Why insurers push back on spine injuries

Back and neck injuries are some of the most common results of crashes and falls. They are also some of the most disputed. Here is why. Adult spines often show wear and tear on an MRI. Disc bulges and arthritis are common, even in people with no pain.

So the insurance company points to those findings. It argues the accident changed nothing. Your claim depends on showing how you were before and how you are after. It also depends on a doctor linking the change to the accident.

Common injuries and how they are proved

Herniated and bulging discs

A herniated disc can press on a nerve. That can cause pain, numbness or weakness down an arm or leg. The key records show when those symptoms started, what the imaging found, and how your doctor explains the timing.

Whiplash and soft-tissue injuries

Strained neck muscles and ligaments often do not show on any scan. These claims are proved with steady treatment records and therapy notes. Those notes track how far you can move and how you improve. Your own account of daily limits matters too.

Broken bones and surgery

Fractures and injuries that need surgery show on imaging and in surgery reports. The fight then moves to future care and your ability to work.

If you had back or neck problems before

Lawyers sometimes call this the “eggshell plaintiff” idea. The person at fault takes you as they find you. In Missouri, it works as an aggravation rule. If a careless act made your old condition worse, a jury may award money for that worsening. The Missouri Supreme Court allowed this in a 1964 case where an injury flared up a man’s existing knee arthritis.

The rule has limits. You do not recover for the condition as it was before. The question is how much worse the accident made it.

Be open about past treatment. If an old injury comes out later and you left it out, it hurts your credibility far more than the old injury itself.

Gaps in treatment and other insurer arguments

Insurers often say that waiting to see a doctor, or a long break in treatment, means you were not really hurt. There are often normal reasons. No ride. No time off. Waiting on insurance. Trying rest at home first. If those reasons are true, make sure your doctor’s notes include them.

The insurer may also blame you for the accident. In Missouri, your award goes down by your share of the blame. Your claim is not thrown out. See the comparative fault guide.

Your deadline to sue, and working with the firm

You generally have five years to file a lawsuit for a back or neck injury (Missouri law, RSMo 516.120). Most of these claims come from crashes or falls. See the car accident page and the slip and fall page.

Harjot Singh Padda, JD reviews your records from before and after the injury. Your first meeting about an injury is free. If you hire the firm, you pay a contingency fee. A written agreement spells out the percentage and how case costs are handled.

Common questions

Related reading

• Personal injury cases in St. Louis
• Brain injury claims
• Truck accident claims
• Workplace injury third-party claims