Suffering a back injury can disrupt your personal and professional life, temporarily and sometimes even permanently, depending on the nature and seriousness of the injury. The impact of chronic, severe back pain on the quality of your daily life can often be underestimated or minimized. When you need a trusted personal injury attorney, Gariepy Law Offices is here to help.
The US Bureau of Labor finds that over 38% of all workplace injuries are back related injuries (across all professions). These injuries can be as minimal as a slight muscle strain and lead all the way to ruptured or herniated discs requiring extensive surgery and rehabilitation. These statistics don’t even include the commonplace slips and falls that can happen anywhere during the work day due to hazardous conditions, the negligence of employees or property owners. A haphazard accident can result in a serious back injury that impacts your ability to work, participate fully in your personal life and fulfill any other responsibilities you may have.
In this article, we discuss the pivotal role that medical evidence, including medical records and expert testimony, plays in establishing your back injury claim, documenting the severity of the injury beyond subjective opinion, and laying out the need and extent of any long term, future treatments necessary to get you back to your pre-injury self.
Detailed & Comprehensive Medical Records
Medical documentation lies at the heart of a successful claim for a serious back injury. A meticulously detailed account of your injury and continuing condition by a medical professional serves as an unbiased narrative of your injury, detailing its severity and the treatments you’ve received. It encompasses initial assessments, diagnostic outcomes, treatment regimens, and rehabilitation progress. Getting immediate medical attention for your injury and ensuring accurate documentation of your complete condition is critical to the strength of your claims.
Medical records can include everything from your doctor’s observations, imaging reports (X-rays, MRIs, CT scans) to treatment strategies and surgical interventions. They help paint a full picture of the injury you suffered and the care you received. Detailed accounts of all medical interventions—whether they’re physical therapy, medications, or surgeries—underscore the extent of your injury and the effort to relieve your pain and improve your physical condition.
Statements from your treating doctors, including specialists like orthopedic surgeons or neurologists, can offer critical, detailed information on the extent of your injury and your prognosis for full or partial recovery.
Physical therapy and rehabilitation reports can illustrate your recovery process (its intensity and duration) and highlight any lasting functional limitations, which can impact your financial recovery.
The Impact of Expert Opinions
Expert opinions tie together the substantive value of your medical records and the legal criteria applied in injury cases to determine the nature and extent of the injury, who bears the majority of responsibility for the injury and extent of financial recovery to which you may be entitled as a result of your injury and your resultant pain and suffering.
Medical experts provide informed expertise as to your diagnosis and any specific anatomical issues contributing to your discomfort and its intensity and duration. They can also assess the suitability and effectiveness of your treatment, while also suggesting probable future medical or rehabilitative measures needed to make you whole and ensure a full recovery. Most importantly, in back injury cases, medical experts can evaluate your long-term rehabilitative needs and the accompanying future expenses as well as any potential resulting disability.
Substantiating a back injury case requires meticulous preparation, strategic planning, and the expertise we offer here at Gariepy Law Offices. When you need an accident injury attorney who will fight for your rights, you can depend on our law firm for the help you need. Our law firm has been a trusted member of the community for over 30 years.
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