Because the spine is central to how the entire body moves and functions, back and neck injuries can have far-reaching consequences and are taken seriously as a result. Unlike an injury confined to an arm or leg, a spinal injury can limit mobility throughout the body and cause intense pain from even slight, improper movements. If someone else’s carelessness caused your injury, what happens next depends a great deal on how quickly you are examined, how carefully your treatment is documented, and whether you act before the deadlines below run out.
How Back and Neck Injuries Happen
Back injuries caused by negligence are most often sustained in auto accidents (cars, trucks, and motorcycles), athletic accidents, workplace accidents, and slip-and-falls. The back and neck are delicate parts of the body, made up of bones, muscles, ligaments, joints, and nerves, and damage to any of these structures can be life-altering.
The forces involved vary by accident type. In a truck accident, the size and force of a large commercial truck striking a much smaller passenger vehicle often causes debilitating injuries to the vehicle’s occupants; because these crashes usually occur at high speed, the body is thrown forward through inertia and may strike objects inside the car. Cyclists and motorcyclists have very limited protection, so back and neck injuries are common after a bike crash, especially when a motor vehicle is involved. Injuries can also build up over time: overuse back injuries develop from repeated actions or movements, often from sports, work-related tasks, or home projects, and worsen gradually rather than in a single instant. Whatever the cause, symptoms can appear immediately or take days or even weeks to surface, so prompt medical attention is essential.
Common Types of Back and Neck Injuries
While some back and neck injuries resolve on their own or with medication, any injury requiring surgery may result in chronic pain or permanent disability. Common injuries include:
- Whiplash: occurs when the head and neck are thrown suddenly forward and back. Whiplash can last for days to months and causes pain that can radiate through the body
- Sprains and strains: damage to the tendons, muscles, and connective tissues of the back and neck
- Herniated disc: the tough outer wall of a spinal disc tears and its soft center pushes out, often pressing on a nerve. Also called a slipped or ruptured disc, it is one of the most common and most painful back injuries, and even one can send pain through the body when you walk, jump, or reach
- Lumbar strain: common among people who perform heavy lifting and intense labor, such as construction, stock room, or factory work
- Sciatica: shooting pain that can make basic tasks unbearable, often the result of a car accident or an injury that twists the spine
- Reduced range of motion: frequently caused by repetitive stress, though disc compression in the neck can also cause shooting pain and limited motion
- Paralysis: not the most common outcome, but possible when a rider is thrown from a bike or struck by a vehicle
Whiplash and Other Auto-Accident Neck Injuries
Whiplash is among the most common neck injuries sustained in auto accidents and can damage muscles, ligaments, or connective tissue in the neck and upper back. Major symptoms include:
- Neck pain: may start in the neck and radiate to the upper back, shoulders, or head
- Stiffness: damage to muscles or ligaments can cause stiffness and a limited range of motion
- Headaches: particularly when neck pain radiates into the head
- Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ): pain, stiffness, and problems with jaw movement
The back is made up of the spinal column, shoulder blades, and a variety of muscles, ligaments, joints, and tendons, so auto accidents can cause a wide range of back injuries, including axial bursts, dislocation fractures, bruised bones or soft tissue, spinal cord damage, bulging discs, herniated discs, compression fractures, flexion distraction fractures, and thoracic/lumbar fractures.
Cervical Radiculopathy
Cervical radiculopathy is the disturbance of or damage to nerves in the neck caused by compression of the cervical vertebrae. Damage to these nerve roots can cause pain, weakness, and loss of sensation in the neck, shoulders, arms, or legs, with pain being the most common symptom; the exact location depends on which nerves are affected. It is common in auto accidents and can result from ruptured discs, arthritic and degenerative conditions, and other injuries that put pressure on nerves through swelling. In younger people it is commonly caused by ruptured discs. Typical treatment may involve over-the-counter medication, physical therapy, and, in serious cases, surgery to relieve pressure on the damaged nerves. For older people it is especially important to have the condition properly correlated with the accident, as bone degeneration and arthritis can complicate the link and affect a case’s value unless the connection is clearly demonstrated.
Overuse Back Injuries
Overuse injuries can be indicated by symptoms such as swelling, redness, possible bruising, and impaired function of the affected part. They are usually caused by physical exertion, carrying heavy objects, using incorrect equipment, and lack of technique or strength. Overuse back injuries most commonly affect the lower or middle back, involving the vertebrae’s bones and joints, its muscles and ligaments, and the discs between the bones. Many are also related to poor posture or everyday movements that strain the back. When someone else causes such an injury, you can file a claim against them for monetary damages.
