Cervical Spine Injuries After a California Car Accident
Thousands of drivers and passengers are injured in car accidents every year in California and across the United States. Some of these individuals recover fully from their injuries, but others remain permanently disabled or in constant pain. In many cases, the pain resurfaces even after many months of medical care and treatment.
A spine injury from a car crash is one of the most severe and potentially life-changing personal injuries. Trauma to any of the three regions of the spine (cervical, lumbar or thoracic) or Neck, Mid-Back or Low Back, can damage or even sever a spinal cord causing paralysis from the neck or waist down.
Sadly, car accidents cause 40% of these types of serious injuries, and injuries to the neck or cervical spine can be some of the most impactful in daily life following an accident.
What happens to the neck during a car accident?
Aside from the neck being a critical part of the body, it is also exceptionally vulnerable and not very well protected during a collision. Despite wearing a seatbelt that secures your body in place, your head and neck are left unrestrained during that dangerous moment of impact. During a crash, your neck can jerk back and forth as well as swerve abruptly to one side or be impacted by flying debris or broken glass.
A sudden movement can cause serious injury to your muscles, ligaments, joints, tendons, and the many sensitive nerves in the cervical spine. Moreover, your neck muscles tense up in anticipation of a collision. During impact, these muscles will be less pliable, and therefore, more prone to injury.
Some of these injuries are called Herniated Disc Budges or Pinched Nerve that can be get when a person has pain traveling from the injured part down or up to extremities like the arms to the fingers or from the low spine down the side of the legs to the toes with numbness or tingling or simply sharp pain.
Key things to do following an accident
First, move into a safe spot, out of traffic. Following a car accident, it’s always crucial to call the police for help (and file a police report). Use your cellphone to take pictures and videos of all the cars and people involved in the accident. Take good pictures of the damages to your car and to the other car if possible. Most importantly, regardless of how you feel now, get examined by a physician for any signs of possible injury after an accident. The should occur immediately at the Urgent Care or Local Hospital. If the Injuries are serious enough, you should ask the paramedics to take you to the emergency room.
Some injuries take a few days to surface, while others are evident instantly. Another critical component following seeking medical attention is keeping a complete and organized set of records of all expenses related to the accident and your injury. You and your attorney will later use these records to seek compensation. If you come to our office and we determine that the claim will be accepted by us, we will immediately refer you to a professional medical doctor like a Orthopedic or Pain Management Doctor in in some cases, to a Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine. Once we send yo to these doctors, they will not ask for any initial payment. However, once the case is settled, they will give us a final bill and a copy of all the medical reports so we can use them to prove your injuries. They will have to be paid after we settle the case.
Signs and symptoms of a Neck Injury
The symptoms of a neck injury may not appear for several hours or even days after the accident.
- Neck pain
- Neck stiffness
- Radiating pains to the shoulders, arms, and hands
- Tingling sensations
- Numbness or a weak feeling in the arms, hands, and fingers
- Dizziness and headaches
The most common cervical spinal injuries include:
- Whiplashhappens when the head and neck are abruptly yanked forward and backward suddenly. The motion causes pulling, ripping, strain and impairment to the neck’s ligaments, muscles, nerves, and connective tissue. Whiplash most commonly happens from rear-end collisions. The symptoms may be immediate or take a few hours to appear. In many instances, with proper treatment, many whiplash cases resolve within a few weeks. Some whiplashes cases lead to chronic pain and headaches. Severe instances can lead to temporary memory issues.
- Soft Tissue Damageduring a collision sprains and strains in the ligaments, muscles, and tendons of your neck can occur. Soft tissue damage may cause pain, tenderness, and stiffness in your neck and shoulders. Additionally, muscle strains will reduce the mobility of the neck and create muscle spasms.
- Facet joint injury:Stabilization and mobility of the head and neck are greatly aided by cervical facet joints. Facet joints can become irritated and inflamed from a car collision. A wreck could damage surrounding ligaments, affecting your range of motion of the joints.
- Neck fracture:a neck fracture is a significant injury that you would likely be immediately aware of as they come with a loss of mobility, throbbing pain, inability to nod up and down, headaches, dizziness, and even blurred vision from pain. Do not attempt to move without medical assistance if you have a neck fracture. Improper movement could badly injure your spinal cord and even cause paralysis. Emergency medical services on the scene will fit you with a neck brace with even the slightest suspicion of a neck fracture.
- Cuts and lacerationsThese can occur during a car crash due to debris, shattered glass, or other objects in the car that can become projectile on impact, cutting, or bruising the neck. Additionally, in severe accidents, ligaments and tendons in the neck can be damaged by deep cuts or lacerations.
Long-term Complications from Neck Injury
Whiplash-associated disorder (WAD) can occur from mistreated or a neglected whiplash injury, leading to chronic pain. If misdiagnosed or treated improperly, most injuries to the cervical spine can prolong or even prevent healing altogether and lead to the worst symptoms. Chronic pain can also lead to depression, high tolerance to pain medication, anxiety, limited work possibilities, and sleep loss.
Expenses Related to a Cervical Spine Injury
Aside from the pain, anguish, loss of wages, isolation, potential complications, and paralysis (temporary or permanent), there are expenses associated with treatment, physical therapy, and rehab.
Additionally, a neck injury can be emotionally painful and severely taxing on your mental health. Compensation can be for pain and suffering in addition to the expenses listed above (and more) in a personal injury settlement.
If you’ve been in a car wreck and suffered one of these Catastrophic Serious Injuries, know you are entitled to total and just compensation. Contacting a skilled and experienced attorney from Castillo & Associates with over 25 years of solid experience as soon as possible is vital in pursuing compensation for all applicable damages. An experienced lawyer like the Personal Injury Attorneys at Castillo & Associates can advise you on obtaining possible compensation and provide clarity about your rights. Call us for any questions. It’s free and it may save your life. Call us 24/7 for a free consultation at 1-800-497-9774.
We have offices throughout California in major metropolitan cities conveniently close to Los Angeles, Inland Empire, Riverside, Ontario, Santa Ana, Pomona, Coachella Valley, Palm Springs, Indio, Palm Desert, Redlands, San Bernardino, Temecula, San Diego, Escondido, El Centro, Cathedral City and many more cities in California. Call us at 1-800-497-9774
Attorney Domingo Castillo handles workers’ compensation, personal injury, family law & immigration throughout Southern California from our 5 offices: Indio, Pomona, Riverside, San Diego & Cathedral City. We help clients file injury claims, obtain residency & citizenship, and we assist families through divorce, child custody and all family law matters.
