal Injury Lawyers at Robles Babaee, Personal Injury Lawyers for a Free Consultation
If you suffered a back injury due to someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing, you may be facing medical bills, time missed from work, emotional distress, and more. While this may be overwhelming, you do not have to deal with it alone.
At Robles Babaee, Personal Injury Lawyers, our team of experienced attorneys can assist you as you begin a claim after suffering a back injury. We offer the ongoing support you deserve. Schedule a free consultation with a Santa Ana personal injury lawyer to get started.