Neck and back injuries including whiplash, spinal cord injuries, herniated discs, sprains, strains, lacerations, and fractures are a common result of a car accident. Spinal cord injuries can cause permanent damage and may require surgery. Whiplash, strains, herniated discs, disc protrusions, stenosis and muscle sprains can cause significant physical problems even if they are not serious enough to require surgery.
Following a car accident, symptoms from a spinal injury can slowly develop and worsen over time. In some situations, global body soreness may start to improve itself and you may think that you’re getting better but neurological symptoms from a spine injury can advance over months and weeks. In an abundance of caution, treat the situation seriously – complete a course of physical therapy, consult with your doctor and obtain advanced medical imaging like MRIs to fully understand how the crash impacted your spine. Otherwise, your physical health may be compromised. If you suffer a spinal injury and things progress out of your control in the weeks and months following a crash, you could experience numbness, sharp pains, burning sensations, a tingling sensation, muscle weakness in your arms or legs, bowel and incontinence issues, and pain in your extremities as well as in your neck and/or back. These injuries can be long lasting and impact your day to day activities by limiting your range of motion, reducing your strength, and causing pain.
One form of medical treatment for pain management after a car accident involving these injuries is known as Epidural Steroid Injections, or ESI. These are usually pursued when patients have failed conservative care with physical therapy or chiropractic treatment in the first few months following a car accident. This method of treating the inflammation associated with back pain, back-related leg pain, neck pain, or neck-related arm pain involves injecting corticosteroids and a local anesthetic into the epidural space around the spinal cord to improve symptoms relating to spinal stenosis (a narrowing or “pinching” of the spinal cord caused by compression), spinal disc herniation, or possibly both.
If you have suffered a serious injury as a result of a car accident, you should contact an experienced team of personal injury lawyers like the team at Whalen Injury Lawyers to exercise your legal rights. You have the right to:
- Ongoing medical treatment
- Compensation for all your medical bills related to the accident
- Compensation for lost wages or earnings
- Compensation for mental, emotional, and physical pain and suffering
- Emotional support such as therapy or counseling
- Compensation for lost future earnings
- Compensation for future pain and suffering and chronic pain conditions
- Compensation for future medical treatment and care
- Compensation for Rehabilitative therapy
If you or a loved one have been injured and require effective pain management after a car accident, the first thing you should do is to seek immediate medical attention. If symptoms appear at the scene of an accident, call 911 and do not attempt to move yourself or another injured person. A serious injury may not be immediately obvious to you or anyone else other than a qualified medical professional. Symptoms may worsen over time and progress neurologically. Epidural Steroid Injections, or ESI, may provide relief by alleviating the pain associated with injury sustained in a car accident, allowing you to resume your normal daily activities. ESIs can sometimes provide prolonged therapeutic relief for 6 months.
Radiofrequency ablation (or RFA), also called rhizotomy, is another medical procedure used for pain management after a car accident. An electrical current is produced by a radio wave and used to heat up a small specific area of nerve tissue, decreasing pain signals from that area to the brain. RFA is a nonsurgical, minimally invasive procedure. The radiofrequency waves ablate, or "burn," the nerve causing the pain, basically eradicating the transmission of pain signals. RFAs are not a curative process, the nerves will likely regenerate over time and you will require future maintenance repeat ablations. However, RFAs can provide relief up to 12 months where your symptoms become fully resolved and you can return to your pre-accident level of activity and function. These treatments can restore you to the person you were before the accident without having to do surgery.
Past Case Results
Our personal injury lawyers exclusively represent clients against large insurance companies and big corporations in personal injury matters. At Whalen Injury Lawyers, we have successfully represented many accident victims over the years, including those who sustained serious injuries, winning millions in personal injury case settlements. We are proud to be one of America’s Top 100 Attorneys, 5280 Top Attorneys in Colorado, Top 100 Trial Lawyers, and Super Lawyers. At Whalen Injury Lawyers, our Denver and Colorado Springs personal injury lawyers aren’t afraid to fight large insurance companies to make sure you receive the compensation you deserve. We take on the fight for a fair settlement so you can focus on getting the treatment you need to heal from your injuries and move on with your life.
We understand that to get your life back on track, you may need, but be unable to afford, effective pain management after a car accident. The Whalen Injury Lawyers team will fight for you to get the compensation you deserve so that you can get your life back. Our primary goal is to establish a direct, meaningful, trusted and reliable relationship and secure a settlement for you that is fair and reasonable. Our personal injury lawyers will work closely with you to make sure that you are sufficiently compensated for any loss you suffer as a result of a personal injury. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your legal options.
You can reach us in Denver at (720) 307-2666 to speak with one of our personal injury attorneys in Denver, CO. Our offices are located in the Denver Tech Center at 7955 East Arapahoe Court, Suite 2375, Centennial, CO 80112, and in Colorado Springs in the Alamo Corporate Center, conveniently located at 102 S. Tejon Street, Suite 1100, (719) 644-7000. We look forward to working with you.
