While most drivers on the road are attentive and focused, others can be negligent and reckless, causing foreseeable collisions with severe and life-changing consequences, including neck and back injuries. Although some neck and back injuries can naturally resolve without medical intervention, others can cause ongoing discomfort or even make you unable to perform your daily chores due to bothersome pain.
Fortunately, if the injuries were due to negligence or wrongdoing of another person, you could qualify for compensatory damages to recover your monetary losses caused by the injury. That is where the services of an attorney become critical. A skilled attorney can assist you in filing an auto accident claim against the liable party or his/her insurance provider to secure adequate compensation for your losses.
Unfortunately, sustaining back or neck pain after an auto accident is quite common, even if the collision is not severe. If you have suffered a back or neck injury after a car accident, an attorney can help you understand your constitutional rights and seek damages from the at-fault party.
What to Do After Sustaining Back or Neck Pain After a Car Accident
What you do immediately after sustaining back or neck pain after an auto accident will come into play when seeking compensation for your injuries and losses. Here are crucial steps that can increase your odds of securing compensatory damages after sustaining back or neck pain in an auto accident:
1. Seek the Services of a Medical Practitioner
Time is of the essence if you have sustained a neck or back-related injury after an auto accident because, when left untreated, these injuries could worsen with time, requiring extensive and expensive treatment. Delaying to seek medical treatment after sustaining a neck or back-related injury in an auto accident could also make it challenging to receive a fair settlement for your losses.
Hence, seeking immediate medical treatment after an auto accident is vital, even if the pain is not severe. Your doctor will evaluate the severity of the injury and offer the necessary treatment. Remember to keep a journal of all medical expenses to help prove your medical damages’ worth.
2. Avoid Signing any Settlement Agreement
After sustaining an injury in an auto accident, your auto insurance company or the at-fault party's insurer could present you with an opportunity to settle the case out of court. Although it could be a favorable way to secure compensatory damages after an auto accident, you should consult a reliable attorney before accepting any settlement offer.
The attorney you will hire can help you file a lawsuit against the responsible party or his/her insurer if the settlement offer is insufficient to recover adequate compensatory damages for your losses.
3. Inform Your Auto Insurance Provider About the Collision Incident
As part of your insurance coverage agreement, you must inform your auto insurance provider whenever you sustain an injury in an auto accident. Failing to notify your auto insurer about an accident could reduce your chances of securing compensatory damages for your losses.
4. Seek the Services of an Attorney
Finally, you will rely on your attorney to help investigate the auto accident case that caused your injuries and prepare your compensation claim as you recuperate. Your attorney will be your legal representative during settlement negotiation and at trial to help secure maximum compensation for your losses resulting from the auto accident.
Causes of Back and Neck Pain After an Auto Accident
The sudden impact of a car accident can expose your head and neck to rapid and sudden movements, especially if you have your seatbelt on, causing severe injury or strain to your back and neck muscles. While back injuries can occur after any kind of auto accident, neck or back injuries are more common in rear-end crashes.
You have the legal right to pursue compensation from the at-fault party to recover the costs of treating your back and neck pain, regardless of the kind of auto accident that caused your injuries. The neck and back pain caused by an auto accident could be a symptom of various neck and back injuries, including:
Whiplash
Whiplash is undoubtedly one of the most prevalent causes of car accidents and back and neck pain. Whiplash occurs due to the impact of a car collision, which makes your body snap violently back and forth. In most cases, this sudden motion will cause injury to the soft tissues around your spine and sometimes the spine itself, causing chronic back and neck pain.
Herniated Discs
Another common injury in an auto accident that can lead to back pain. Discs are tiny, round cartilage that serves as shock absorbers and cushions between your vertebrae to protect your back from injury. A herniated or bulging disc is a condition that occurs when the inner gel-like substance of your spinal disc protrudes through a crack in the outer casing.
Although it could occur due to aging-related wear and tear, the impact of an automobile collision can also cause a herniated disc. Persistent numbness in your leg and back pain are common symptoms of a herniated disc.
Facet Joint Injuries
A pair of facet joints at the back of each spinal segment connect your spine's vertebrae bones. Facet joints allow a person to bend in any direction without injuring his/her spine. However, if these joints are damaged, they could affect tissues and nerves around your spine, causing back pain. Some of the common causes of facet joint issues include the following:
- Untreated spine trauma
- Thinning of the cartilage between your vertebrae
Spondylolisthesis
Spondylolisthesis is a condition caused by a spinal fracture that causes the vertebrae to misalign, compressing the surrounding nerves. The specific location and severity of the vertebral displacement will affect the pain levels you experience.
Back Sprains and Strains
Back strains occur when the tendons and soft tissue surrounding the spine are overextended or overstretched, causing them to tear apart. On the other hand, back sprains result from excessive stretching of the ligaments that hold bones to joints, tearing them apart.
Both of these health issues can cause annoying and bothersome pain that is challenging to manage. Since diagnosing this condition using imaging tests is difficult, you should consider speaking with a skilled physician or chiropractor.
