Understanding How to Prove the Causes of Back and Neck Injuries in Personal Injury Cases

Back and neck injuries are common results of trauma, but proving them in a personal injury case can be challenging.
Car accidents and other personal injury cases often result in neck and back injuries. However, the insurance company defending the case will often take a hard stance in defending them. Because we have lived our life before the accident, it is common to have wear and tear in our spine. This is often referred to as "degenerative changes" on a diagnostic test or MRI. The insurance company will argue that your problems are the result of "pre-existing" degenerative changes. But, if you did not have pain or treatment with doctors before the accident, then, their argument should not make sense. Basically, the accident made your back or neck become a problem. Many medical studies can be cited to point out that we all have some wear and tear as we age. The key is the before and after comparison regarding medical treatment and symptoms.

The more difficult scenario is where you had previous back/neck pain or symptoms and treatment. In those instances, you still need to compare before and after. Are the pain and symptoms worse after? When was the last time you saw a doctor before the accident for any of those symptoms? The longer in time your last doctor visit was before the accident, the more you can point to a period where you were doing ok until the accident or that your symptoms had improved before the accident.

In many states, such as Pennsylvania, the law says that if your back/neck were aggravated or worsened by the accident, then the at-fault party is responsible for those damages.

There are some good methods to help prove the accident caused an aggravation. If you have gone to the same primary doctor for a while, then that doctor is in a good position to report on a comparison of before to after.

If you had an MRI before the accident and after it, then you can have a neuroradiologist or other qualified medical specialist compare the two film studies to give a medical conclusion as to whether the trauma worsened your spine. As a supplement to these proofs, people who have known you can be witnesses as to their observations of your physical capabilities before compared to after the accident. For example, have they seen changes in your daily life and activities, including work, after the accident compared to before.