Herniated Disc Injuries from Georgia Car Accidents

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A herniated disc found after a crash raises one question before any other: did the collision cause it, or was the disc already wearing out? MedlinePlus describes both routes. A disk can herniate or rupture “from injury or strain,” and disks also “break down or degenerate” with age. In a Georgia claim the answer does not have to be all or nothing, because a defendant can be responsible for worsening a condition that was already there, and sorting one cause from the other can call for expert medical evidence.

How a Disk Herniates

“A herniated (slipped) disk occurs when all or part of a disk is forced through a weakened part of the disk. This may place pressure on nearby nerves or the spinal cord.” The MedlinePlus encyclopedia explains that “[t]he disk may move out of place (herniate) or break open (rupture) from injury or strain,” and that pressure on a spinal nerve “can lead to pain, numbness, or weakness.” It adds that “[t]he lower back (lumbar area) of the spine is the most common area affected by a herniated disk,” followed by the neck.

The MedlinePlus topic on herniated disk describes the disks as “filled with a jelly-like substance” and states that with age they “break down or degenerate.” The topic on back injuries states that “[b]ack injuries can result from sports injuries, work around the house or in the garden, or a sudden jolt such as a car accident.”

What the Examination and Imaging Show

“A careful physical exam and history is the first step.” Among the tests MedlinePlus lists are a spine MRI or CT “to show where the herniated disk is pressing on the spinal canal” and electromyography “to determine the exact spinal nerve root that is involved.”

The same MRI is used to look for both kinds of finding. MedlinePlus states that abnormal results of a lumbar MRI are “[m]ost of the time” due to conditions that include a herniated disk and “[a]bnormal wearing on the bones and cartilage in the spine (lumbar spondylosis),” and that other abnormal results “may be due to” causes that include “[d]egenerative changes due to age.”

Recovery and Lasting Effects

The first treatment is a short period of rest and pain medicine, and this is “usually followed by physical therapy.” MedlinePlus continues: “Most people who follow these treatments recover and return to normal activities. Some people will need to have more treatment. This may include steroid injections or surgery.” Steroid injections “may help control pain for several months,” but “[t]hey do not solve the underlying problem.”

“Most people improve with treatment,” MedlinePlus states, but long-term back pain can remain even after treatment, and returning to all activities without pain “may take several months to a year or more.” It adds: “People who work in jobs that involve heavy lifting or back strain may need to change their job activities to avoid injuring their back again.” In rare cases, complications include long-term back or leg pain, loss of bowel or bladder function, and “[p]ermanent spinal cord injury (very rare).”

A Worsened Condition and Expert Evidence in a Georgia Claim

Georgia law reaches the worsening of a condition that existed before the injury. In Geary v. Estate of Tapley, No. A24A0978 (Ga. Ct. App. Oct. 25, 2024), a medical malpractice appeal, the Court of Appeals held that a jury instruction was “apt” where it told jurors that a plaintiff whose preexisting condition was made worse or longer lasting by the defendant’s negligence may recover to the extent the condition was worsened or prolonged, and that a defendant takes the plaintiff as the defendant finds the plaintiff.

Proving what the collision did, as opposed to what age did, can require an expert. The Supreme Court of Georgia held in Cowart v. Widener, 287 Ga. 622 (2010), that expert evidence is required when linking the defendant’s conduct to the injury depends on specialized medical knowledge rather than on medical knowledge within common understanding and experience. A disc that may have been degenerating before the crash is the kind of question where that line matters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an x-ray show a herniated disc?
Not by itself. MedlinePlus states that a spine x-ray can check for other causes of back or neck pain, but “it is not possible to diagnose a herniated disk by a spine x-ray alone.”

Who decides whether the crash caused the herniation?
In the ordinary case, the jury. In Atlanta Obstetrics & Gynecology Group v. Coleman, 260 Ga. 569 (1990), a medical malpractice case, the Supreme Court of Georgia called proximate cause a “mixed question of law and fact” and stated: “Ordinarily, both determinations are most appropriately made by a jury upon appropriate instructions from the judge.” A judge may decide the question “only if reasonable persons could not differ as to both the relevant facts and the evaluative application of legal standards.”

Which symptoms after a back injury call for prompt medical contact?
MedlinePlus advises contacting a provider for “[s]evere back pain that does not go away” or “[a]ny numbness, loss of movement, weakness, or bowel or bladder changes.”

  • MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine) Medical Encyclopedia, “Herniated disk” (review date Aug. 27, 2024)
  • MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, “Lumbar MRI scan” (review date June 4, 2025)
  • MedlinePlus, “Herniated Disk”; MedlinePlus, “Back Injuries”
  • Geary v. Estate of Tapley, No. A24A0978 (Ga. Ct. App. Oct. 25, 2024)
  • Cowart v. Widener, 287 Ga. 622 (2010)
  • Atlanta Obstetrics & Gynecology Group v. Coleman, 260 Ga. 569 (1990)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about herniated disc injuries and about Georgia decisions on causation and a worsened condition. It is not legal or medical advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. The medical descriptions come from general health pages and do not describe any individual injury or recovery. Anyone with a back injury should seek medical care and consult a licensed Georgia attorney promptly about the particular situation.

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