Thomas C. Grajek | January 19, 2026 | Personal Injury
Neck injuries are among the most common outcomes of accidents. These injuries can cause neck pain and stiffness. However, when intervertebral discs are damaged, they can also affect the nerve roots or spinal cord.
When an accident victim suffers nerve damage, they may have severe symptoms, including paralysis, numbness, and radiating pain. Unfortunately, doctors have no way to heal damaged discs, leaving the victim with permanent or chronic disabilities. It’s in these personal injury cases that having a lawyer is essential if may consider seeking compensation through legal action.
How Sudden Motion Causes Neck Injuries
The neck connects the head to the rest of the body and plays a key role in stability and movement. When the body experiences violent or sudden motion, the neck must pull the head along to keep it aligned with the body. At the same time, the head pulls back on the neck, forcing it beyond its normal range of motion.
This rapid back-and-forth movement places extreme stress on the neck’s muscles, tendons, and ligaments. When these soft tissues stretch or tear, the result is commonly known as whiplash.
While whiplash frequently occurs in car accidents, it can also happen in other incidents involving sudden force, such as construction falls or other impacts where the body stops abruptly but the head continues moving.
Understanding the Structure of the Cervical Spine
The spine is made of vertebrae separated by discs. The cervical spine, which forms the neck, includes seven vertebrae and six intervertebral discs between each pair of vertebrae.
The vertebra at the base of the skull is numbered C1, and the one at the top of the ribcage is numbered C7. The discs are numbered based on the surrounding vertebrae. Thus, the C4/C5 disc sits between the C4 and C5 vertebrae.
The discs are made of collagen and provide a smooth but tough cushion for the vertebrae. Each disc has an outer shell protecting a soft interior, which means that compression of the spine can cause the discs to rupture. When the interior squeezes out of the outer shell, the resulting protrusion can press on nearby nerves.
Symptoms of Herniated Discs
Nerve compression due to herniated discs irritates the nerves and causes inflammation. The inflammation, in turn, causes the nerves to misfire.
As a result, injured people may suffer from the following symptoms:
- Radiating pain
- Numbness or tingling
- Burning sensations
- Loss of dexterity
- Weakness
The location of the symptoms depends on the level of the injury. The nerve roots in the cervical spine control the upper body, shoulders, and arms.
Neck injuries in accidents commonly affect the lower vertebrae because of the stresses created by the head’s motion. The C4/C5 and C5/C6 discs are often damaged as the head strains the neck. The nerve roots near these discs control the wrists, hands, and thumbs. Thus, C4/C5 and C5/C6 disc injuries can produce symptoms in these areas.
Prognosis for Accident Victims With Neck Injuries
Doctors do not have many good options for treating herniated discs. They cannot repair or heal damaged discs. Instead, they can inject anti-inflammatory drugs into the area to calm the nerves and relieve the symptoms.
If injections do not work, doctors can replace the damaged disc with an artificial disc or remove it and fuse the vertebrae using plates and screws. However, surgery is usually reserved as a last resort. Thus, the symptoms produced by severe injuries may be permanent and catastrophic.
Contact the Lakeland Personal Injury Lawyers at Grajek Law Personal Injury Lawyers for Help Today
Stress on the neck from violent body and head motion can herniate discs at the base of the neck, resulting in severe, often permanent, symptoms. When these injuries occur because of another party’s negligence in Lakeland, FL, victims may consider seeking compensation through legal action.
Grajek Law Personal Injury Lawyers can help pursue the compensation you deserve after an accident. Contact us today for a free consultation with a Lakeland personal injury attorney.
For more information, please contact the Lakeland and New Port Richey Personal Injury lawyers of Grajek Law Personal Injury Lawyers at the nearest location to schedule a free consultation today.
We serve Polk County, Pasco County, and their surrounding areas:
Grajek Law Personal Injury Lawyers Lakeland
2306 Florida Ave S Lakeland, FL 33803
(863)-999-9000