After a car accident on I-35, a truck collision near the Temple interchange, or even a slip and fall at a local business in Austin, your back might hurt. But "back pain" can mean very different things depending on what is actually injured.
A back strain and a spinal cord injury are two very different conditions. The distinction between them can have a major impact on the value of your personal injury claim in Texas.
A back strain involves damage to the muscles or ligaments that support your spine. A spinal cord injury involves damage to the bundle of nerves inside your spinal column that carries signals between your brain and the rest of your body. One may heal in a matter of weeks. The other can change your life permanently.
The type of back injury you have will shape everything from the medical treatment you need to the amount of compensation you may be able to recover.
Key Takeaways about Back Strains vs. Spinal Cord Injuries in Personal Injury Claims
- A back strain affects muscles and ligaments, while a spinal cord injury affects the nerves inside the spinal column.
- Spinal cord injuries can result in partial or complete paralysis and typically require far more extensive medical care.
- The type and severity of a back injury directly influence the potential value of a personal injury claim in Texas.
- Texas law allows injured individuals to seek both economic and non-economic damages when someone else's negligence caused the injury.
- The statute of limitations for most personal injury claims in Texas is two years from the date of the accident.
What Is a Back Strain?
A back strain happens when the muscles or tendons in your back are stretched, pulled, or torn. This type of injury is sometimes called a "soft tissue injury" because it affects the soft structures around your spine rather than the spine itself or the spinal cord.
Common symptoms of a back strain include:
- Aching or stiffness in the lower back
- Pain that gets worse with movement, bending, or lifting
- Muscle spasms or tightness
- Tenderness in the affected area
- Limited range of motion
Back strains are one of the most common injuries people experience after car accidents, motorcycle wrecks, and slip and fall incidents. The sudden force of a collision or an unexpected fall can twist or jolt the muscles in your back in ways they are not designed to handle.
Most back strains respond well to conservative treatment, like rest, physical therapy, over-the-counter pain medication, and heat or ice therapy. Many people recover within a few weeks to a few months. However, some strains can become chronic, especially if the injury is not treated promptly or if someone returns to physical activity too quickly.
Just because a back strain is considered a "soft tissue injury" does not mean it is minor. A severe strain can keep you out of work for weeks, require ongoing physical therapy, and cause real pain that affects your daily life.
What Is a Spinal Cord Injury?
A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord itself. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) defines a spinal cord injury as damage to the bundle of nerves and nerve fibers that sends and receives signals between the brain and the rest of the body.
The spinal cord runs from the base of the brain down through the lower back, protected by the vertebrae (the bones of the spine). When the spinal cord is damaged, the consequences can be severe because the cord is the body's main communication highway between the brain and everything below the point of injury.
Spinal cord injuries are classified in two ways:
- Complete injury: There is no nerve communication below the site of the injury, meaning total loss of movement and sensation below that point.
- Incomplete injury: Some nerve signals can still pass through the damaged area, so the person retains some movement or feeling below the injury.
Symptoms of a spinal cord injury may include:
- Loss of movement or sensation in the arms, legs, or both
- Numbness, tingling, or a burning sensation
- Difficulty breathing
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
- Severe pain or pressure in the back or neck
- Difficulty with balance and coordination
Spinal cord injuries often result from high-impact events like car and truck accidents, motorcycle crashes, pedestrian accidents, and serious falls. Treatment may include emergency surgery, long-term rehabilitation, assistive devices like wheelchairs, and ongoing medical care that can last a lifetime.
How Your Diagnosis Affects the Value of Your Claim
The distinction between a back strain and a spinal cord injury has a direct and significant effect on a personal injury claim.
Texas law allows people who are injured by someone else's negligence to pursue compensation for the full extent of their losses. The more serious the injury, the greater the potential damages.
Medical Expenses
A back strain may require a few visits to a doctor, some physical therapy sessions, and perhaps imaging like an X-ray or MRI. The total medical costs might range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand.
A spinal cord injury, on the other hand, can require emergency room care, surgery, extended hospital stays, rehabilitation programs, home modifications, assistive technology, and ongoing specialist appointments. The lifetime cost of treating a spinal cord injury can reach into the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.
When building a personal injury claim, every dollar of medical treatment matters. Your medical records serve as the foundation for proving the severity of your injury and the compensation you need.
Lost Wages and Earning Capacity
Someone with a back strain may miss a few days or weeks of work. A person with a spinal cord injury may be unable to return to their previous job at all, or they may need to change careers entirely due to physical limitations.
Texas law recognizes both past lost wages and future loss of earning capacity as recoverable damages. If a spinal cord injury prevents you from earning what you could have earned over the rest of your working life, that loss can be included in your claim.
Pain and Suffering
Texas also allows injured individuals to seek non-economic damages for things like physical pain, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life. A back strain that heals in six weeks will typically produce a smaller pain and suffering claim than a spinal cord injury that causes permanent paralysis or chronic pain.
