We are Missouri lawyers who specialize in back and neck workmans compensation injuries when the injured worker ended up having to have surgery on the spinal column.
Spine, Back and Neck Surgery Workers Compensation Case Lawyers
The Missouri Workers’ Compensation law allocates the highest amount of potential recovery for a case involving an injury to the back or neck. The Division of Workers’ Compensation calls injuries to neck and back "body as a whole" injuries or “BAW” injuries. A back or neck injury can have a serious impact on an injured worker because of the importance of the back and neck to job functions such as lifting and carrying. It goes without saying, additionally, that the back and spine is what holds humans upright. A back or neck injury can be the result of a single event such as attempting to lift an object or twisting or falling. Back and neck injuries can also result from continued overuse or repetitive motion injuries while at work and from aggravation or exacerbation of a prior back injury through work activities.
A back injury may obviously result in pain but may also cause numbness and tingling through the arms and legs. Such symptoms may indicate more severe injuries and need for more significant medical treatment caused by the spinal disc pressing on a nerve root along the spinal column. Further symptoms may include back pain, leg pain, muscle stiffness or soreness and problems with bowel or bladder function. Our Firm has experience handling a variety of work-related injuries and resulting problems related to back and neck injuries. We often see cases involving herniated discs, bulging discs and ruptured discs, spinal fractures and compression factures of the spine, degenerative disc disease cases, muscle sprains and strains, spinal cord and nerve injuries, and spinal surgery cases.
Back injuries are most commonly initially treated through what is referred to as conservative treatment. This treatment may include evaluation by an orthopedist and referral to physical therapy. Many conditions improve through physical therapy, medication management, injection therapy and passage of time. However, in some cases, conservative care is not sufficient to resolve symptoms following a back or neck injury. Nerve roots and pinched nerves may have pressure on them from damage to the back’s discs and surgery is needed to relieve that pressure and thereby relieve pain and numbness and tingling symptoms.
A herniated disc or bulging disc caused by a back injury can be very serious and cause significant pain and limitations for an employee. These conditions are also commonly referred to as a pinched nerve, bulging disc, ruptured disc or slipped disc in the back. The location of a back injury in commonly divided between three areas of the back the lower back (lumbar spine), middle back (thoracic spine) and upper back and neck (cervical spine). Spinal surgery cases are among the most difficult cases in terms of bodily injury, and unfortunately, those involving surgery on the neck (cervical spine) and low back (lumbar spine) are among the most common in terms of spine cases.
A serious back injury is painful and debilitating. In such circumstances the orthopedist, spine surgeon or neurosurgeon will likely recommend the employee undergo spinal surgery. The recommended surgery may be a laminectomy, discectomy or spinal fusion. Determination of the damage to the spine in commonly determined through an MRI or CT scan of spine.
Spine surgery cases are among those which result in the greatest level of permanent partial disability within the Missouri Workers Compensation system. Because of this, it is important to have your case reviewed by experienced Missouri Work Comp Lawyers. Our Firm has the knowledge and experience to review the medical documentation from such medical procedures and fully evaluate and determine the value of your claim. We work with surgeons, treating physicians, and medical experts to demonstrate the level of injury to an employee. When our Firm takes on a spinal cord or back injury claim, our Firm seeks full compensation to cover an employee’s injuries.
The need for surgery can result from a variety of different accidents. Surgery may occur because of injuries sustained in serious accidents. Spinal injuries that may require surgery can still result in severe and chronic pain and likely require long term medication management and medical treatment. The proper medical diagnosis and treatment falls upon the medical doctor for any case. Beyond the pain levels involved with a back injury, continuing symptoms that may be indicative of the need for surgical intervention. These symptoms include radiating and shooting pains or tingling in the extremities or problems with motor function. The need for spinal fusion surgery is based upon continuing symptoms and limits on activity. Conservative treatment through medical evaluation and therapy are likely exhausted prior to the surgical intervention. As with any surgical procedure, no complete fix is possible. The goal of the procedure is to alleviate pain symptoms.
Spinal fusion surgery is usually recommended if the cause of your back pain is from motion between the segments of the spine. A spinal fusion limits motion in the area of pain to alleviate the problem. Spinal fusion surgery involves permanently connecting two or more of your vertebrae together with bone grafts and metal plates and screws. Spinal fusion is permanent and generally takes away some mobility and does not always provide complete relief from your pain. Surgery is usually performed when one or more herniated discs or degenerative disease is present. A laminectomy or disc replacement surgery is often recommended when a herniated disc pinches nerves, creating symptoms of leg or hip pain, weakness in legs or feet, numbness in legs or feet, and problems with bowel or bladder functions. The lamina may be removed on one or both sides, allowing access to the foramen, nerve roots and disc. From this position, the foramen may be cleaned out to provide more space for the nerve roots to exit, and the part of the disc that is pressing on the nerve can be removed. A discectomy is a surgery done to remove a herniated disc from the spinal canal. When a disc herniation occurs, a fragment of the normal spinal disc is dislodged. This fragment may press against the spinal cord or the nerves that surround the spinal cord. This pressure causes the symptoms that are characteristic of herniated discs. The surgical treatment of a herniated disc is to remove the fragment of spinal disc that is causing the pressure on the nerve.
No Recovery, No Fee!
The Hein Law Firm takes Spine Surgery Workers Compensation cases on a contingency basis. This means you will only pay attorney's fees if we obtain compensation for you. For a free consultation with a Missouri Spine Surgery Workmans Comp Lawyer, call us at (314) 645-7900 or contact us online.