Understanding Lower Back Pain
The “lumbar spine” refers to the five vertebrae between the pelvis and rib cage, and its most common generators of pain are the discs and the facet joints. Pain associated with facet joints generally increases with age, while pain in the discs is more common overall.
Discogenic pain is generally caused by acute trauma, such as an auto accident, or by slow deterioration of the discs over time. It is most common in the lumbar spine and may be associated with spasms and pain extending to the buttocks or thighs. Bending, heavy lifting, and excessive movement can worsen these symptoms, so rest is important throughout recovery. Some spinal disc injuries are minor and heal quickly, while others produce chronic pain that slowly subsides. Facet joints work together with the intervertebral discs to control movement and support weight between the vertebrae; pain there can occur suddenly and is often caused by direct nerve damage or inflammation, which is why muscle spasms — the body’s means of protection from further damage — are also associated with it.
Specific conditions commonly behind lower back pain include:
- Annular tear: the annulus fibrosus (the tough exterior of a spinal disc) is ripped or torn, which may also lead to a bulging or herniated disc
- Bulging/protruding disc: the nucleus stays within the disc, but a small protrusion extends from the outer layer into the spinal canal, causing pain when it contacts a nerve root or the spinal cord
- Herniated/ruptured disc: the annulus fibrosus tears and the disc’s soft interior (nucleus pulposus) protrudes into contact with nerve roots or the spinal cord
- Sciatica: a herniated or ruptured disc presses on a nerve that travels down the spinal column into the legs, causing lower back pain and radiating leg pain, and in serious cases numbness or loss of motor control
- Whiplash: soft-tissue strains from a sudden, violent jerking of the neck, which can also result in any of the above conditions
Symptoms to Watch For
Pain is the most common symptom of a back or neck injury, but it is not the only one. Other common symptoms include tingling or numbness in the extremities, limited range of motion, trouble with memory, mood swings or irritability, blurred vision, trouble sleeping, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, and ringing in the ears. Your symptoms may be different — if anything feels wrong, trust your instincts and seek medical treatment immediately.
How Back and Neck Injuries Are Diagnosed
A full medical evaluation is always important because back and neck pain can be caused by conditions ranging from mild to severe, and a prompt diagnosis is essential to recovery. Diagnosis commonly involves two to three phases:
- Review of medical history: the physician asks about symptoms, when they arise, the extent of pain, and what alleviates or worsens it
- Physical examination: may include testing for pain in particular positions and testing muscle strength and nerve function in the legs and arms
- Diagnostic testing: scans and tests are often needed to confirm a particular injury
Doctors use a number of diagnostic tools, including:
- Computerized tomography (CT scan): a quick, pain-free scan for suspected damage to vertebrae, ruptured discs, or spinal stenosis, combining hundreds of two-dimensional x-ray “slices” into a three-dimensional image
- Discography: often recommended for patients with chronic pain or considering lumbar surgery, using a contrast dye injected into a damaged spinal disc to highlight damaged areas and deformities on x-ray
- Electrodiagnostic testing: evoked potential (EP) studies, electromyography (EMG), and nerve-conduction studies, with an EMG assessing electrical activity in nerves to determine whether muscle weakness comes from injury or nerve damage
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): non-invasive scans that evaluate the lumbar spine for injury, bone degeneration, and disease in ligaments, tissues, nerves, muscles, and blood vessels, helping doctors distinguish fluid, bone, and soft tissue
Liability and Proving Negligence
Back and neck injury cases are considered negligence cases. To receive compensation, a negligence claim must prove the following:
- A duty owed to you by the at-fault party, for example a driver or a trucking company
- A breach of that duty
- A causal link between the breach and your injuries
- Damages you suffered as a result
An experienced personal injury lawyer can look at the evidence of your case and determine which party or parties were negligent. Your injuries may also have been caused by more than one party, such as other drivers, businesses, or public entities, and those claims can be pursued together.
If You Hurt Your Back at Work
A work injury runs on a separate track, and it is easy to get this backwards. Illinois workers’ compensation is a no-fault system: it pays for your medical care and part of your lost wages without you having to prove your employer did anything wrong. The trade-off is that workers’ compensation is normally the only claim you have against your employer, even when the employer was careless (820 ILCS 305/5). Suing an employer in court for a work injury is possible only in narrow circumstances, and an attorney should evaluate whether any of them fit before you count on it.
