Did you fall at work or get in an accident and now your back is hurting? You may have a compression fracture. A compression fracture can cause minor back pain that leads to chronic pain, deformity, loss of height, and many other lifelong issues. Typically, these fractures only produce damage to the front of the vertebrae, leaving the spinal cord and nerves stable and unharmed. However, the vertebrae will be unbalanced and not at the correct height. This is what causes the pain.
One possible remedy for this type of injury is called Kyphoplasty surgery. This surgery is designed to stabilize the vertebrae by using a small balloon inserted into your back. In essence, the procedure is similar to jacking up your car. The balloon is inserted then slowly filled which raises the vertebrae to its correct position. Once it has been raised, the balloon is removed and special cement like substance is injected to keep the bone stabilized.
This procedure should be done within 8 weeks of the injury for the best results. Pain relief in some patients is immediate while others have reported it takes a few days for the pain to subside. Once the person goes home from the hospital they are allowed to do all of their regular household activities, but no heavy lifting for 6 weeks. Depending on the severity of the fracture, and the type of employment you have, you may need to take 1-6 weeks off work after the surgery. Of course it could be worse if there are complications.
If you sustained this injury on the job, make sure you report it to your doctor as workers compensation will cover your medical bills for the surgery, recovery, and any needed rehabilitation as well as lost time compensation.
We are not writing this post to try and give medical advice. Lawyers should not do that. We do though want to highlight that this is a unique procedure which not every lawyer has experience with. It’s important that no matter what your injury is that you have a lawyer in your corner who truly understands the medicine involved and the significance of what you’ve been through.
Why is that important? When it comes time to settling your case, a big part of it is based on what type of medical care you’ve had, how invasive it is and what your long term outlook is. If your lawyer is guessing on what Kyphoplasty involves or just doesn’t know it likely means less money in your pocket at the end of the day.
We don’t promise a certain dollar amount, but do guarantee that we go for the most amount possible and that the lawyers in our state wide network understand unique injuries and unique treatments like Kyphoplasty.
If you’d like to talk to one of our lawyers about your problem, we’d be happy to do so, for free. Fill out the form to the right of the page or call the number at the top. We help everywhere in Illinois.
