Herniated Discs Are Serious Injuries

Herniated discs are painful injuries which many people suffer when they are involved in a motor vehicle collision. These discs are located between the vertebrae which make up the spinal column. Without these discs, a person would feel grinding bone-on-bone whenever they twisted their back or leaned backwards. These rubbery discs operate like shock absorbers, providing cushion and allowing pain free movement. However, major accidents can damage these discs. Call Hoy Law if you suffered any spinal column injury in a car crash. Our firm has established a solid reputation representing accident victims in settlement negotiations, and we can seek a fair settlement from the defendant.

Symptoms of a Herniated Disc

The disc can be damaged in violent accidents. A person might suffer a direct blow to their spinal column, or their body violently twists, which ends up damaging discs and ligaments.

A disc becomes herniated when the soft inner substance pushes through the outer shell. The disc and extruded filling can then press on nerve roots or even on the spinal cord, leading to constant pain.

Common symptoms include:

• Numbness or tingling in your arms, legs, hands, or feet
• Muscle weakness in your limbs
• Chronic pain, especially chronic back or leg pain
• Difficulty bending over or twisting your back

Accident victims often struggle with a loss of mobility or difficulty taking care of their daily needs, such as washing themselves. They might need to hire at-home help so that they maintain some independence.

These are challenging injuries. Discs do not usually regenerate, so any damage is permanent. In this respect, they are very different from pulled muscles or stretched ligaments which can heal on their own. Many victims with herniated discs end up experiencing pain for months or years.

Treatment options include rehabilitation or physical therapy. The goal is to learn how to move your back without causing pain. Injections can reduce swelling, but some patients require surgery to remove the damaged portion of a disk or even to fuse vertebrae together.

Herniated discs lead to significant economic distress, especially when workers cannot return to their jobs. Anyone working in a manual labor position could need to miss months of time. Even sedentary workers might find they are experiencing back or limb pain after only a couple of hours of sitting at a computer. Helpfully, South Dakota law allows injured people to seek financial compensation for all economic damages, including lost income and medical care.

Contact Hoy Law to Discuss Your Legal Options

Herniated discs cause pain and reduce a victim’s quality of life. Injured motorists and their families should not dismiss this as a minor injury. Any damage to the spinal column can leave someone bedbound, possibly for a long time. Very few people can cover the full cost of their medical care, so a settlement is necessary. Contact Hoy Law to discuss your case. We want to know more about the accident which led to your spinal column injury. A Sioux Falls spinal cord injury lawyer can go over your legal rights and discuss what steps to take next.

Source:

mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/herniated-disk/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20354101