Back Injury After Car Accident in Florence, SC

Back injuries are among the most frequently suffered injuries in car collisions. A crash can impart forces directly onto a person’s back or cause a person’s neck and back to twist violently. This trauma can result in breaking, tearing, and straining of tissues in the back.

Back injuries often result in pain and disability that last long after a car accident and after other physical damage from the accident has healed. Many back injuries suffered in car accidents don’t cause pain and other significant symptoms for days, weeks, or even months after the crash. Even a seemingly minor, low-speed accident can cause back injuries that impact a car accident victim’s ability to work or participate in life’s activities.

Many victims of car accidents caused by someone else’s negligent or reckless acts have difficulty securing the full financial compensation they need to treat their back injury and its effects. If you are seeking justice after suffering a back injury through no fault of your own in a car accident in Florence, SC, the attorneys of Jebaily Law Firm want to help.

For more than 50 years, our attorneys have fought to protect and assert the rights and interests of injured accident victims in Florence and throughout South Carolina. Our attorneys bring more than 100 years of combined legal experience to our clients’ cases. Our firm has the resources and determination to pursue even the most complex cases. We have a proven track record of recovering significant compensation for clients who have suffered back injuries in car accidents they didn’t cause.

You will never be just another case to us. We believe in right and wrong and in getting you justice and accountability when you’ve been seriously harmed by someone else’s wrongful actions. You can expect that our attorneys and staff will take the time to get to know you personally and understand your needs, goals, and concerns. That relationship allows us to develop a legal strategy aimed at pursuing the results you expect in your case.

Contact our firm for a free initial case review with one of our compassionate, dedicated Florence car accident lawyers to learn more about your rights and options for seeking recovery after suffering a back injury in a car crash.

Types of Back Injuries from Car Accidents

Although you might think that all back injuries are the same, car accidents can cause a variety of back injuries, depending on what types of tissues have been injured and where the injury occurs in the back. Examples of the types of back injuries that can result from a car accident include:

• Back strain – Occurs due to forces or pressure that cause muscles and tendons in the back to stretch or twist unnaturally.
• Back sprain – Like with strains, also occurs from forces or pressure inflicted by a car accident. However, sprains tend to affect soft tissues, such as ligaments, which connect bones together at joints.
• Whiplash – Whiplash involves trauma to back tissues caused by the back being suddenly jerked back and forth in the impact of a car crash.
• Herniated or ruptured discs – In between the vertebrae in the spinal column, spongy tissue called discs cushion the bones and the nerve tissue of the spinal cord. The forces from a car accident can cause spinal discs to bulge, or herniate, pressing on the nerve roots coming out of the spinal column. Discs can also rupture, where the spongy tissue bursts out. This can cause symptoms such as radiating pain, numbness, or weakness.
• Compression fracture – A compression fracture refers to a tiny crack in the bone. When they occur in vertebrae, they can result in serious symptoms such as persistent pain or breathing problems. They can even lead to permanent damage of the spinal cord or nerve tissue.
• Vertebrae fractures – Vertebrae can also suffer from flexion, extension, or rotation fractures. A flexion fracture of a vertebra occurs when the front of the bone breaks, causing the vertebra to lose height. An extension fracture occurs when vertebrae are pulled apart by the force of an accident. A rotation fracture involves vertebrae or other bones being twisted or bent by the force of an accident to the point that they break.
• Spondylolisthesis – A condition involving vertebrae being out of place, often due to a fracture, which places pressure on the spinal canal or nerves, resulting in weakness, numbness, or issues with motor skills.
• Spinal stenosis – A condition involving a narrowing of the spinal canal as a person ages. While a car accident does not cause spinal stenosis, the forces from a car crash can cause an asymptomatic case of spinal stenosis to become symptomatic and to accelerate the degeneration of tissue.
• Spinal cord injuries – Spinal cord injuries involve the most serious and life-threatening trauma that can occur to the back. Spinal cord injuries can include bruising or pressure from swelling tissues that can cause temporary pain, weakness, numbness, or paralysis. Injuries can also include permanent damage from the tearing or severing of nerve and spinal cord tissue, leading to total or partial paralysis to the body below the site of the injury. Spinal cord injuries resulting in paralysis can also lead to secondary complications, such as respiratory issues, bladder/bowel issues, blood clots, or infection.
  Common Causes of Back Injuries in Florence Car Accidents

Car crashes can trigger back injuries in many ways, such as:

Ultimately, the force of impact with a car can cause bones to break or shatter and cause soft tissues, including muscles, tendons, ligaments, connective tissues, and nerves, to strain or tear.

How to Treat a Back Injury After a Car Accident

Treatment of a back injury following a car accident begins with attempts to diagnose and stabilize the injury. A car accident victim may be placed into a neck brace and have their body immobilized to prevent movement in the back, which may worsen injuries. Someone suspected of having suffered a back injury in a car accident will likely undergo X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans to see whether there has been any damage to the bones or soft tissue in the back.

For minor back injuries, treatment may consist of only rest and over-the-counter medications to alleviate pain until the body heals itself. More severe injuries may require injections of pain medications or steroids to help with pain and inflammation, along with physical therapy or chiropractic care to promote healing and maintain or regain strength and range of motion.

The most serious back injuries, especially those involving fractured vertebrae or damage to the spinal cord, may require more intensive treatment. A person may be placed into a cast to allow broken bones to heal in place. Before that, surgery is commonly used to fix broken and shattered vertebrae and repair damaged soft tissues and nerve tissue. Immobilization and surgery are also often followed by physical therapy to help patients regain strength and mobility, or to help the patient learn to accommodate long-term or permanent paralysis or disability.

Can I Get Compensation for My Back Injury in Florence, SC?

If you have a back injury from a car accident caused by someone else’s legal fault, you may be entitled to seek compensation for the losses you have and will incur due to your back injury, including:

• Medical expenses, such as hospital bills, surgeries, and medical procedures (such as trigger point injections), doctors’ appointments, prescription pain medication, and medical or mobility equipment
• Physical therapy and rehab expenses
• Long-term care expenses, such as home health services or domestic services
• Lost wages and earning capacity, when your back injury interferes with your ability to work or earn the same level of income you did pre-accident
• Physical pain and emotional distress brought about by your injuries
• Lost enjoyment and quality of life, such as due to the inability to participate in activities you previously enjoyed
• Loss of consortium, which provides financial compensation to your spouse for the loss of your companionship and intimate relations due to your injury

Contact a Car Accident Attorney in Florence for Help

When you’ve suffered back injuries in a car accident in Florence, SC, that were caused by someone else’s negligence or recklessness, contact the car accident attorneys of Jebaily Law Firm for a free, no-obligation consultation. Speak with a knowledgeable member of our legal team about your case and learn more about how our firm can help you pursue the compensation you need now and into the future.