Have you had some sort of accident and now find you are stuck at home with a slipped disk? These sorts of injuries can be very painful and debilitating, even though they usually heal and repair themselves with time. If you are working full time and need to be physically able to work, you may find that a slipped or herniated disc injury is going to cost you more than you bargained for and more than you can afford.
If you can show that your herniated disc was not your fault, but rather was caused by someone else’s negligence you may decide to make a personal injury claim. You may decide to seek advice from an accident attorney even if you are likely to get worker’s compensation after an accident at work.
Settlements under workers comp are not always realistic.
How Could You End Up With a Herniated Disc?
A herniated, or as it is also called, a prolapsed or slipped disc, is actually quite a common accident injury. Some people may be more prone to this type of injury than others, but it is not normal to have a herniated disc unless you have been subject to extra strain on your back.
The intravertebral discs are little, slippery bits of material that help to make the many joints in your backbone move smoothly and without friction. A strain on your back which is more severe or awkward than normal may cause one of these discs to slip out of place. Pain on bending the back is caused by the out-of-place disc.
Treatment is designed to coax the disc back into place but this is often a process that takes time.Slipped discs are most commonly the result of workplace accidents or heavy lifting incidents.
You may not be physically suitable for a particular work practice or trained sufficiently to handle the lifting correctly.
It may be that you were supposed to use proper lifting equipment but it wasn’t working and you were forced to do the job manually.
Can You Claim for a Herniated Disc?
The answer is that you can claim for any injury that was caused by someone else’s negligence if it can be proved who was responsible.
Normally, the onus of proof lies with the plaintiff in a personal injury case so if you can help your own claim by collecting and preserving any sort of evidence which shows what happened, the better it may be for your claim.
Many workplace injuries of this sort are covered by workplace compensation settlements but these are not always satisfactory. You may have the right, depending on state law, to seek a separate personal injury claim with the help of an attorney of your own.
Why an Accident Attorney Can Help You
Experienced personal injury attorneys handle injury claims of this nature all the time. It is their bread and butter. Even if you are unsure of who was exactly at fault in a herniated disc injury it is sensible to discuss the accident with an accident attorney.
This should be done preferably as soon as possible after the injury occurred. The attorney will pursue your claim vigorously if it is considered a viable claim and you are much more likely to get a full and fair settlement payment with the attorney’s help and expertise.
