The back is comprised of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions.  Accident victims most often injure the cervical and lumbar areas.  Whiplash from rear-end car accidents caused the most severe cervical injuries.  Rollover accidents causing side-to-side head movements also put a major strain on the neck muscles and ultimately the spinal discs. The popular 3-point seat belt restrains the low back and lumbar areas by fastening the waist to the seat.  Fractured pelvis injuries and lumbar disruptions are common injuries to these areas of the spine.   Frequently, we find that in slip and fall or trip and fall cases that lumbar injuries happen.  The jarring of a fall can compress the spine into clamping the disc.  These compression injuries mean serious treatment, as the injuries are too painful to ignore. All too often, we see our clients have difficult times from the conservative management to the most aggressive treatment option: surgery.  Pain will usually pilot the course of treatment.  The regiment that our clients usually undergo looks like this:

Treatment of Lumbar Injury
1.) X-ray Diagnosis
2.) Physical Therapy/ Chiropractic Care 8-13 weeks
3.) Oral medication, anti-inflammatory prescriptions & narcotic pain relievers.
3.) Confirmation with MRI Images
4.) Epidural Injections (3) sets L5-S1 (most common)
            a.) Diagnostic measurements
            b.) Pain relief with anesthetic
5.) Nerve Conduction Studies
6.) Evaluation for Surgical Option-Lumbar surgery
7.) Physical Therapy
8.) Pain Management & Depression Management
            a.) Morphine Drips / Opiate Pumps

When any of the above fails to give relief the next step is considered.  The hope is that the regiment will give some lasting pain relief, but often the injury is so severe that until the nerves are relieved of stress the pain will never go away.  As personal injury attorneys that have handled hundreds of lumbar injury cases, we know it is important to properly manage a lumbar injury accident case.  Sadly, many law firms do not understand the complexities of these serious cases, and fail to understand the long term consequences of surgical repair.  The back will never be 100%.  Medical treatment and medical experts are needed to properly configure the legal requirements of the medical evidence.  Future projections of medical care and treatment must be calculated.  If you have suffered a lumbar injury and would like to discuss your case, please contact Joseph L. Benson II, Esq. –a true lumbar surgery attorney. 702-382-9797 x 226.

See Also:
Spinal Cord or Brain Injury Law
Brain Damage: Frontal Lobe Injuries
Neck & Whiplash Injury
CRPS: Problems with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) or RPS?
The Drop Foot Injury: A Complication of Medical Mal-practice and/or Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury

Why do Medical Professionals Send their Patients to the Law Firm Benson & Bingham?

Making claims against Doctors or Physicians in Nevada falls under the Nevada revised statutes (NRS.) NRS 427 (A) Under the malpractice statute, the following medical providers must be sued with an Affidavit of malpractice: Nurse / Nurses, Doctor / Doctors, Physician / Physicians, Chiropractor / Chiropractors, Dentist / Dentists, Orthodontist / Orthodontists, Physical Therapist / Physical Therapy / Physical Therapists, Neurologists / Neurology, Orthopedic Surgeons / Orthopedic Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Optometry, Licensed nurses / nurse, podiatry doctor, doctor of podiatry medicine, eastern medicine doctors, oriental medicine doctors, medical laboratory techs and technicians, hospitals, emergency rooms, quick care units, or the staff of such facilities.