Suffering a back injury can mean dealing with everything from chronic pain to the inability to work and sustain yourself and your loved ones. Unfortunately, it’s not an uncommon injury for people to suffer, especially at work. More than one million workers suffer back injuries each year throughout the country, and many more experience these injuries in car accidents and falls.
After sustaining a back injury in a Chicago accident, you may be left with serious and ongoing medical expenses, as well as emotional and physical distress and other losses. Filing a personal injury claim could provide the chance you need to receive compensation. But what are the most common types of back injuries in Illinois, and how do they occur?
Common Back Injuries In Illinois Accidents
In an accident, you can experience a number of back injuries, from a herniated disc to a vertebral fracture.
Soft Tissue Injuries
You can suffer sprains and strains in your back just as you can in your ankle or wrist. If you twist or overextend any ligaments, tendons, or muscles, you can stretch them beyond what they can manage.
This can result in tears that cause significant pain and swelling. For example, if you’re in a slip and fall accident, you might try to catch yourself as you fall and stretch your back muscles too far.
Herniated Discs
Your spinal column is made up of vertebrae stacked over one another and cushioned by discs that prevent the bones from rubbing against each other. If you suffer a certain type of trauma, those discs can slip out of place. Herniated discs mean experiencing pressure on your spinal cord, resulting in pain and a decreased range of motion.
Spinal Stenosis
The spinal column encloses your spinal cord. When the space inside this column narrows as a result of trauma, it can put the spinal cord under significant pressure. Because of this pressure, spinal stenosis can happen, leading to tingling, pain, and muscle weakness.
Vertebral Fractures
If you sustain significant trauma to your back, your vertebrae can break. You can lose feeling in certain parts of your body, struggle with incontinence, and even lose height. The pain can be significant as well.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Some of the most severe types of back injuries are those involving the spinal cord. If you suffer damage to the nerves in the cord, you can develop issues like hemiplegia, which is paralysis to one side of your body. The higher up on your spine the injury occurs, the more of your body that can be impacted.
What Accidents Are Most Likely To Cause Back Injuries?
Traffic accidents can easily result in back injuries, including spinal cord injuries. Motorcycle, pedestrian, and bicycle accidents can be particularly problematic because you will not have the same level of protection that those driving cars or trucks have. Back injuries are often more likely to occur in collisions involving high speeds.
Additionally, falls can injure your back. Even a seemingly simple slip on the icy pavement could lead you to hit yourself in exactly the wrong spot.
Workplace accidents can also result in back injuries. They are common for those who work in construction sites or warehouses and can be the result of overuse as well. If you do a lot of heavy lifting, for example, and you haven’t been trained in how to do so safely or don’t have the right gear, you could suffer from herniated discs and even spinal cord injuries.
Compensation For Back Injuries
In Illinois, if you file a claim, you can recover both economic and non-economic damages. Economic ones compensate you for the financial losses you suffered as a result of the injury. If you have hospital bills, expenses related to therapy sessions, and ambulance fees, you can cover these with economic damages. The same is the case if you need future care.
You can also recover wages you lost. It’s likely that you had to miss work to heal from a back injury, and that can mean not receiving salaries, commissions, or bonuses. You have a right to ask for these. If you won’t be able to return to work, you can also receive damages for loss of earning potential.
Non-economic damages, on the other hand, compensate you for the emotional and physical distress you may have suffered because of the injury. If you can no longer participate in activities you used to enjoy, you can also receive damages for reduced quality of life.
Turn To Our Experienced Legal Team In Chicago
After suffering a back injury in an accident, hiring a personal injury attorney to represent you is vital. At Powell and Pisman Injury Lawyers, we can guide you as you pursue a claim and negotiate aggressively with insurance companies for a fair settlement. Contact our seasoned team at (312) 635-5400 to schedule a free consultation with one of our trusted Illinois lawyers at Powell and Pisman Injury Lawyers today.