Degenerative Disc Disorders
A traumatic back injury can also cause degenerative disc disorders within months or years after the accident. Although it could happen to anyone, adults are more likely to experience degenerative disc disorders, such as:
- Pinched nerves
- Spinal stenosis
- Spinal osteoarthritis
- Degenerative scoliosis
- Foraminal stenosis
- Sciatica
A traumatic car accident can worsen any pre-existing degenerative disc disorder, causing extreme pain in the affected part of the spine.
Spinal Stenosis
Spinal stenosis is the narrowing of the spinal canal, often caused by the impact of an auto accident. Some of the symptoms of this condition include bothersome pain.
Neck and Back Pain Treatment
The ideal treatment for back or neck pain will depend on the cause of your unique problem. When you visit your doctor after an auto accident, he/she will conduct various tests, including X-rays and MRI scans, to determine the root cause of your problem and recommend appropriate treatment.
The severity and nature of your unique injury could impact how much your treatment will cost. Fortunately, all these losses are compensable in a successful auto accident claim. Below are the recommended treatments for neck and back pain:
Physical Therapy
A physical therapist or chiropractor can help with neck or back pain. Their hands-on experience and skills in manipulating your spine with their fingers can help alleviate neck or back pain and significantly improve your range of motion.
Generally speaking, each physical therapy session could cost between $75 and $200, meaning the more sessions your therapist recommends, the more money you will spend on your treatment.
Medications
If you have neck or back pain, your doctor could recommend anti-inflammatory medicine to prevent inflammation of the affected area and uncomfortable pain. Below are other medications your doctor could recommend:
- Anti-epileptics
- Antidepressants
- Naproxen
- Acetaminophen
Non-Surgical Treatments
Some non-surgical remedies, like intradiscal steroid injections, can help relieve the pain caused by disc injuries. Although not as costly as spine surgery, these treatments could cost between $500 and $1,600.
Surgical Treatments
If surgical treatments cannot help alleviate your neck or back pain, your doctor could recommend spinal surgery. Fortunately, due to the advancement of technology, an orthopedic surgeon could use minimally invasive spine surgery techniques, like spinal fusion or spinal decompression, to alleviate your back or neck pain with no discomfort during the procedure.
As mentioned above, remember to keep a journal of all your medical expenses since the date of the accident, including therapy costs and over-the-counter medications, to help prove your claim’s worth.
What Damages Will I Recover from Car Accident Back or Neck Pain?
Aside from the physical pain, neck and back injuries are also expensive to treat. Hence, your compensation for your injuries should cover your medical costs, pain and suffering, and other related losses resulting from the car collision. If your car accident lawsuit works in your favor, you will receive non-economic and economic damages for the following losses:
- Medical expenses, including therapy costs and medication costs
- Loss of joy in life
- Vehicle repair costs
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Lost earning capacity
- Disability costs
- Emotional trauma
- Lost wages
- Loss of companion
How to Deal With an Insurance Adjuster After Filing an Auto Accident Claim for Neck or Back Pain
When you sustain a back or neck injury after a car collision, you can seek damages from the liable party if he/she was negligent or reckless. You begin by filing an auto collision claim with his/her auto insurance provider.
However, his/her auto insurer will not bow down to your demands without a blow. The auto insurer of the at-fault party will send insurance adjusters to investigate the case and determine whether you deserve compensation for your losses.
The insurance adjuster could look for ways to reduce the damages the insurance provider should pay, even in cases where there is enough evidence to support your compensation claim after an auto accident.
The insurance adjusters investigating your claim could attempt to trick you into admitting liability or responsibility for the auto accident that caused your injuries. However, you do not have to respond to their tricky questions without seeking your attorney’s legal advice.
Why You Need an Attorney for a Car Accident for Your Back and Neck Pain Injury
Many assume retaining the services of an attorney is expensive, but that is untrue. If you have sustained neck or back pain after a car accident, you will rely on your attorney to help do the following:
- Offer you legal advice
- Investigate your accident case to determine the at-fault party
- Negotiate with insurance adjusters to secure a fair settlement for your losses resulting from the car accident
- Represent you at trial and provide evidence to help increase your odds of securing adequate compensatory damages for your losses
Handling a car accident neck or back pain claim without an attorney could lead to unnecessary mistakes that can lessen your odds of securing substantial compensation for your losses. Also, time is of the essence if you have sustained neck or back pain after an auto accident. Like any other injury case, you will have up to two (2) years from the car accident date to file a lawsuit against the at-fault to receive compensation for your back or neck pain.
Find a Car Accident Personal Injury Attorney Near Me
The aftermath of a car accident can be confusing and stressful, but you have options. If you have sustained back or neck pain after a car accident caused by another person’s negligence or recklessness, you can sue him/her for compensation.
At Jacksonville Personal Injury Attorney, we can help you prepare your compensation claim as you recuperate and represent you during settlement negotiations and the trial hearing, if necessary, to secure the best possible outcome. Call us at 904-800-7557 to discuss your unique case with our understanding and reliable personal injury attorneys.
