Herniated Disc After a Cleveland Car Accident: Understanding Your Legal Rights

The impact of a car crash, even a relatively minor one, can be enough to cause a herniated disc, but you might not realize it right away. Adrenaline can mask the pain of even serious injuries initially, but that shock is generally short lived. Without treatment, the pain and other symptoms of a herniated disc can have a significant impact on your mobility and daily quality of life.

At Friedman, Domiano & Smith, we have seen the physical pain and emotional difficulties crash victims with spinal injuries – including herniated discs – experience. These types of injuries often require ongoing treatments, a lengthy recovery, and significant medical costs.

If another driver caused your accident, you may be eligible to recover compensation for medical costs and other damages. Find out how we can help in a free, no-risk consultation with one of our experienced car accident lawyers in Cleveland.

What Is a Herniated Disc?

Your spine has 23 discs between your vertebrae – six in the neck, 12 in the thoracic area, and 5 in the lumbar spine. Each disc has a tough outer ring and soft gel center, and they serve as shock absorbers between the vertebrae in your spine.

A herniated disc happens when the outer ring tears. The gel pushes out and presses on nerves.

Different types exist based on location and severity:

• Cervical Herniated Disc: Occurs in your neck and causes pain or numbness that radiates to your shoulders, arms, and hands.
• Thoracic Herniated Disc: Happens in your mid-back and can cause chest pain or discomfort around your ribs.
• Lumbar Herniated Disc: Affects your lower back and often causes sciatica pain down your legs.
• Bulging Disc: The disc pushes out but the outer ring stays intact, causing milder symptoms.
• Extruded Disc: The gel breaks through the outer ring but stays attached to the disc.
• Sequestered Disc: The gel breaks completely free and can move in your spinal canal, often needing surgery.

How Do Herniated Discs Happen in a Car Crash?

A collision puts a lot of force on your spine. Your body moves suddenly and violently forward, while your seatbelt puts distributed pressure on your body to hold you back and keep you from ejecting the vehicle. The pressure of this impact along with how the crash causes your body to move or strike something within the vehicle can rupture or bulge your discs instantly.

Herniated discs commonly result from these types of car accidents:

• Rear-End Collisions: These crashes are notorious for causing your head to violently snap backward then forward. That action compresses the discs in your neck, which could force the gel center outward.
• Head-On Impacts: The full-on frontal force of a head-on collision compresses your entire spine, especially compressing lower back discs as your body strains against the seatbelt.
• T-Bone Accidents: Side impacts can twist your spine awkwardly sideways, which could tear disc fibers and cause herniation.
• Rollover Accidents: Repeated impacts as the vehicle rolls can damage multiple discs throughout your spine.
• Compression from Impact Force: The force of a high-speed crash can be enough to squeeze vertebrae together, rupturing discs.

What Are Key Symptoms of a Herniated Disc After a Car Accident?

Symptoms may start immediately or develop over days or weeks. Some crash victims may have other more serious injuries and not notice the pain of a herniated disc initially – even once the shock wears off. But even if you were in a more minor crash, the impact can be enough to cause damage to one or more discs in your spine.

Many people ignore early symptoms, typically thinking the soreness and discomfort they are feeling is normal after a crash. However, a herniated disc will not heal on its own, and recognizing warning signs can help you get proper care quickly.

These are some of the key symptoms of a herniated disc:

• Radiating Pain: Sharp or burning pain that travels from your spine down your arm or leg.
• Numbness and Tingling: You feel pins and needles or lose sensation in your fingers, hands, or feet.
• Muscle Weakness: A weaker grip, atypical stumbling, or being unable to lift normal objects.
• Localized Pain: Deep aching at the injury site that worsens when you cough, sneeze, or move certain ways.
• Electric Shock Sensations: Brief jolts of pain shoot through your body with certain movements.
• Loss of Reflexes: Your reflexes become weak or absent during examination.
• Bowel or Bladder Changes: Difficulty controlling urination or bowel movements often means you have severe nerve damage requiring emergency care.

What Types of Car Accident Injuries Cause Herniated Discs?

The same impact that herniates a disc often causes other injuries. The combination makes your pain worse and recovery harder.

Related injuries include:

• Whiplash: Rapid neck movement at impact that tears muscles and ligaments while damaging neck discs.
• Spinal Fractures: Broken vertebrae often occur with disc ruptures from the same impact.
• Facet Joint Injuries: Small joints connecting vertebrae damaged by the same force that injured your disc.
• Ligament Tears: Torn spinal ligaments allow excessive movement that herniates discs.
• Muscle Strains: Deep spinal muscle tears create inflammation around herniated areas.
• Spinal Stenosis: Existing narrowing becomes worse when a herniated disc takes up more space.
• Nerve Root Impingement: Bone and disc damage create pressure where nerves exit your spine.

What You Should Do If You Have Symptoms of a Herniated Disc

See a doctor immediately when symptoms appear. Many Cleveland crash victims wait because pain seems manageable, but this delay allows your injury to worsen.

University Hospitals, Cleveland Clinic, and MetroHealth see accident patients daily. After a car accident, seeking immediate medical care right away is an important step that protects your health – and your legal claim.

The medical team can examine you, test your reflexes, and order an MRI to see where or if you have internal injuries to the spine. Since your visit, diagnostic tests, imaging results, doctor’s notes, prescription receipts, and therapy notes all get added to your medical records, it also protects your claim.

