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Back and Spinal Cord Injuries
The spine isn’t built to absorb the violent forces of a car crash, a fall from height, or being struck as a pedestrian. When those forces transfer into the back, the result can be anything from a painful herniated disc to a catastrophic spinal cord injury that changes every aspect of daily life. Back and spinal injuries are some of the most common; and most consequential, claims in Missouri personal injury practice. Here’s what you should know about them.
How Back and Spinal Cord Injuries Happen
The firm sees back and spinal injuries across nearly every type of accident, including:
- Car accidents. Rear-end collisions, T-bones, and rollovers regularly produce disc injuries and vertebral fractures
- Truck accidents. The disparity in size and weight makes spinal injuries especially severe
- Motorcycle accidents. Riders thrown from bikes often suffer serious spinal trauma
- Slip and fall accidents. Falls from height or onto hard surfaces can fracture vertebrae or damage the spinal cord
- Pedestrian accidents. High-energy impacts produce devastating injuries
- Hit and run cases. Often involving substantial impact forces
Common Types of Back and Spinal Injuries
Herniated and Bulging Discs
The cushioning discs between vertebrae can rupture or bulge when compressed by sudden trauma. Symptoms include radiating pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness; often along a specific nerve pattern (sciatica, for example). Treatment ranges from physical therapy and epidural steroid injections to discectomy and fusion surgery.
Vertebral Fractures
Compression fractures, burst fractures, and chance fractures can result from high-energy impacts. Some require bracing and rest; others demand surgical stabilization with hardware.
Spinal Cord Injuries
The most severe category. Damage to the spinal cord can result in:
- Paraplegia. Loss of function below the waist
- Quadriplegia (tetraplegia). Loss of function below the neck
- Incomplete injuries. Partial loss of sensation or motor function below the injury level
Spinal cord injuries often require lifelong medical care, home modifications, durable medical equipment, and full-time support. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke provides medical background on causes and prognosis.
Soft Tissue Injuries to the Back
Sprains, strains, and muscle tears in the back are extremely common in whiplash-type injuries and other soft tissue injuries. Though less dramatic on imaging, they can cause significant pain and long recoveries.
Cauda Equina Syndrome
A serious condition involving compression of nerves at the base of the spine. Symptoms include severe low back pain, leg weakness, and loss of bowel or bladder control. Cauda equina is a surgical emergency.
Symptoms That Should Never Be Ignored
After any accident involving impact to the back, watch for:
- Persistent or radiating back, neck, or leg pain
- Numbness, tingling, or weakness in the arms or legs
- Loss of bowel or bladder control
- Difficulty walking or balancing
- Pain that worsens with movement or specific positions
- Muscle spasms in the back
These symptoms warrant immediate evaluation at a Missouri trauma center or emergency room. Delays in treatment hurt both your recovery and your case.
Why Back Injury Cases Get Aggressively Defended
Back injuries are a target for insurance company skepticism for one specific reason: many adults have some degree of spinal degeneration on imaging even before a crash. Adjusters and defense attorneys use this to argue:
- The injury was “pre-existing”
- The current pain is “degenerative” rather than traumatic
- The plaintiff would have needed the same treatment regardless of the accident
- Soft tissue complaints are “subjective” or “exaggerated”
Overcoming these defenses requires careful evidence work; comparing pre- and post-accident imaging when possible, documenting the absence of prior symptoms, securing testimony from treating physicians, and connecting every diagnostic finding to the mechanism of injury.
Damages Available in Back and Spinal Injury Cases
Recoverable damages in a Missouri back or spinal injury case typically include:
- Past and future medical expenses, including surgery, rehabilitation, and pain management
- Lost wages and lost earning capacity
- Home and vehicle modifications for accessibility
- Durable medical equipment and assistive devices
- In-home care and attendant services
- Pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and emotional distress
- Loss of consortium for a spouse
For permanent spinal cord injuries, life care plans projecting decades of future medical and support costs are often the single most important valuation document in the case.
What to Do If You’ve Suffered a Back Injury
- Get medical attention immediately, even if symptoms seem minor at first
- Follow the treatment plan; gaps in care give the defense ammunition
- Keep a pain journal documenting symptoms, limitations, and treatment
- Avoid recorded statements with insurance adjusters until you’ve spoken with an attorney, see dealing with insurance companies
- Contact a personal injury attorney to begin building the case while evidence is fresh
Talk to a Missouri Personal Injury Attorney
Back and spinal injury cases are too complex and too consequential to handle without legal representation. Rob Schmittgens has spent his career building back and spinal injury claims for injured Missourians.
Contact Schmittgens Injury Law Firm for a free consultation. There’s no fee unless we recover compensation for you.