Your neck contains countless nerves, muscles, tendons, and ligaments that are in place to protect you from serious injuries. A mild neck injury may resolve on its own, but a serious injury can have lifelong consequences, as some forces are too strong for your neck to withstand.
That being said, if you enlist the help of a personal injury attorney, you might be able to recover compensation to help cover your medical expenses, lost earnings, and other damages that come about because you are hurt.
What Kind of Neck Injuries Can You Get After an Accident?
Unfortunately, there are more ways to injure your neck than you might initially believe. Below are just some of the neck-related injuries you might find yourself contending with if you’re involved in an accident:
Whiplash
Whiplash is a kind of injury that can impact the nerves, muscles, tendons, and other connective tissues in your neck. It usually occurs if your neck is suddenly snapped backward, a phenomenon that often takes place when a fast-moving car suddenly stops because of a sudden impact. Compared to other possible neck injuries, whiplash is usually fairly mild. In many cases, it will go away on its own.
Neck Sprain or Neck Strain
A neck sprain occurs when the ligaments (the tissues connecting bones together) in your neck are damaged. A strain happens if the tendons (the connective tissues holding muscles to bones and other structures in the body) are damaged.
Like cases of whiplash, sprains and strains are generally mild and typically able to heal on their own. However, if your injuries prove to be severe, you might need surgery to treat the damage.
Disc Ruptures and Disc Herniations
Discs are tough, fibrous tissues that act as cushions for your vertebrae. Sometimes, especially in response to sudden physical trauma, a disc will tear or bulge out of position, compressing the surrounding nerves and causing considerable pain. These injuries are sometimes found to stop causing pain on their own, though some require surgery.
Pinched Nerves
Disc ruptures or herniations aren’t the only injuries that involve pressure being placed on the nerves in your neck. Other injuries to the neck can “pinch” the nerves within. And given that your brain uses these nerves to communicate with the rest of your body, pinched nerves can lead to numbness, weakness, pain, and other symptoms.
In most cases, your doctor will recommend less drastic treatments first. But if your symptoms don’t improve or outright worsen, you might need surgery to relieve the nerve pressure.
Facet Joint Injuries
Facet joints are the small joints that connect your vertebrae. Accidents and other injuries (as well as the natural degeneration of the spine over time) can cause damage or inflammation, causing pain in the nearby nerves. If a facet joint injury doesn’t improve, your doctor might recommend steroid injections or nerve blocks, though some severe facet joint injuries might only respond to surgery.
Spondylolisthesis
Sometimes, the physical impact that causes a neck injury can push one of your vertebrae out of alignment, a condition known as spondylolisthesis. In mild cases, you might only need a back brace or anti-inflammatory steroid injections to treat it. In more severe cases, though, you might need surgery to treat the pain and nerve damage.
Have You Suffered a Neck Injury?
Not all neck injuries have severe, long-lasting consequences. But if you are the victim of a serious neck injury, you know that the resulting physical pain, mental anguish, and financial stress can quickly turn a single injury into something that impacts your entire life.
At Neufeld & Kleinberg, PA, we understand the challenges of being a victim of a severe injury. We have more than 100 years of combined legal experience, and each of our attorneys is committed to seeking justice for those injured across the state of Florida.
Your family and other loved ones may be urging you to talk to a personal injury lawyer. But when all you can do is summon the energy to get through another day, reaching out to a lawyer can feel like too much. That said, all you need to do is take the first step and set up a free consultation with us. We can handle the rest.
At your consultation, one of our attorneys will take a close look at the facts of your case and determine whether you have the makings of a solid claim. If you do, we’ll get to work putting together your case, keeping you updated each step of the way. You pay nothing until we win!
Don’t let reckless and negligent people get away with putting your health and life at risk. Reach out to us today to set up your free case review.
