I work construction as a contractor. Last year, I developed a herniated disk after a particularly hard job. When I hurt my back I thought that I had simply pulled a muscle or something. I thought a couple days off of my feet with hot and cold compresses would be enough to set me straight. I ended up in bed for two weeks, and I was starting to feel significant pain in my right hand before my wife finally convinced me to see our doctor.

My doctor didn’t take long to recommend that I see a back specialist. The back specialist gave me an exam and some quick tests and said that I had a herniated disc. He also said that my herniation was severe and located between my c6 and c7 vertebrae. At first, they tried to treat the herniation with two epidural injections and pain killers, but after a couple more weeks, my symptoms had started to worsen. I couldn’t even hold a cup of coffee anymore and sometimes my hands or fingers would go numb.

Both the back specialist and my general practitioner agreed at this point that I probably needed surgery. I was terrified at first but the specialist works in the same practice with one of the best spinal surgeons in the country, so that helped to put my mind at ease. The surgery went well and I was out of the hospital within a week with two freshly fused vertebrae. After six months of tough physical therapy, I am now pain free.

While this painful and scary situation worked out for me, it doesn’t always turn out that way, especially when it comes to spinal injuries. Sometimes the outcomes are not so good, and many people still experience pain or even paralysis after back surgery. The surgery itself is dangerous but sometimes doctors make mistakes. If you find yourself in this situation, and feel that you might be the victim of a mistake or negligence after back surgery, get a lawyer immediately. Don’t be taken advantage of and don’t live in pain if you don’t have to.