A car accident can leave you with a variety of injuries. One of these is an injury to the spine. Spinal injuries happen when the neck, mid-back or lower back areas are damaged during impact. Depending on the severity, these injuries can limit your mobility and impact various aspects of your life.
If you sustain spinal cord injuries following a car crash, you may be eligible for financial restitution for the resulting economic and non-economic damages through a personal injury lawsuit. But how do these injuries happen in the first place?
Understanding the causes of spinal cord injuries during a car crash
Car crashes account for over 39 percent of spinal cord injuries. Nearly all these injuries are attributable to excessive force during the collision. Depending on the nature and location of the impact, you may suffer any of the following spinal injuries:
Whiplash – also known as whiplash-associated disorder, whiplash injuries are quite common during rear-end collisions. These injuries happen when the neck is violently swung back and forth during the impact resulting in trauma to the tissues.
Whiplash can be symptomized by sleep disturbances, depression, migraines that originate from the base of the skull and reduced movement of the neck.
Herniated discs – The 23 discs in the spinal column act as shock absorbers and cushion the vertebrae from injury. When subjected to trauma, however, these discs may be broken open or displaced. Consequently, this may exert pressure on the nerves.
Depending on the location of the herniation, you may experience a sharp, burning pain that radiates from your shoulders, muscle weakness and/or numbness of the limbs.
A back or neck injury can impact your life in a variety of ways. And treatment can be quite expensive. If these injuries are attributable to someone’s reckless actions, you deserve justice.