Herniated Disc & Fractured Spine

Cervical Disc | Lumbar Disc | Bulging Disc | Compression Fracture | Lumbar Spine | Thoracic Spine

San Francisco Herniated Disc Injury Lawyer

Someone that has been involved in a serious accident may suffer with shooting pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness in an arm or leg that is caused by a serious back injury. Each level of the spine is separated from the next level by a shock-absorbing disc, which prevents the nerves coming from the spinal cord from being compressed when a person moves or bends and which allow for flexibility. Each disc is like a jelly donut, with a firm outer shell (the annulus) and a soft center (the nucleus pulposa). In a serious accident that produces significant forces on the spine, a disc can be damaged. If the outer layer tears or breaks, it can lead to the soft inside eventually leaking through. This is called a herniated disc or ruptured disc. This can result in compression of the nerves or serious irritation the nerves in the area. If a disc moves from its normal position and starts to press on the spinal cord or the adjoining nerves that come out from the spine that is called a bulging disc.

The herniated disc, or ruptured disc, leads to serious problems, which may include shooting pains into an arm or leg (sciatica), numbness in the arm, hand, leg or foot, and even loss of control of the bladder or bowel (incontinence). When there is pain or numbness radiating into an arm or leg this is frequently called radiculopathy, which is a result of compression of the nerve root coming from the spinal cord, and may be the result of a herniated disc. When a disc is damaged in the upper back the symptoms may radiate into the head, neck, arms or hands. If the herniated disc is in the lower back, called the lumbar spine, these problems may radiate into the hip, leg, or foot, and may affect bladder or bowel function. In catastrophic injury cases, disc injuries may result in damage to the spinal cord itself. And damage to the spinal cord can result in paralysis (quadriplegia or paraplegia).

Frequently, surgery is the only treatment to eliminate the serious and painful symptoms caused by herniated discs. Surgery may be performed to remove the damaged disc, or to permanently fix the spinal bones in a position so that they stop compressing the nerve roots that go into the arms, legs, or other areas of the body, that are being affected by the disc injury. Sometimes a surgery called a fusion is performed using a piece of bone from the person’s pelvis, or from a cadaver, to fuse the spinal bones in a safe position.

Experienced Herniated Disc Injury Attorneys Working on Your Behalf

The spinal injury lawyers at Blackman Legal Group assist clients to get early MRI scans to detect a herniated or bulging disc that needs to be diagnosed and treated. This is important because delays in detecting and treating a ruptured disc are used by insurance company lawyers to deny responsibility for the problem. Many patients go many months, or even a year or more, before their doctors obtain an MRI scans of the spine and refer the patient to a neurosurgeon to determine if surgery is needed.

When you have suffered a herniated or bulging disc in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you need an experienced personal injury lawyer to help you recover full and fair compensation for your losses. A herniated disc can make it difficult to perform even the simplest acts, making it impossible for you to work, drive a car or enjoy many of the activities that you love.

Since 1976 the spine injury lawyers at Blackman Legal Group, with offices in San Francisco and Redwood City, have successfully helped thousands of clients who have suffered serious back injuries in traumatic accidents. We have specialized medical training and trial experience in spinal injury cases including herniated discs requiring surgeries such as discectomy (removal of the disc), laminectomy (trimming the bones) or fusion (fusing the bones above and below the removed disc with a bone chip). We have dedicated our career and our practice to the needs of people who have been hurt because of the negligent or illegal acts of others, including many individuals who have suffered a herniated disc, broken neck, or other spinal fracture.

Because of our meticulous preparation and our excellent reputation in the field of personal injury litigation, we are often able to settle claims at insurance policy limits, and in cases of insurance bad faith have recovered settlements for clients in excess of the policy limits. We have recovered multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts for our clients who suffered serious spinal injuries, including herniated discs. In a recent lawsuit involving herniated discs, we recovered over $6.4 million for our client after a jury trial in San Francisco.

Protecting the Rights of People Who Have Suffered a Herniated Disc or Spine Fracture.

At Blackman Legal Group, we handle personal injury claims involving a broad range of injuries to your back and spinal cord, including:

• Lumbar or cervical disc trauma

• Bulging, slipped or ruptured discs

• Spinal fractures

Serious back injuries can be the result of car accidents, falls, and other accidents that produce traumatic forces on the back or neck.

We employ a vast network of professionals to help us gather, evaluate, synthesize and present evidence, so that we can present your case in a way that maximizes your chances of recovery. We work with accident reconstruction experts, bio-mechanical experts, neurosurgeons and other medical experts, life planners, rehabilitation specialists, physical therapists and financial experts, making certain that we accurately identify and portray the nature and extent of your injuries and what you need to move forward with your life.

Contact Blackman Legal Group

To schedule an appointment, contact the Blackman Legal Group by e-mail
or call us at 415-585-5200 (toll free at 866-692-8126). We provide a free case evaluation.