Serious accidents such as traffic crashes, falls, and accidents in the workplace can pose severe consequences to a person’s health and livelihood. Americans spend over $50 billion each year treating lower back pain.
While chronic back pain, or minor back injury, can develop as a result of stress, aging, or poor posture, individuals who suffer back injury as a result of a serious accident may qualify to take legal action if the injury occurred due to the negligence of another party. Examples of negligent parties may include a reckless driver, negligent healthcare provider, or an employer for a workplace health and safety standards violation.
If you’ve suffered back injury due to the negligence of another party, our lawyers may be able to help you file a back injury claim to recover compensation.
Types Of Back Injuries
Back pain is one of the most common types of pain experienced by adults in the U.S. About 80 percent of individuals in the U.S. are expected to experience back pain at some point in their lifetimes.
The types of back pain a person experiences, however, and the cause of the pain can vary. The backbone, known as the spine, contains three major regions: the cervical spine (neck), the thoracic spine (chest), and the lumbar spine (mid-to-lower back).
Different areas of the back can suffer various types of injuries as the result of chronic stress, physical labor, or incidents such as car accidents, falls, and medical errors. These injuries can range from mild strains to traumatic spinal cord injuries serious enough to result in severe and permanent injury.
The most common types of back injuries in back injury claims include:
- lumbar spine injury: A lumbar spine injury, or injury to the lower back, occurs when there is strain to the muscle fibers in the back or an overstretching of the ligaments. The lower back is the most common site of back injuries. This type of injury can affect bladder and bowel control, sexual function, limit your movement, and cause very painful symptoms.
- cervical spine injury: The cervical spine includes the vertebrae in the neck and is responsible for supporting the head, allowing for a normal range of motion, and protecting the spinal cord. Injury to this area can lead to paraplegia, meaning paralysis of the legs and affecting the pelvic organs, or quadriplegia which is paralysis of everything below the shoulders.
- spinal cord injury: Damage to the spinal cord can have paralyzing and potentially permanent effects on various limbs throughout the body, depending on the site of the spinal cord injury and other factors. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of spinal cord injuries.
- thoracic spine injury: The thoracic spine refers to the central part of the spine. Injuries to this area of the back may affect the ribs and chest and have the potential to cause permanent nerve damage. Although these injuries are rare, causes of thoracic spine injuries can be linked to sudden impact to the front or back and crushing accidents.
Additional types of back injuries include injuries to the cervical spine, strains, sprains, fractures, and dislocation. These can vary in their severity and may result from chronic overuse or acute impact.
Causes Of Back Injuries
Back injuries can occur in a variety of settings, with many common sites of back injuries being accidents in the workplace, on the road, or in a medical setting.
These injuries occur largely as a result of sudden or chronic trauma to the bones, muscles, and tissues of the back. This can cause strains, sprains, fractures, and other serious injuries.
Common causes of back injuries in back injury claims include:
- car accidents
- large truck accidents
- motorcycle accidents
- boating or vacation accidents
- slip-and-fall accidents
- unsafe working conditions
- medical malpractice (e.g. surgical error)
- defective products
- swimming pool or gym accidents
- acts of violence
The severity of back injuries can have significant implications as far as financial cost, effects on one’s ability to work, and other aspects of a person’s general livelihood. Traumatic injuries may result in severe and potentially permanent consequences, including disability, disfigurement, paralysis, and death.
What Are The Costs Of Suffering A Back Injury?
Suffering a back injury can result in a number of costs, both economic and non-economic. After suffering a back injury, it’s critical that individuals seek medical care as soon as possible to have their injury assessed and properly treated.
Unfortunately, this can result in a number of expenses that may or may not be covered under a health insurance plan, assuming the injured victim is insured. Initial costs such as emergency care, treatment in a hospital, surgery, or other treatment costs can build up very quickly.
