$100,000 Car Accident

The personal injury attorneys from the Law Office of Dell and Schaefer were hired by a 59 year old grandmother who was rear ended, while stopped at a red light, by a vehicle traveling approximately 30 miles per hour. The impact subsequently caused our client’s vehicle to be pushed into the vehicle stopped in front of hers. The impact was so great that the trunk of our client’s 2007 Jaguar was pushed into the back seat of the car, making it impossible to access the contents of the trunk without cutting through the actual frame of the vehicle.

Our client had to be pulled from the vehicle by rescue workers and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment. She immediately complained of neck and back pain and was later stabilized and released from the hospital. She was told to seek immediate follow-up care for her injuries. Our client had her initial consultation with a highly competent chiropractic physician. Our client complained of neck, mid-back and lower back pain. She was initially diagnosed with cervical radiculitis and a lumbar sprain.

Our client was placed on a regimen of physical therapy and was prescribed medication for her pain. Our client underwent an MRI of her cervical spine taken by a reputable MRI center. She required an Open MRI due to her slight claustrophobia. The MRI revealed a left paracentral posterior disc herniation at C3-C4, a broad-based posterior disk herniation at C5-C6 and C6-C7, straightening of the spine and narrowing of the neural foramina with impingement of the left C4 and both C6 nerve roots.

Our client then followed-up with a highly qualified neurosurgeon. Our client complained of pain in her neck which radiated to her shoulders with numbness and tingling in her hands, pain throughout her entire back as well as pain in her thoracic area that radiated into her ribs and sternum. Physical examination coupled with a review of the MRI film confirmed disc herniations at C3-C4, C5-C6 and C6-C7 as well as disk bulges at C2-C3 and C4-C5.

The neurosurgeon prescribed medication for her pain and recommended an MRI of the lumbar spine. Our client then underwent an Open MRI of her lumbar spine. The MRI revealed multiple, broad-based posterior disc herniations at L2-L3, L3-L4 and L4-L5, causing impingement of the dural sac and moderate bilateral encroachment of the neural foramina.

After several months of physical therapy with the chiropractic physician consisting of spinal manipulations, hot and cold therapy, hydra-therapy and electronic stimulation of the spine, our client felt an improvement in her level of pain but did not reach a level of complete relief. It was determined by her chiropractic physician that she reached her point of maximum medical improvement and would probably not be able to benefit any further from chiropractic therapy.

Our client was told that she may require surgical intervention to correct her spinal issues. Our client returned to the neurosurgeon for further care. After a physical examination and a review of her medical records and MRI films, it was determined by the neurosurgeon that our client was a candidate for a positive discogram and anterior cervical discectomy at C3-C4, C4-C5 and C5-C6. Surgery appeared to be our client’s only hope at relieving her extreme pain.

Within weeks, our client was scheduled for the aforementioned cervical discectomy. The surgery began with an injection of a local anesthetic followed by a sterile mixture of Lidocaine and radiopaque dye which was injected into all of the prepped levels. A radiofrequency thermocoagulation needle was utilized within the tissue of all of the operated levels in order to clear those levels of pain-causing tissue. An epidural steroid was then injected into each level to ensure that our client would not suffer from pain during her recuperation.

The surgery was deemed a success and our client reported marked improvement almost immediately. She later noted that as time went on, her pain decreased. After several weeks of negotiation, our firm was able to secure the Defendant’s $100,000.00 policy limits from Allstate Insurance Company.

Our client has since reported that her pain is almost completely resolved and she is now able to enjoy the time she spends with her grandchildren.