Herniated discs can be incredibly painful. The pain can spread to your limbs and can become excruciating. 
Back injuries can affect every aspect of your life and can leave you unable to work. It is incredibly important to get necessary medical care if you have sustained a back injury at work. Failing to get treatment or delaying treatment can cause the injury to worsen or even to become permanent. In some cases, surgery is necessary to fix the problem and alleviate pain. But how soon you get treatment hinges on your employer, their insurance company, and their willingness to help.
Getting an accurate diagnosis is very important. Correctly diagnosing a herniated disc can be difficult and patients are oftentimes misdiagnosed. This is because the injured disc does not show up on an X-ray. In order to correctly diagnose a herniated disc doctors will have to use a CT scan or MRI. Discography, myelography, and electromyography are also helpful diagnostic tools when it comes to discovering the source of the problem.
Injuries to the back and neck are considered “body as a whole” injuries because the back and neck both have such profound impacts on the way that the entire body functions. In an instant your entire life can change if you suffer a back injury while at work. All of a sudden you may be unable to work or even perform basic everyday activities because of the amount of pain you are in.
Again, getting treatment as soon as possible is crucial. However, insurance companies are not always willing to pay for potentially expensive surgical treatment and ongoing therapies and may try to resist or delay your access to treatment. If this happens you should immediately contact a Missouri workers’ compensation attorney who can help.
Treatments can range anywhere from therapy and steroid injections to laminectomy surgery. Many back injury patients see success with a laminectomy surgery and may heal and even be able to return to work and participate normally in physical activities. But when the surgery is not successful and further intervention is needed, doctors may need to perform a surgical fusion.
Missouri Workers’ Compensation Attorney
Unfortunately, not everyone recovers fully from a serious back injury. Some may suffer from back pain for the rest of their lives, be unable to return to work, and become permanently totally disabled and unable to compete in the open labor market. However, even with multiple surgeries many people heal completely and are able to return to work.
Getting the benefits that you need and deserve is incredibly important. The stress of being unable to work, being in an incredible amount of pain, not knowing when or if the pain will ever stop, and not knowing how you are going to support your family in the meantime, is not something you should have to be worrying about. You should be able to focus on rest and recovery while your Missouri workers’ compensation attorney fights to protect your legal rights and get you all the care and support that you need so that you have the best chance at a full recovery.
The Law Office of James M. Hoffmann can do this. We can work to protect your rights and get you the full amount of compensation you are entitled to.
To schedule a free consultation, call us at (314) 361-4300 or contact us online.
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