What that does not touch is a claim against someone other than your employer. If another driver hit your work vehicle, a property owner let a stairway fall apart, or a machine was defectively made or maintained by an outside company, you may have a third-party injury case running alongside the workers’ compensation claim.
Deadlines That Can End Your Claim on Their Own
Illinois generally gives you two years from the date of the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit (735 ILCS 5/13-202), and missing that date usually ends the case no matter how strong it is. Two shorter deadlines catch people out:
- Work injuries: notice to your employer as soon as practicable and no later than 45 days after the accident, then a claim filed with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission within 3 years of the accident or 2 years after your last compensation payment, whichever is later (820 ILCS 305/6)
- Claims involving a city, county, transit agency, or other local public body: generally one year from the date of injury (745 ILCS 10/8-101)
Damages You May Recover
You may be entitled to both economic and non-economic damages, including medical bills, future medical care, lost wages, pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of normal life. The exact amount varies with the unique facts of each case. Negligent parties should compensate you not only for the damages suffered immediately after an accident, but also for the long-term suffering you may endure.
How Insurance Companies Fight These Claims
Insurance companies are very experienced at handling back and neck injury claims because they are so common, which is why it is important to have an attorney protecting your interests. For example, when a crash leaves relatively little visible damage to the vehicles, insurers often flag the file as a “minor impact” case and argue you could not possibly have been seriously hurt. Vehicle damage is a weak proxy for injury, though. Bumpers and crumple zones are designed to absorb and conceal force, and how badly a person is hurt also depends on their seating position, posture, prior health, and where the impact landed. That argument is worth pushing back on rather than accepting. Insurance adjusters are trained to minimize payouts, so having an attorney matters if you do not want to be pressured into a lowball settlement.
Illinois Truck Accident Settlement Examples
The potential value of a case is difficult to estimate, especially early on. It turns on the medical bills and lost income you can document, how long your symptoms last, whether surgery is needed, and how much the injury changes your daily life. Treat the online rules of thumb that multiply your bills by a fixed number with skepticism, because Illinois juries and adjusters do not work from any such formula. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a future outcome. The following Illinois truck accident results involving back and neck injuries are illustrative only:
- 2015, Kane County: a fatigued truck driver drifted off the road and struck a light pole, which fell and obstructed most of the road. An oncoming driver could not avoid the obstruction and collided with it, injuring his hip, shoulder, and lower back. An out-of-court settlement compensated the plaintiff $15,000.
- 2015, Cook County: a truck unexpectedly backed out into the road and an oncoming cab driver struck the side of the truck, resulting in a severe neck injury, third-degree burns, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The case went to trial, where a jury ruled in favor of the plaintiff and awarded $2,368,000, including $1 million for pain and suffering.
- 2010, Cook County: on a highway near downtown Chicago, a truck veered into another driver’s lane, causing her to swerve into the opposite lane and strike another vehicle, resulting in severe cervical strains. A jury awarded her $55,000, including $30,000 for pain and suffering.
Why You Need an Experienced Attorney
If you have suffered a back or neck injury due to another person’s negligence, an experienced personal injury attorney can help in several ways:
- Ensuring fair negotiations: keeping insurers from treating you unfairly or talking you into a lowball settlement
- Calculating damages: accounting for medical bills, lost wages, vehicle damage, and other losses so the full value of your claim is understood before a lawsuit becomes necessary
- Pursuing multiple claims: holding every responsible party accountable, including running a workers’ compensation claim alongside a third-party case where both apply
844-SEE-MIKE has represented many clients who sustained serious back and neck injuries in car accidents, slip-and-falls, and work-related accidents. We use investigators to secure witness statements, analyze the accident scene, and preserve photographic evidence as early as possible, and we retain consulting experts and spend hours with your physicians to fully understand your injuries. Because seemingly minor accidents can still cause serious injury, we take every case seriously and know the games insurance companies play.
Contact 844-SEE-MIKE for a Free Consultation
If you or a loved one has suffered a back or neck injury in an accident due to negligence, contact 844-SEE-MIKE for a free consultation. We are a Chicago-based injury law firm representing individuals and their families, we will keep you advised at every step, and we do not hesitate to go to trial. You pay nothing unless we recover money for you, so it costs nothing to find out where you stand.
