Spine injuries occupy both ends of the severity range. At one end is a complete spinal cord injury with permanent paralysis and lifetime care needs. At the other is a herniated disc that leaves someone able to work but unable to sleep, lift their child, or sit through a commute without pain.
Both are serious. Both are routinely disputed. And the argument the insurance company makes is almost always the same: your spine already looked like that before the accident.
Injuries to the Spinal Cord
The spinal cord carries every signal between the brain and the body. When it is damaged, function below the level of injury is affected.
A complete injury eliminates function below the level. An incomplete injury preserves some. Cervical injuries can affect all four limbs and, at higher levels, breathing. Thoracic and lumbar injuries generally affect the trunk and legs.
These cases involve acute hospitalization, surgical stabilization, inpatient rehabilitation, home modification, adaptive equipment, and often attendant care for life. The financial exposure is measured in decades, not months, which is why life care planning and economic analysis become central to valuing the claim. See our spinal cord injury and catastrophic injuries pages.
Injuries to the Back and Neck
Far more claims involve the spinal column without cord damage.
Herniated and bulging discs occur when the outer wall of a disc tears or weakens and the inner material presses on nearby nerves. This produces radiating pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness. Our page on herniated disc settlements in New York covers how these claims are handled.
Radiculopathy is nerve root compression producing symptoms along the nerve’s path. Cervical radiculopathy sends pain down the arm; lumbar radiculopathy produces sciatica down the leg. Our pages on radiculopathy and sciatica after a car accident explain both.
Fractures of the vertebrae, including compression fractures common in older adults after falls, qualify as serious injuries under New York’s statutory definition by virtue of being fractures.
Sprains and strains to the soft tissue supporting the spine are the most contested category of all, addressed in our guide to soft tissue injuries.
The Degeneration Defense
Here is the argument you should expect. Disc degeneration is extremely common and increases with age. Imaging studies of people with no symptoms at all frequently show disc bulges and degenerative changes. Insurers use this to argue your MRI shows normal aging, not trauma.
Defeating it takes specific proof:
Prior records. If you had no back complaints before the accident and consistent complaints after, that contrast is powerful. Your own medical history becomes evidence.
Timing and mechanism. Documented symptom onset immediately or shortly after the accident, tied to a mechanism capable of causing the injury.
Radiological interpretation. Certain findings suggest acute injury rather than chronic change, and a qualified reading matters. Missed or misread imaging is itself a claim area, covered by our radiology malpractice page.
Aggravation of a preexisting condition. Even where degeneration existed, New York permits recovery when an accident aggravates a preexisting condition into a symptomatic one. Having a degenerative spine does not disqualify you.
Consistent treatment without unexplained gaps supports all of this. See what evidence you need for a personal injury claim.
The Threshold in Motor Vehicle Cases
In a New York car or truck accident, a spine claim must satisfy the serious injury threshold under Insurance Law § 5102(d) before pain and suffering damages are available. Vertebral fractures qualify outright. Disc injuries typically proceed through the permanent consequential limitation or significant limitation categories, supported by objective findings and quantified range of motion deficits.
The 2026 removal of the 90/180 category raised the bar for spine claimants whose injuries are serious but arguably non-permanent. Our pain and suffering guide explains what remains.
How These Injuries Happen in New York
Rear-end collisions produce a large share of cervical injuries. Truck collisions generate greater force and correspondingly worse outcomes. Falls from height on construction sites produce both cord injuries and vertebral fractures, and falls on ice or poorly maintained property account for many compression fractures among older New Yorkers.
Our back and neck injury page covers the full range, and if your injury occurred upstate, an Albany car accident lawyer or Rochester truck accident lawyer from our firm can evaluate it.
Talk to a New York Personal Injury Attorney
Spine cases are won on medical documentation assembled from the first visit forward. Buttafuoco & Associates has handled back, neck, and spinal cord claims across New York since 1981. Call 1-800-NOW-HURT or contact us for a free case review. You owe no attorney’s fee unless we recover for you.