What to Do if a Car Hit You and Your Back Hurts After a Car Accident
The best thing you can do if your back hurts after a car accident is to seek medical attention and call a car wreck attorney. The worst thing you can do is to ignore the pain. Lower, middle or upper back pain after getting rear-ended is a clear indicator that your body suffered some type of impact-related injury. Taking the right steps is crucial to protecting your health and making sure you get the compensation you deserve.
How Common Are Back Injuries From Car Accidents?
Research shows that nearly 60% of people hurt in car crashes walk away with low back pain, and for about 31% of them, those symptoms are still sticking around a full year later. It is also a sobering fact that if you’ve been injured in a motor vehicle collision, you are 2.7 times more likely to deal with back issues again down the road. In the world of car wrecks, back pain is actually the second most common injury reported, trailing only behind neck pain.What Are the Different Types of Spinal Injuries From Car Wrecks?
Any car wreck that results in a spinal injury can be devastating to your mobility and overall well-being. Your spine is what helps your body move and supports your nervous system. Even minor injuries can cause significant pain and stiffness, leaving you with discomfort that takes weeks or even years to heal from. Let's take a close look at the most common spinal injuries from car collisions.Herniated Disc
A herniated disc occurs when the center of a spinal disc, which is soft and gel-like, pushes through the outer layer, which is more rigid. When this happens, it can compress the nearby nerves, resulting in major discomfort, numbness, and weakness in your limbs. Wrecks that involve sudden impact or rear-end collisions are more likely to cause this type of injury.Whiplash
Whiplash usually affects soft tissue, but when it's severe enough, it can have profound effects on your spine. The force of the impact may tear the ligaments attached to the vertebrae or even strain the muscles around the spinal column.Fractures to the Spine
Your spine can only handle so much pressure at a given time. During a car wreck, any force that exceeds your spine’s limits may fracture or completely break the vertebrae. Symptoms of a fractured back can range from severe pain and numbness to total paralysis.Compression Fractures
Compression fractures are different from traditional fractures in that they cause the vertebrae to collapse or become compressed. These injuries usually occur in the lower or middle region of the spine.Ligament Injuries
Your back has a network of ligaments that attach to the bones in your spine. Their job is to stabilize your back when you move and bend. A car wreck that stretches or tears the ligaments can cause the entire spinal column to become unstable and painful. In many cases, ligament injuries are accompanied by other injuries to the spine.Spinal Subluxations
When the vertebrae in your back become partially dislocated or misaligned during an accident, this is known as a spinal subluxation. Even though the damage may not be as obvious as a fracture, the misalignment can lead to chronic pain, especially when left untreated. You may find yourself unable to sit comfortably or move without discomfort.Spinal Stenosis
Spinal stenosis is essentially what happens when the spaces within your spine start to narrow, squeezing the nerves and spinal cord that run through it. Most people develop this slowly as they get older. The impact of a crash often acts as an accelerant, forcing the narrowing to happen much faster than it would have naturally. And when the nerves get compressed, you’ll start feeling it in the form of persistent back pain, a "pins and needles" numbness or a noticeable weakness in your arms and legs.Facet Joint Injuries
Each pair of your vertebrae have small joints in between them, also known as facet joints. These joints are in place to both guide and stabilize the movement of your spine. When a car wreck injures one or more of these joints, the resulting pain can be severe and long-lasting. You can usually tell you have a facet joint injury because the pain is localized to one specific area of the back.What to Do After a Car Collision
We put together a simple 7-step process you can follow to help protect your health and legal rights after a car wreck. Following these steps helps ensure you have everything you need to support your injury claim.1. Call 911 Right Away
Always call 911. Even if you don't think you have an injury, you should still get evaluated by an EMT. This way, you'll have medical documentation to back up your claim in the event you start to experience pain later on.2. Document Car Damage and Injuries With Photos
If you're able to, take photos of the accident, including all damage to your vehicle as well as your injuries. Having these photos can speed up the claims process when an insurance company wants to verify what happened.Here are some tips for taking photos of the accident:
• Take horizontal photos as much as possible to get a wider view of the accident scene. • Photograph every part of the vehicle, even if it doesn’t appear to have damage. • Do close-ups of your injuries, including all cuts, bruises and swelling. • Capture pics of all nearby street signs, traffic lights and skid marks. • Make sure your camera’s time stamp is accurate; the time and date will make it easier to verify when the accident occurred.