These non-economic damages do not come with a receipt or a bill, but they are real losses. The emotional toll of losing mobility, independence, or the ability to participate in activities you once loved, like hiking the trails at McKinney Falls State Park or playing with your kids at Zilker Park, is something the law takes seriously.
Why Getting the Right Diagnosis Matters
After an accident, it is not always immediately clear whether you are dealing with a simple strain or something much more serious. Back pain can mask a more severe underlying injury, and symptoms of spinal cord damage do not always appear right away.
This is one of the reasons why seeking medical attention promptly after any accident is so important. A thorough medical evaluation, including imaging studies like MRIs or CT scans, can reveal injuries that might not be obvious from symptoms alone.
Getting an accurate and early diagnosis does two critical things for your personal injury claim:
- It documents the connection between the accident and your injuries, which is essential for proving your case.
- It helps your medical team create a treatment plan that addresses your actual condition, which supports a full recovery and a stronger claim.
Insurance companies sometimes try to downplay injuries. They may argue that a spinal cord injury is "just" a back strain, or that your symptoms are related to a pre-existing condition rather than the accident.
Having clear, thorough medical documentation from the start makes it much harder for an insurance company to minimize your injuries.
How Texas Law Protects Injured Individuals
If you have been injured in an accident caused by someone else's negligence, Texas law gives you the right to seek compensation through a personal injury claim.
Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003, you generally have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. Missing this deadline can mean losing your right to pursue compensation entirely, no matter how serious your injuries are.
Texas follows a "modified comparative negligence" rule. This means you can still recover damages as long as you were not more than 50% responsible for the accident. However, your compensation may be reduced by your percentage of fault.
The types of damages you may be able to recover in a Texas personal injury claim include:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Past lost wages and future loss of earning capacity
- Physical pain and mental anguish
- Physical impairment
- Physical disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Each of these categories has both a past component (from the date of the accident to the present) and a future component (from the present forward for the rest of your life). For a spinal cord injury, the future damages alone can represent the largest portion of a claim.
What Insurance Companies Do Not Want You to Know
Insurance adjusters are trained to settle claims for as little as possible. When it comes to back injuries, one of their most common tactics is to classify a serious injury as something less severe.
If you suffered a spinal cord injury but the insurance company is treating your case like a routine back strain, the settlement they offer will likely fall far short of covering your actual needs. This is especially true when it comes to future medical care, which can be the most expensive part of a spinal cord injury claim.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when dealing with insurance companies after a back or spinal injury:
- Do not give a recorded statement without first speaking to an attorney.
- Do not accept a quick settlement offer before you fully understand the extent of your injuries.
- Keep detailed records of all medical treatments, expenses, and how your injury affects your daily life.
- Follow your doctor's treatment plan and attend all recommended appointments.
Having a clear picture of your injuries and how they will affect your future is essential before agreeing to any settlement.
Answers about a Back Strain vs. Spinal Cord Injury in Austin Personal Injury Claims
Here are some common questions people have about back injuries and personal injury claims in Texas.
Can a back strain turn into a more serious spinal injury over time?
A back strain itself does not typically progress into a spinal cord injury. However, the initial trauma from an accident can cause multiple injuries at once. What feels like a simple strain may actually be accompanied by a herniated disc, vertebral fracture, or nerve compression that was not detected right away. This is why follow-up medical care is so important after any accident.
How do doctors determine whether I have a back strain or a spinal cord injury?
Doctors use a combination of physical examinations and diagnostic imaging to identify the type and severity of a back injury. An MRI is particularly useful because it can show damage to soft tissues, discs, and the spinal cord itself. A CT scan can reveal fractures in the vertebrae. Your doctor may also perform neurological tests to check for loss of sensation or motor function.
What if the insurance company says my spinal injury is just a back strain?
Insurance companies sometimes downplay injuries to reduce the amount they have to pay. If your medical records and imaging studies show spinal cord damage, that evidence speaks for itself. An experienced personal injury attorney can push back against these tactics and present the medical evidence needed to support the true nature of your injuries.
Should I see my own doctor or go to the emergency room after an accident?
If you have any symptoms of a spinal cord injury, such as numbness, tingling, weakness in your limbs, or difficulty moving, you should go to the emergency room immediately. For less severe symptoms, seeing your own doctor as soon as possible is still important. The key is to get evaluated promptly so that any injuries are documented and treated from the start.
Talk to an Austin Personal Injury Attorney About Your Back Injury Claim
If you or someone you love has suffered a back strain, a spinal cord injury, or any other type of back injury in an accident caused by someone else's negligence, you do not have to figure out your next steps alone.
The Austin back injury attorneys at Lorenz & Lorenz, PLLC have been helping accident victims across Austin, Waco, Killeen, Temple, and the surrounding areas of Central Texas since 2001. We understand how much is at stake when a back injury changes your daily life, and we are here to listen, answer your questions, and fight for the compensation you deserve.
Contact Lorenz & Lorenz, PLLC today for a free, confidential consultation. There are no fees unless we win your case. Call (512) 477-7333 or reach out online to get started.