On Behalf of Rosenthal, Levy, Simon & Sosa | January 9, 2024 | Personal Injury
A back injury can negatively affect every aspect of your life in various ways, depending on the exact nature and extent of your injury. Less severe back injuries can cause pain for several weeks. On the other hand, more severe ones from life-altering accidents can lead to permanent disabilities and other catastrophic complications.
At Rosenthal, Levy, Simon & Sosa, our Port St. Lucie personal injury attorneys can investigate the accident that led to your back injury to determine the parties you can hold liable for your injuries and related losses. We will use extensive resources and experience to help you recover the compensation you need to heal, whether through securing workers’ compensation benefits or damages in a personal injury claim.
Common Back Injuries From Accidents
Your back is a complex structure made up of many bones, ligaments, muscles, discs, nerves, and the spinal cord. An accident at work, home, or while outside can easily damage your back and its connecting parts. It can also worsen a pre-existing back injury. Common back injuries from accidents include:
Back Strains and Sprains
Back sprains occur when the ligaments that hold the spine together get torn or stretched. Back strains occur when the muscles or tendons that anchor them get torn or stretched. These back injuries result in similar symptoms, such as pain, stiffness, and inflammation.
Dislocated Ribs
A rib can get dislocated if a ligament that holds the ribs to your spine gets sprained. The dislocated rib will cause pain because it will irritate the surrounding nerves. One of the most telltale signs of a dislocated rib is pain that increases when exhaling or inhaling.
Damaged Discs
Stress on the back can damage and compress the discs. When a disc is compressed, it can result in the inner portion of the disc to push through the outer portion, leading to a herniated disc. When the outer portion weakens but doesn’t separate, the disc will bulge. Either way, the damaged disc will push on your spinal cord, inflaming the nerves and causing weakness, numbness, tingling, loss of dexterity, and pain radiating to the arms or legs.
Fractured Vertebra
When the vertebra gets fractured, the risk of spinal cord damage is heightened. Bone fragments can creep into your spinal canal, sever your spinal cord, and lead to permanent paralysis.
Some back injuries may take several months or years to present symptoms, like those due to improper working postures, such as when working with machinery or heavy equipment, at odd angles, or sitting on a desk. Employers are legally obligated to safeguard their workers from back injuries and other types of injuries and workplace accidents by following safety precautions and protocols.
In addition, accidents can result in severe back injuries because of sudden force and trauma to the back due to being struck by a moving object, getting trapped between objects, falling objects, a slip and fall accident, and a motor vehicle crash, among others.
Speak to Our Seasoned Port St. Lucie Personal Injury Attorneys Today
To learn how the Port St. Lucie personal injury attorneys at Rosenthal, Levy, Simon & Sosa can help with your back injury claim, schedule your free case evaluation by calling 866-640-7117 or contacting us online.
Gerald A. Rosenthal
Retired
Since opening the firm now known as Rosenthal, Levy, Simon & Sosa more than 40 years ago, Gerald A. Rosenthal has been a dedicated champion of the everyday hero – police officers, firefighters, teachers, nurses, construction workers, farm workers, and more. Passionate about preserving the civil rights of laborers, he has fought tirelessly against giant insurance companies who deny the injured workers their benefits. It’s not just the lawsuit Rosenthal fights to win – he is driven by the opportunity to restore his client’s quality of life.
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