Common costs of suffering a back injury in the U.S. include:
- lost wages
- loss of earning capacity
- temporary or permanent disability
- medical bills
- physical therapy
- prescription drug costs
- future surgeries
- vehicle repair/replacement (from a car accident)
- adaptive/mobility equipment
- pain and suffering
- loss of enjoyment of life
Physical therapy, medication, or other prescribed treatments may be required for the ongoing care of a back injury, depending on type of injury and its severity. Individuals who have suffered severe injury may be unable to live independently, and may have difficulty moving around without assistance from another person or mobility equipment.
Equally as important in considering the overall costs of a back injury, too, is the toll a back injury can take on your mental health, your ability to engage in pleasurable activities, and your social life.
Through an investigation of your case, one of our personal injury lawyers can determine an estimated range for the amount of compensation you or a loved one may be able to receive based on the types of costs you’ve suffered, the nature of the incident, and projections for future expenses.
Our Featured Case Results
Proving Negligence In Back Injury Claims
In the process of filing any type of personal injury claim for negligence, having proof of the injury and its cause is critical. Negligence is a legal term that is defined as a reckless or negligent action, or the omission of action under circumstances where such action is reasonably warranted.
Filing a personal injury claim to seek compensation requires that the plaintiff is able to credibly fault another person or entity for the accident that led to their injury and resulting consequences.
How can you prove negligence in a back injury claim?
A strong back injury claim is backed up by a rich base of evidence, which may include: photos of the injury, photos of the accident scene, medical records, a police report, and any other documentation that may have been filed in the aftermath of the incident that caused the injury.
By speaking with one of our lawyers, we can determine the role that negligence has played in your back injury case and collect evidence to support your claim.
Product Liability Claims For Back Injury
If your back injury occurred due to a defective product, such as a defective car part, our lawyers may be able to help you file a product liability claim. This may be handled somewhat differently than a personal injury claim.
Product liability claims are claims that can be made against small or large entities such as product manufacturers and others involved in the manufacturing, delivery, or marketing processes.
Proving negligence in a product liability may require the collection of evidence non-applicable to standard personal injury cases, such as receipts and an investigation into the company’s manufacturing process.
Worker’s Compensation Claims For Back Injury
If you’ve suffered a back injury at your place of work as a result of unsafe working conditions or other workplace health and safety violations, you may be eligible to file a worker’s compensation claim to secure benefits for lost wages and medical expenses.
Worker’s compensation claims may not be able to compensate for all associated costs, however. One of our experienced workplace injury lawyers can determine the type of legal action that best fits your case.
How Long You Have To File A Back Injury Claim
The amount of time you have to file a back injury claim largely depends on the type of claim you are filing and where you live in the U.S.
The deadline for filing a back injury claim—known as the statute of limitations—is established on a state-by-state basis, with time limits ranging from a few months to a few years after the date of the accident that caused the injury.
In Florida, for instance, individuals generally have up to four years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury claim. Factors such as wrongful death, where the injury occurred, and whether medical malpractice was involved may affect this deadline.
One of our lawyers can provide you with an overview of your state’s laws and help you begin the process of filing a back injury claim as soon as possible.
Top-Rated Back Injury Lawyers Serving The U.S.
The lawyer you choose to represent your interests in a back injury claim matters. At Florin|Roebig, our personal injury lawyers have decades of combined experience in handling back injury cases. We have the legal skills and resources needed to strengthen your claim and fight for the compensation you may be entitled to for your injury.
Our back injury lawyers can help your case by:
- providing an initial no-cost evaluation of your case
- providing you with an overview of your legal options
- determining an estimated settlement amount
- investigating your accident
- consulting legal and medical experts
- gathering evidence to support your claim
- getting you on a path towards financial recovery
- communicating with the defendant and applicable insurers
- fighting for a settlement amount that is not a penny less than you are owed
We Are Nationally Awarded Lawyers
Get Started On Filing Your Back Injury Claim Today
If you’ve been injured as a result of an accident, fall, or surgical error at the fault of another, there’s no time to waste in getting started on your personal injury claim.
Our lawyers are ready to hear your case and help you file a successful claim to recover the compensation you may be entitled to for your back injury.
Don’t wait to learn what your case may be worth and what we can do for you. Call the offices of Florin|Roebig today to schedule a free case evaluation with one of our top-rated back injury lawyers.
