Back and neck injury after a car accident?
It is very common to sustain back and neck injuries in a car accident. The reason for this is because of the forces involved in the accident itself. For example, when you vehicle is hit from behind, you might be thrust backwards violently. Sometimes your head will snap back and strike the headrest of the car, resulting in a neck injury. Even worse, sometimes your car or truck will be pushed into another vehicle in front of you. This may then cause you to violently be thrown forward. In fact, you could be thrown backwards and forwards multiple times, as vehicles are known to ‘pin-ball’ back in forth between two vehicles at times. Your neck and back were not designed for such violent acceleration and deceleration changes. For this reason, your neck and back can be injured in the accident.
The mildest form of neck and back injury would be a strain or sprain. This is what insurance companies refer to as a ‘whiplash’ injury. On the other end of the spectrum are the more serious neck and back injuries. You can suffer broken bones in your spinal column. You could also suffer a herniated or bulging disc in your spine. Some of these injuries require surgical intervention. While spinal x-rays will typically show whether or not you have broken bone in you spine, they will usually not show if you have a herniated or bulging disc. For that you usually will need to have an MRI done or a CT scan.
Although I am a lawyer and not a doctor, I have seen thousands of injury cases and I have a pretty good idea of what type of imaging you might need to investigate your injuries to the fullest. Of course, I always recommend that you follow the advice of your medical professional. However, I have worked with many different types of medical specialists over the years that I can refer you to so that you can get the proper medical treatment. I work with medical professionals in all areas of Salt Lake County, including Salt Lake City, West Jordan and West Valley City. I even work with some medical professionals that will see you if you do not have health insurance or if your PIP (personal injury protection) benefits have been used up from your automobile insurance. Contact me to today and let me see what I can do to assist you.