Car accidents can cause a variety of debilitating and painful injuries to the spine, including a slipped disc. Also known as a herniated disc, this spinal injury can cause pain and numbness and often requires a lengthy healing time. Although most slipped discs are relatively minor injuries, severe car accidents can cause extensive damage, leading to a much longer healing process.

Read on to discover how long a slipped disc takes to heal and how a car accident attorney from Wagner Reese can help you recover compensation for your injury.

How Car Accidents Can Lead to Slipped Discs

Between the vertebrae of your spine are discs of soft tissue that cushion the vertebrae. These discs consist of an outer ring and inner material similar in consistency to a gel or jelly.

The force of a car accident can dislodge or tear the outer ring of the disc, causing the inner material to push into the nerves of your spine. This often leads to severe pain and potential numbness or difficulty moving. Potential symptoms of a slipped disc include:

  • Any type of pain in the affected area of the spine
  • Numbness or tingling
  • Muscle weakness
  • Trouble bending, twisting, or making other movements
  • Pain, numbness, or tingling in the arms or legs

The risk of a slipped disc varies depending on the car crash’s severity, how you were sitting in the car, and individual health factors such as age and physical activity level. Symptoms may also vary depending on the location of the damaged disc.

How Long Does It Take to Recover from a Slipped Disc?

Recovery from a slipped disk can take several months, depending on the severity and type of slip. In car accidents nationwide, side-swipe accidents caused the majority of cervical disc derangements, and sideswipe and head-on collisions caused lumbar disc slips. While slipped lumbar discs can cause many problems for car accident victims, cervical slipped discs are often more serious because they compress the entire spinal cord.

Most slipped discs are relatively minor, and some may heal in as little as six weeks with appropriate treatment. However, others can take three months or more to heal, during which you may experience extreme pain and limited mobility.

Serious cases may require surgical intervention, which can take six months or longer to heal fully. Even more rarely, a slipped disc can lead to permanent disability, including nerve damage or paralysis.

Can I Sue for a Slipped Disc?

Even minor herniated discs require rest and reduced physical activity for weeks or months, which can impact your ability to work, perform household tasks, and enjoy hobbies.

When you are unable to work because of your injury, you are also no longer earning the paychecks you need to pay off your medical bills. If you have suffered a herniated disc due to a car accident, you may face not only past medical bills and lost wages but future ones as well. The lifetime medical costs alone of temporarily or permanently disabling spinal injuries can range anywhere from $44,000 to $115,000 per the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).

In addition, you may experience extreme physical and mental pain from your injury. This emotional distress can prevent you from enjoying your life or maintaining relationships with friends and family.

If the car accident resulted from the other driver’s negligence, you have the right to sue the other driver for compensation for your resulting medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Many injury victims receive quick settlement offers from the other driver’s insurance company. However, these lowball settlements rarely provide full compensation for your damages. Accepting a settlement offer before you know the full extent of your injury prevents you from seeking further compensation.

Don’t accept a settlement offer by yourself; instead, seek legal assistance from the Indianapolis car wreck attorneys at Wagner Reese.

Our skilled attorneys can estimate the value of your claim based on medical bills and future healthcare you’ll require. Your attorney will gather evidence, like hospital bills, treatment plans, and W2s, to support your claim and ask for maximum compensation.

Our team will protect you from unknowingly accepting an unfair settlement and ensure you receive the award you are entitled to.

Schedule a Free Consultation with Wagner Reese Injury Lawyers

In the aftermath of a serious car accident, obtaining appropriate financial compensation for your injuries and expenses can be challenging. The car accident attorneys at Wagner Reese have extensive experience representing car accident victims, including those with slipped discs and other spinal injuries.

When another driver’s recklessness or carelessness has caused you such a serious injury, they should be held accountable for your resulting damages. Our team of experienced attorneys can evaluate your case, collect evidence of your losses, and negotiate an appropriate settlement with the insurance company.

Contact us today to explore your legal options and schedule a no-obligation free consultation.