Back Injuries

If you have suffered a sudden neck or injury at work because of a fall or a vehicle accident, or if your back has worsened over time to the point where you can no longer work because of the pain, protect your rights to full compensation and fair treatment in the workers' comp system.

As a Spartanburg/Greenville back injuries lawyer and founder of the Knie & Shealy Law Offices, I have been helping injured workers throughout South Carolina for more than 35 years. I am committed to getting you the help that you need and deserve.

The neck and back are complicated parts of the body. Bones and tissues of the spine are separated by disks. These disks, which act as shock absorbers, naturally begin to wear as we get older, causing the typical neck and back pain that come with age. But specific things that you might do on the job can cause repetitive motion injuries to your neck and back from lifting, or pulling and pushing heavy loads.

The most common neck and back injuries I see at my Spartanburg/Greenville workers' compensation law office are bulging disks and herniated disks. If the worker was injured in a violent accident, like a truck crash, he may have a ruptured disk. Any neck or back injury is an extremely painful and disabling condition. He or she will be in constant pain, may not be able to eat or sleep well, and usually cannot do work activities.

Unfortunately, employers often treat people with back injuries the same way they would treat a car with a frame out of alignment. They want to get rid of the car and start over. That's no way to treat people.

The reason back and spinal cord injuries are so painful is that the spinal cord holds all of the major nerves of the body. When a spinal disk becomes herniated, or goes out of alignment, it puts pressure on the nerve bundle coming out alongside the disk. That creates pain in the back or neck that extends down the limb that is controlled by those nerves so a slipped disk can cause severe arm or leg pain.

The chronic pain that comes with a back injury can take over one's life. Changing positions may or may not help. Lack of sleep can make the pain even harder to handle. Life becomes a never-ending ordeal.

Workers' compensation can pay for medical care, including disk fusion surgery. It will pay for pain medication and physical therapy. It will cover lost wages while you are out of work.

What many people don't realize is that injured workers can also receive compensation for the psychological aspects of an injury, including post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD is not uncommon in back injury cases resulting from serious car or truck accidents.

If you have suffered an injury to a back disk, or any other kind of injury, while at work you may be entitled to financial compensation. Contact me, a Spartanburg/Greenville back injuries attorney, online. Consultations are free and confidential.