Herniated Disc Injury After a Wichita Auto Accident

Our attorneys will fight to get you maximum compensation

Car wrecks can result in a herniated disc, in your neck or back, and these injuries can result in permanent impairment of function. Medical bills for emergency room visits, MRI studies, and evaluations by specialists get expensive quickly.   With these injuries, you may miss time from work and may have restrictions on work activities leading to additional financial loss.  You need to focus on getting treatment to get better instead of dealing with multiple insurance adjusters. Don’t let the insurance adjusters waste your time with calls, texts, letters, and requests for statements and information.

You need an experienced Wichita injury lawyer who knows how to get results. The attorneys at PISTOTNIK LAW have been helping injury victims for decades. We know the impact a herniated disc can have on the lives of victims and their families. We are determined to help clients recover maximum compensation.

A herniated disc injury after an auto accident is very serious. Our attorneys will assist in making sure you get quality medical care.  We handle all the initial contacts and paperwork with the insurance companies.

What Is a Herniated Disc Injury?

The spine is made up vertebrae that are stacked on top of each other, and these are cushioned with discs in between. There are three sections in the spinal column that involve herniated disc injuries:

• Cervical (seven bones labeled C1 to C7)
• Thoracic (twelve bones labeled T1 to T12)
• Lumbar (five bones labeled L1-L5)

The discs between each vertebra is made of cartilage, with a thick outer layer called an annulus and a jelly-like material inside. These discs allow the spinal column to be flexible and function as shock absorbers. A herniated disc is a tear or rupture in one of the discs.

Car wrecks can cause damage to the discs. There is a tremendous amount of force on the neck and back during a collision. This can result in a tear or rupture in the disc and material inside the disc can leak out. Damage to the discs are sometimes referred to as a ruptured disc, slipped disc, bulging disc, or annular tear.

A herniated disc can occur at any level of the spinal column, from the neck area to the lower back. Sometimes more than one disc is affected. The symptoms of a herniated disc include pain, and symptoms often include numbness, tingling, and weakness down the arms or the legs.

What Treatment Is Associated With A Herniated Disc After an Auto Accident?

After an auto accident, a herniated disc injury may not become apparent for some time. During the emergency room visit or during the first follow up appointments with your doctors, the healthcare providers are providing treatment for your symptoms without the benefit of radiological tests that confirm a disc injury. Depending on the doctor, and based on the symptoms you report to them they may send you for a CT scan, or MRI. Another less common test is a myelogram, in which a special dye is injected into the spinal fluid before an X-ray is taken. Another diagnostic test used is an electromyogram (EMG)/nerve conduction study, wherein a neurologist tests to measure electrical activity in response to nerve stimulation.

Treatment for a herniated disc can depend on many different factors, including the severity of your injury and the amount of herniation to the disc. Treatment may include physical therapy, prescription or over-the-counter pain medication, epidural cortisone injections, and other pain management procedures. If the disc herniation is severe, surgery may be needed, such as:

• Laminectomy – Part of the bone of the vertebra near the herniated disc is removed to allow more space for spinal nerves.
• Microdiscectomy – Part of the herniated disc that is causing pain is removed.
• Fusion surgery – Two or more vertebrae are fused together. There are different procedures used for this surgery and different medical devices that can be implanted.

A herniated disc injury will impact your life physically and financially. Physically, you have pain, loss of mobility, and you may have radicular type symptoms like numbness, tingling, and weakness in your extremities.  Financially, you have medical bills and wage loss to deal with. You may end up with physician recommended work restrictions which could affect your ability to perform your job.  If surgery doesn’t work, there may be repeat surgeries or even long term pain management.

What Problems Surface With Herniated Disc Injuries?

Insurance adjusters spend great effort trying to disprove these injuries by trying to argue that they were pre-existing or that the injuries were not related to the car wreck.  They want to get all of your old medical records to try to find evidence of prior neck or back symptoms.  You should never give them an unlimited medical authorization to access your old medical records.  They may try to get your physician to give opinions that the disc problems were caused by aging or genetics rather than the car wreck. Some physicians are not helpful and have difficulty giving medical opinions that confirm your treatment was related to the auto accident.  Most physicians will at least acknowledge that the wreck aggravated the preexisting condition.  Injury victims have a hard time understanding that they had a preexisting medical condition when that condition may have never caused any symptoms prior to the wreck.  An aggravation of a preexisting condition is compensable as part of your car wreck case.  If your case has to be decided by a jury, a Kansas judge will instruct the jury regarding an aggravation of a preexisting condition:  “Plaintiff is not entitled to recover for any physical ailment, defect, or disability that existed prior to the occurrence.  However if the plaintiff had a preexisting physical ailment, defect or disability and you find this condition was aggravated or made active causing increased suffering or disability, then the plaintiff is entitled to recover for such increased suffering and disability.”  Pattern Instruction of Kansas 171.43.  Our experienced injury attorneys have dealt with this issue frequently and we know how to provide the best legal representation possible.

Get Experienced Legal Representation On Your Side

When a negligent driver injures you, you have a case where you are entitled to recover all your damages from the negligent driver and their insurer. Your case may involve both issues of fault and issues of the extent of your injury and damages. Insurance adjusters will try to minimize your injury and the effect it has had on your life, just so they can save money.

Our experienced injury lawyers will investigate your wreck to get the facts that prove the other driver was at fault and will also  prove the extent of your injuries and damages. Our injury lawyers build strong cases that insurance adjusters have to take seriously.

With a diagnosis of herniated disc, you deserve to be fairly compensated for all of your damages. Our lawyers will fight to help you get a fair and full herniated disc settlement after an auto accident. Contact us today for a free consultation.