Trauma to your neck from an injury at work can lead to problems including fractured vertebrae, a herniated disk, or a degenerative condition like spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, or scoliosis. These can lead to symptoms like chronic pain, weakness, or paralysis in one or both of your arms, trouble controlling your bowel and bladder functions, or sexual dysfunction.
If these symptoms are severe enough and do not respond to other treatments, then neck fusion surgery may be needed.
Neck fusion surgery, also known as cervical fusion surgery, can significantly impact any settlement you may receive under Arizona workers’ compensation. Our workers’ compensation attorneys at the Matt Fendon Law Group can help you receive the maximum workers’ comp settlement in the aftermath of a neck injury.
To learn more about your settlement options and the potential settlement value of your workers’ compensation claim, call us at (800) 229-3880.
What is the Average Workers’ Comp Settlement for Neck Fusion Surgery?
Because the nature and severity of the underlying neck injury can vary considerably from case to case, the cost of neck fusion surgery and its impact on your workers’ compensation settlement amount can have a wide range of dollar amounts.
For example, treating a neck sprain or neck strain, or whiplash can cost up to $50,000. But a pinched nerve, herniated disc, or spondylosis treatment without surgery can run up to $300,000.
When neck fusion surgery becomes necessary, however, the average settlement sum can increase significantly. Generally speaking, if you need neck fusion surgery, the cost to the insurance carrier can be in the low-to-mid six figures, somewhere between $150,000 and $300,000. However, depending on the case, it could be more.
What Factors Affect the Average Workers’ Compensation Settlement Amount in a Neck Fusion Settlement?
In spinal fusion cases, factors that a workers’ compensation lawyer will take into account when negotiating a settlement amount that includes neck fusion surgery can include the following:
- How severe the cervical spine injury is.
- How resistant your injury is to less invasive forms of treatment.
- Whether you have already undergone spinal fusion surgery paid for through your own health insurer.
- The likelihood that you will require long-term treatment and future medical expenses, including follow-up surgery, or physical rehabilitation, or vocational rehabilitation.
- Your lost wages and the possibility that you may not be able to return to work even after undergoing neck fusion surgery.
- The possibility that your cervical neck injury and its treatment, including neck fusion surgery, could lead to other problems like anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder.
- What your average monthly wage was before your neck injury, how much time from work you will miss because of it, and the kind of temporary or permanent workers’ comp benefits you will need in the future.
- Whether you will seek a structured, scheduled settlement that allows for re-opening of your claim later or a full and final settlement through a lump sum payment.
- The likelihood that the Industrial Commission of Arizona will agree that you need neck fusion surgery if the insurance company disputes your claim.
What is Spinal Fusion Surgery?
Neck fusion surgery is a form of spinal fusion surgery. It takes place in the cervical part of your spinal column. The procedure involves uniting two or more vertebrae in your spine so they effectively combine into a single bone.
Spinal fusion surgeries are commonplace; hundreds of thousands are performed annually, although not all of them are connected with workplace injuries. The object of neck fusion surgery is to stabilize and decompress your cervical spine. Its main effect is to prevent existing injury symptoms from getting worse.
Common work-related injuries or medical conditions that neck fusion surgery can treat include:
- Herniated discs and pinched nerves
- Whiplash injuries
- Cervical spondylosis and osteoarthritis
Why Neck Fusion Surgery Can Be Necessary
Neck pain by itself is not ordinarily justification for neck fusion surgery. Neck fusion surgery often follows an initial diagnosis of neck muscle strain or sprain, but which a myelogram, CT scan, or magnetic resonance image instead reveals to be a spinal injury.
Because neck fusion surgery carries inherent risks, the most significant of which is injury to the spinal cord, it is usually a last-resort measure after other, less invasive treatments like epidural steroid injections, chiropractic care, and physical therapy have been tried. And even if the surgery is successful, it may not result in permanent treatment of the symptoms or the underlying injury.
Unsurprisingly, many workers’ compensation insurance providers will resist paying for neck fusion surgery until they are confident that it is the only remaining option.
What are the Neck Spinal Fusion Techniques Used to Treat Injured Workers?
Different kinds of neck fusion surgery are available for different kinds of cervical spine injuries and different degrees of severity of the cervical injury. Common surgeries are anterior cervical discectomy, posterior cervical decompression, and anterior cervical corpectomy.
Contact an Experienced Phoenix Workers’ Comp Law Firm About Your Neck Fusion Settlement
At Matt Fendon Law Group, we understand that neck injuries in the workplace can cause severe physical, emotional, and financial difficulties in your life. Our Arizona workers’ compensation attorneys are dedicated to providing the best service with your workers’ comp claims. We will do everything we can to see that you get the benefits you deserve, including compensation for substantial medical expenses like lumbar or cervical fusion surgery.
When you call on Matt Fendon Law Group for help, you will speak directly with an Arizona workers’ compensation lawyer who has a full understanding of Arizona workers’ compensation laws and is a savvy and tenacious settlement negotiator whose only interest is getting you the best medical treatment you need after a workplace injury, including required cervical fusion surgery.
Call now at (800) 229-3880 to talk to us directly, or you can contact us online to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation.
