MINNEAPOLIS WHIPLASH INJURY LAWYERS at Schmidt Salita Law Team have extensive experience in successfully representing the victims of whiplash injuries. Whiplash injuries most commonly occur in car accidents. The most common type of car accidents that cause whiplash injury is the rear-end collision which involves acceleration-deceleration forces that “whip” the neck, back, and head back and forth.
WHIPLASH INJURIES include all of the following types:
The MINNEAPOLIS WHIPLASH INJURY LAWYERS offer this information about the effects of injury to the ligaments of the spine that are intended to provide major support of the stature of the human body and can cause significant disability when injured:
Respected biomedical literature has established that a significant percentage of the victims of cervical flexion/extension injuries who have significant chronic pain lasting more than one year post-accident have sustained a significant ligamentous injury which is the cause of the chronic pain and disability.
The ligamentous injury occurs as the result of the over-stretching of the ligaments of the cervical spine beyond their intended anatomical limit, resulting in “subfailure” plastic deformation of those ligaments.
“Subfailure” is defined as injury due to the over-stretching of ligaments that hold the spine together and give it support. This concept is well-recognized in the medical literature generally and specifically in the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 5th Ed. which as early as 1993 recognized ligamentous injury to be the cause of significant impairment. The Guides declared that both “angular segment” irregularity and “translational irregularity” can be the basis of as much as a 28% whole body impairment rating. Ligamentous injuries of the cervical spine (the neck), the thoracic spine (mid-back), and the lumbar spine (low back) are well recognized as clinical entities by the World Heath Organization and the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) who have given each condition an ICD-10 Code. For cervical ligament injuries the code is S13.8xx. For ligamentous injuries of the lumbar spine, the code is S33.5xx. For ligamentous injuries of the thoracic spine, the proper code is S23.3.
Respected biomedical studies have proven that “sub-failure” stretching (i.e. stretching of the ligaments without a complete tear) can be the cause of segmental instability, which can be as devastating as a complete tear of the ligaments.
The AMA Guides also recognized that ligamentous injury cannot be detected or evaluated with a clinical examination. Instead, the Guides say that appropriate flexion-extension X-rays are required.
Digital Motion X-rays, or “X-ray movies” provide objective evidence of segmental instability between vertebrae, which is objective proof of ligamentous damage.
DMX is now well recognized and respected by the U.S. government, the medical community, the chiropractic community, and the courts. It is FDA-approved. It has been approved by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. It has been approved by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It has been endorsed by the American Academy of Pain Management, Practical Guide for Clinicians, 5th Ed. and the American College of Occupational Medicine in its Practice Guidelines, 2nd Ed. 2004.
DMX and CRMA results have been accepted as credible evidence by many courts.
Computerized Radiographic Mensuration Analysis (CRMA) is simply the measurement of the amount of instability shown on the DMX. “Mensuration” is simply a fancy term for “measurement”. CRMA is simply measurement using a computer so that the measurement can be shown down to the millimeter.
It can be extremely helpful to the Chiropractor, the Medical Doctor, and the Physical Therapist to know the amount of ligamentous instability that has resulted from the whiplash injury. It is also very helpful in the proof of the legal claim. The American Medical Association has declared excessive ligamentous laxity to be the basis of a 25% impairment of the body.
The first time that Douglas Schmidt presented proof of ligamentous injury using the DMX films in court, the jury returned a verdict of $743,188.95 in a case where the last offer had been only $10,000.00!!!
The Schmidt Salita Law Team, Minneapolis Whiplash Lawyers, has over 70 years collectively of representing the victims of car accidents. The large majority of those injuries occur when the victim is occupying a motor vehicle which is struck from behind in a “rear-ender” collision. The research summarized above establishes the fact that “rear-ender” collisions cause excessive flexion-extension forces that stretch spinal ligaments beyond their capacity. The Schmidt Salita Law Team has experience in bringing justice to the victims of that type of injury.
The MINNEAPOLIS WHIPLASH INJURY LAWYERS have a great track record in successfully representing the victims of all types of whiplash injuries (as listed above). The Schmidt Salita Law Team has handled cases involving damage to intervertebral discs, many of which have resulted in surgery. They have handled cases involving various fractures of the spinal vertebrae, including compression fractures, fractures of spinal processes, and other vertebral fractures.
The Schmidt Salita Law Team has locations throughout the Twin Cities metropolitan area of Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as Minnetonka, Maple Grove, Plymouth, Osseo, Anoka, Coon Rapids, Brooklyn Center, Fridley, Blaine, Shoreview, Woodbury, Falcon Heights, Columbia Park, Stillwater, Hastings, Inver Grove, Cottage Grove, South St. Paul, Apple Valley, Eagan, Burnsville, Savage, Shakopee, Richfield, Bloomington, Chaska, Chanhassen, Edina, Eden Prairie, and Hopkins.
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by Founding Partner, Dean M. Salita, with more than 30 years of legal experience as a personal injury attorney.
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