As we age, the body’s structural support system of bone, muscle, and connective tissue begins to wear down. The spinal column, as the center support structure of the body, is critical for upright posture, shock absorbency, and flexibility.
According to a Medicare study of more than 20 million aging Americans, eight million Medicare recipients had diagnosed degenerative disc disease. Degenerative disc disease occurs when the discs between the vertebrae begin to deteriorate, compromising their ability to cushion the bones in the spinal column, causing pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness. While classified as a disease, degenerative disc disease is part of the natural aging process.
How Does a Car Accident Affect Degenerative Disc Disease?
Although car accidents do not cause degenerative disc disease, they can aggravate the condition. The crash force of an accident transforms a 125-pound person into a 4,375-pound force in a car accident at only 35 miles per hour.
This powerful force propels a motorist forward at the speed the car was traveling before the accident, before the seatbelt snaps them back. This rapid, whip-like back-and-forth motion places tremendous strain on the spinal column, worsening the degenerative condition. The deteriorated discs may crack or herniate (bulge), causing worsened pain, stiffness, and mobility problems.
Can I Still Recover Compensation for a Back Injury After a Car Accident If I Have Degenerative Disc Disease?
A car accident doesn’t cause degenerative disc disease, but when a person with disc degeneration was previously able to function normally until their car accident caused a significant exacerbation of the problem, they have a right to compensation.
If the worsened condition impacts their ability to work, accomplish routine daily tasks, and enjoy the active lifestyle they had before the accident, they can make a claim for compensation from the at-fault party’s auto insurance.
Successfully navigating these claims, especially with pre-existing conditions, often requires the expertise of a St. Louis spinal cord injury lawyer. Unfortunately, insurance companies commonly protect their profits at an injury victim’s expense. They may cite degenerative disc disease as a pre-existing condition in an attempt to dispute a car accident compensation claim.
Proving That a Car Accident Worsened Degenerative Disc Disease
It often takes an experienced attorney with access to well-respected medical experts to provide documented evidence that the car accident caused a worsened condition that the injury victim would not otherwise have experienced without the accident as a catalyst.
Evidence such as medical records and imaging from before and after the accident, medical expert witness testimony, and eyewitness testimony can successfully prove that the injury victim suffered significant economic and non-economic damages from the accident, including a worsened degenerative disc condition.
What Damages Can A Car Accident Victim With Degenerative Disc Disease Recover?
A successful car accident claim recovers compensation for damages such as past and future medical expenses, past and future income loss, out-of-pocket expenses, and compensation for pain and suffering.
Depending on the severity of the back injury, an injury victim with worsened degenerative disc disease after an accident can recover additional compensation for household help they’ve had to hire for yard work or home repairs that they were previously able to accomplish on their own.
Recovering compensation with a pre-existing diagnosis of degenerative disc disease often requires an experienced St. Louis personal injury lawyer and assertive negotiations with the insurer.