Long Island Back &
Spinal Injury Lawyer

Understanding Back Injuries

Types of Back & Spinal Injuries

The spine is the body’s structural foundation — 33 vertebrae, 23 intervertebral discs, the spinal cord, and a complex network of nerves, muscles, and ligaments that enable movement, sensation, and organ function. When an accident damages any part of this system, the consequences range from chronic pain that limits daily activities to permanent paralysis that fundamentally changes every aspect of life.

Herniated & Bulging Discs

Herniated discs occur when the soft nucleus of an intervertebral disc pushes through a tear in the outer annulus, compressing nearby nerve roots. Bulging discs involve the disc protruding outward without a full rupture. Both conditions cause radiating pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness in the arms or legs depending on the spinal level affected. Cervical (neck) herniations produce symptoms in the arms and hands; lumbar (lower back) herniations affect the legs, buttocks, and feet (sciatica). Treatment ranges from physical therapy and epidural injections to surgical discectomy or spinal fusion.

Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal cord injuries (SCI) are among the most catastrophic outcomes of trauma to the back. Complete SCI results in total loss of motor and sensory function below the injury level — paraplegia (lower body) or quadriplegia (all four limbs). Incomplete SCI preserves some function below the injury. These injuries require emergency stabilization, often surgical intervention, and extensive rehabilitation. Victims may need wheelchair-accessible housing, full-time attendant care, and lifetime medical management.

Compression Fractures

Vertebral compression fractures occur when the vertebral body collapses under force. They are common in high-energy accidents (car crashes, falls from height) and in older adults whose bones have been weakened by osteoporosis. Compression fractures cause acute pain, loss of height, kyphosis (forward curvature), and reduced mobility. Severe cases may require vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty to stabilize the fractured vertebra.

Spinal Stenosis & Nerve Compression

Trauma can cause or accelerate spinal stenosis — narrowing of the spinal canal that compresses the spinal cord or nerve roots. Symptoms include pain, numbness, and progressive weakness in the extremities. When an accident aggravates a pre-existing stenotic condition, the at-fault party is responsible for the full extent of the aggravation under New York’s eggshell skull doctrine.

Common Causes of Back Injuries

Back injuries on Long Island arise from numerous types of accidents. The most frequent causes our firm handles include:

• Car and truck accidents — rear-end collisions, T-bone impacts, and highway crashes on the LIE, Southern State, and Northern State Parkway
• Slip, trip, and fall accidents — on wet floors, uneven surfaces, icy walkways, and poorly maintained premises
• Construction site accidents — falls from heights, being struck by falling objects, scaffold collapses (protected by NY Labor Law §§200, 240, 241)
• Workplace injuries — heavy lifting, repetitive strain, and equipment accidents
• Pedestrian and bicycle accidents — impact forces from being struck by a vehicle
• Sports and recreational injuries — contact sports, diving accidents, gym equipment failures

The Serious Injury Threshold for Back Injuries

The statute lists several qualifying categories. The ones most relevant to back injury claims are: “significant limitation of use of a body function or system,” “permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member,” and the 90/180-day rule (a medically determined injury that prevented you from performing substantially all of your customary daily activities for at least 90 of the first 180 days following the accident).

Insurance defense attorneys aggressively challenge the serious injury threshold in back injury cases. They retain their own medical examiners to argue that disc herniations are degenerative (age-related) rather than traumatic, that range-of-motion limitations are self-imposed, and that any disability is exaggerated. Overcoming these defenses requires contemporaneous medical documentation, objective diagnostic imaging, and quantified range-of-motion testing performed by credible physicians.

Pre-Existing Conditions & the Eggshell Skull Rule

One of the most contentious issues in back injury litigation is the role of pre-existing degenerative conditions. As people age, spinal imaging commonly shows disc dehydration, bulging, osteophyte formation, and mild stenosis — even in individuals with no symptoms. Defense attorneys seize on these findings to argue that the plaintiff’s back problems predate the accident.

New York’s eggshell skull doctrine provides a powerful counter. Under this longstanding legal principle, a defendant takes the plaintiff as they find them. If the accident aggravated, exacerbated, or accelerated a pre-existing condition, the defendant is liable for the full extent of the resulting harm — not merely the incremental difference.

The practical challenge is proving causation. We work with orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, and radiologists who can compare pre-accident and post-accident MRI findings, identify acute traumatic changes (annular tears, new herniations, edema) superimposed on chronic degenerative changes, and testify convincingly that the accident was the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s current symptoms and disability.

Proving Your Back Injury Claim

Strong medical evidence is the backbone of every back injury case. The critical elements include:

• MRI evidence — the gold standard for documenting disc herniations, bulges, annular tears, spinal cord compression, and nerve root impingement
• Range-of-motion testing — quantified measurements using an inclinometer or goniometer showing restricted flexion, extension, lateral bending, and rotation compared to normal values
• EMG/nerve conduction studies — objective testing that confirms radiculopathy (nerve root compression) by measuring electrical signals in affected muscles
• Treating physician testimony — your orthopedist, neurologist, or pain management specialist providing causation opinions linking the accident to your current condition
• Functional capacity evaluation — a comprehensive assessment of your physical abilities and work restrictions performed by a certified evaluator

Jason Tenenbaum has spent 24 years handling complex personal injury cases across Nassau and Suffolk County. We understand how defense medical examiners attempt to undermine back injury claims, and we build cases specifically designed to withstand their scrutiny.

Damages in Back Injury Cases

Compensation in back injury cases reflects the severity and permanence of the injury. Recoverable damages include:

• Medical expenses — emergency care, diagnostic imaging, orthopedic consultations, physical therapy, epidural injections, surgery (discectomy, laminectomy, spinal fusion), post-surgical rehabilitation, and projected future treatment
• Lost wages and earning capacity — income lost during recovery and the long-term reduction in earning ability if the injury prevents returning to your prior occupation
• Pain and suffering — chronic back pain, radiculopathy, the emotional toll of living with permanent spinal damage, and the impact on sleep and mental health
• Loss of enjoyment of life — inability to exercise, play with children, travel, or engage in recreational activities you previously enjoyed
• Spinal cord injury damages — for paralysis cases: home modifications, wheelchair and adaptive equipment, attendant care, and lifetime medical management

New York does not cap non-economic damages in personal injury cases. The 3-year statute of limitations under CPLR §214 applies. For medical malpractice claims arising from surgical errors on the spine, the deadline is 2 years and 6 months under CPLR §214-a.

Related practice areas: Personal Injury • Medical Malpractice • Settlement Calculator