Follow your treatment plan exactly. Insurance companies look for gaps in treatment. They use missed appointments to argue your injury is minor.

Available Treatments for Herniated Disc Injuries

Treatment depends on severity, which nerves are affected, and how you respond to care. Most patients start with non-surgical options.

Conservative Treatment Options

Your doctor starts with rest, ice, and anti-inflammatory medicine. Physical therapy strengthens muscles and improves flexibility. Cleveland area facilities throughout Cuyahoga County offer programs for herniated disc recovery.

Pain Management Interventions

Epidural steroid injections reduce inflammation around compressed nerves. These shots provide months of relief. Some patients need nerve blocks or radiofrequency ablation.

Surgical Intervention

Surgery may be necessary if other less invasive treatments fail, when weakness gets worse, or if you lose bowel or bladder control. Microdiscectomy removes the herniated part. Spinal fusion connects vertebrae permanently. Recovery following surgery can take months.

How Much Is My Herniated Disc Claim Worth in Cleveland?

The value of a claim must be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The value of your claim depends on specific factors, including the severity of your injury, how well you respond to treatment, and what your long-term prognosis looks like.

MRIs help to provide solid evidence of the damage, making it harder for the insurance company to your disc injury. Other factors include:

• Complete disc extrusion or sequestration is worth more than a simple bulge. Neck herniations that affect your arm and hand functionality often bring higher settlements than lower back injuries. These injuries impact more types of work.
• The type of treatment you require is a significant factor. Physical therapy without other types of treatments will typically result in a lower settlement. Epidural injections increase value. Surgery raises compensation substantially because it proves severity and creates permanent spine changes.
• Recovery time affects your compensation. Six months of physical therapy is worth less than a year of treatment with multiple injections and ongoing pain management. Permanent work restrictions add considerable value.
• Your age and general health influence your claim’s value. A 30-year-old loses decades of earning capacity. A 60-year-old loses fewer working years. However, older patients often take longer to recover.
• Pre-existing disc degeneration complicates value. Insurance companies argue your herniation came from aging, not the accident. Strong medical proof linking the crash to new or worse herniation becomes critical.
• Lost wages add measurable value. Every missed paycheck increases your claim. Permanent disability that ends your career or forces lower-paying work creates substantial damages beyond medical bills.

Medical Records That Support Your Claim of a Herniated Disc From a Car Crash

MRIs shows herniated disc injuries, including the size and type of the herniation, and which nerves are compressed. Cleveland imaging centers use specific terms insurance companies understand.

Your Doctor’s Notes in Your Medical Records Help Connect the Dots

Your doctor’s notes connect symptoms to MRI findings. When your doctor documents left leg weakness matching an L5-S1 herniation on imaging, this strengthens your claim. Regular notes showing consistent symptoms, objective findings, and ongoing treatment create a clear injury picture that is crucial for a successful claim.

Physical Therapy Further Documents Your Commitment to Heal and Recovery Progress

Physical therapy records prove your commitment to recovery. When therapists note you cannot do certain exercises due to pain, or measure decreased motion, these observations support your claim. Surgical reports provide hard-to-dispute proof of how badly you were hurt. No adjuster can claim your injury was minor if you required surgery to remove herniated disc material compressing your nerve.

Why Hire a Car Accident Lawyer to Manage Your Herniated Disc Claim

Insurance companies cannot dispute MRI evidence. However, they still use tactics to pay less. Handling your claim alone often results in inadequate compensation.

A knowledgeable Cleveland car accident lawyer helps through critical steps:

• Obtaining Relevant and Accurate Medical Records: Our law firm will gather supporting documentation and organize it to present the strongest case.
• Engage Medical Specialists: Attorneys work with doctors who can clearly explain how the accident caused your herniation. These medical professionals are especially helpful to your claim in situations where the insurers try to claim that your symptoms are due to pre-existing degeneration.
• Calculate Full Damages: Lawyers assess all current bills, future treatment costs, lost earning capacity, and pain and suffering damages.
• Counter Low Settlement Offers: Initial offers rarely reflect true value of a claim, especially when the offer is made while the victim is in the early stages of their recovery.
• Handle Litigation if Necessary: When insurers refuse reasonable settlements, our attorneys are always prepared to file a lawsuit on your behalf and represent you in court.
• Protect Against Claim Reduction Tactics: Insurers scrutinize records for treatment gaps or pre-existing conditions, and attorneys address these issues to preserve claim value.
• Navigate Ohio Insurance Laws: We answer your questions about Ohio’s comparative negligence rules and insurance policy limits, explaining their impact on your claim.

Do You Have a Herniated Disc Injury From a Car Crash? Call Our Cleveland Law Firm Today

Herniated discs can be excruciatingly painful, affecting your ability to work, care for family, and enjoy normal activities. Don’t let the insurance company minimize your herniated disc injury. Contact our trusted Cleveland law firm today to protect your rights and pursue the compensation you need.

At Friedman, Domiano & Smith, we help Ohio drivers recover damages for severe car crash injuries, including herniated discs. We manage the liable insurance company so you can focus on healing. Our team understands spine injuries and how to prove the resulting full impact on your life.

Worried about the costs of hiring a lawyer? We only get paid if we recover compensation for you.