3. Get Contact and Insurance Information From Other Drivers
Take a few minutes to swap contact and insurance info with all other involved drivers. Having a digital copy of your insurance card makes it easy to send the info through text.Here’s the info you need to collect from other drivers: • Full name • Phone number • Insurance company name • Insurance policy number • Vehicle make, model and license plate number
4. Write Down Contact Information for Any Witnesses
If there were any witnesses to the accident other than involved drivers or passengers, you should collect their contact information too (if they're willing to provide it). You can use statements from these witnesses to back up your version of events.Your lawyer can handle collecting the statements from them. Here’s what they’ll ask for: • What they saw right before the accident occurred • Which driver appeared to be at fault according to their perspective • The direction in which each vehicle was traveling • Whether any of the drivers appeared to be speeding or distracted • Conditions of the roadway during the wreck • What took place immediately after the collision
5. Don't Admit Fault
Beyond getting medical help, the number-one thing you need to do after the accident is to avoid admitting fault (even if you think you were the one to cause the accident). Once you admit fault, it becomes much harder to recover compensation for your injuries and damages. Rather than arguing about what happened, just tell the other driver or insurance company that you don't have any statements to make. If they want more information, they can speak with your attorney.6. Call a Car Wreck Attorney As Soon As Possible
It's always a good move to have a car wreck attorney on speed dial, even if you've never been in a collision before. Calling the attorney immediately after the accident will provide you with crucial guidance during a stressful situation. The attorney will walk you through everything you need to do to protect your health and legal rights.7. Keep All Receipts for Expenses Related to Medical Treatment, Vehicle Repairs or Rental Cars
Between car repairs and medical bills, the costs after a wreck can pile up much faster than most people expect. If you aren't staying organized, it becomes a lot harder to prove exactly what you're owed when it’s time to recover compensation.A good rule of thumb is to treat every accident-related expense as a piece of evidence. Every time you pay for something, whether it’s a doctor’s visit or a car part, be sure to grab a paper or digital receipt. Keeping these organized makes it much easier for your lawyer and the insurance company to see the full financial impact of the crash and support your claim.
Here are the different types of receipts you need to keep organized:
• Ambulance or emergency transportation expense • ER and doctor visit bills • Physical therapy receipts • Prescription medication costs • Vehicle repair invoices • Towing and roadside assistance receipts • Rental car expenses • Gas and travel costs for appointments • Back brace or medical equipment purchases • Proof of missed work or lost pay • Insurance deductible payments
What to Do if Your Back Hurts After a Car Wreck
You should always take back pain after a car wreck seriously, even if it seems minor at first. For many people, what appears to be soreness or stiffness turns into chronic pain later on.Pay Close Attention to Back Pain Symptoms
It can be confusing trying to identify injuries after a car wreck. The body naturally produces adrenaline during the wreck, which can mask certain symptoms. You may not notice pain in your back until days after the wreck occurs. This is why it's so important to document any discomfort you have to see whether it gets worse or better.Here are the main symptoms to watch for that indicate you may have a back injury:
• Shooting or radiating pain through the back or legs • Numbness or tingling • Muscle spasms • Stiffness or limited mobility • Difficulty walking or balancing • Burning sensations in the lower back or neck • Discomfort when laughing or sneezing • Ongoing headaches or dizziness • Visible bruising or swelling • Trouble breathing • Pins and needles feeling in the groin • Loss of bladder control
Seek Medical Care Even if the Pain Seems Minor
It’s easy to assume that a little stiffness or soreness will just go away on its own after a few days, but that isn’t always the case. Many spinal injuries start with very mild symptoms that can actually get much worse if they aren't addressed.The best way to protect your health and catch potential complications early is to see a doctor immediately after the wreck. They can evaluate exactly what’s going on and let you know if you’re clear to head home or if you’ll need a plan for follow-up care.
Avoid Heavy Lifting and Strenuous Activity
Even if you don't feel any pain right after the wreck, this doesn't mean you should resume your normal activities. If you have a job or hobby that requires heavy lifting, you should steer clear of these strenuous tasks until your doctor clears you for work. If you were to reinjure yourself, this can make minor strains or soft tissue injuries much worse. By giving your body time to heal, you provide yourself a much better chance of a full recovery.Document Your Injuries and Medical Treatment
As we already mentioned, having detailed documentation of all medical care is vital to your injury claim. Insurance companies often look for gaps in care to determine whether your injuries are serious. With medical records and consistent doctor visits, your attorney will have an easier time proving damages.Speak With a Car Wreck Attorney Before Accepting a Settlement
The at-fault driver's insurance company may try to offer you a settlement that is far below what you deserve. They often come up with a number that doesn't account for any future medical expenses that you may encounter because of the accident. The smartest thing to do is to direct the insurance company to your car wreck attorney. The lawyer will look at your injuries and come up with a settlement demand that takes into consideration your long-term damages.Why Back Pain Sometimes Appears Hours or Days Later
It’s actually very common to walk away from a car wreck feeling fine, only to have severe symptoms show up days or even weeks later. There are a few biological reasons for this delay. First, your body is flooded with adrenaline immediately after a crash, which acts as a natural, but temporary, painkiller. Once that shock wears off, you finally start to feel the full extent of the damage.Additionally, things like muscle strains and soft tissue injuries don’t peak instantly; the inflammation and swelling around your spinal nerves usually build up gradually. And as your body cools down from the initial collision, that’s when the real muscle stiffness, numbness or shooting pains tend to set in.