ABA Medical-Legal Guides: The Spine for Lawyers

Description

 Containing more than 200 illustrations and photos, The Spine for Lawyers is an indispensable guide to understanding the medical issues facing your clients.

Injuries involving the spine are the most common compensation claims in the United States. Statistically, problems with the lower back are the second leading cause of missed time from work and one of the leading reasons people visit orthopedic and neurosurgeons. Sprains and strains of the neck are the most frequently reported problem made to insurance companies. Eighty percent of people will suffer from back pain during their lifetime that is unrelated to trauma, and multiple studies demonstrate that these injuries often resolve themselves within three months of the incident it is not hard to understand why injuries to the spine are so controversial and turn on questions of credibility. The problem, however, is much more complicated. No diagnostic test can verify a soft tissue injury, nor can it show a picture of pain. While an MRI can demonstrate a herniated disc and other structural abnormalities, it is difficult to age the finding, and relating it to an incident of trauma is a matter of opinion and not fact.

The Spine for Lawyers is designed to help practitioners, judges, and insurance professionals understand the multifaceted medical and legal issues in a claim involving this part of the human anatomy. This book is divided into three thorough segments and covers:

• An Overview of Anatomy

• The Skeletal System

• The Muscular Systems

• The Nervous System

• The Back

• The Neck

• Spinal Cord Injuries

• Diagnostic Imaging of the Back

• Pain

• Myofascial Pain and Trigger Points

• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

• Waddell's Signs

• The Orthopedic Medical Examination

• The Orthopedic Doctor as Expert Witness

• How to Understand Medical Records

• The Physician as Expert Witness

Details

Hardcover: 800 pages; 1st Edition (2013); ISBN: 9781627221092

Publisher: American Bar Association

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction

Part 1: The Building Blocks of Human Anatomy

1. A Primer on Anatomy: An Overview of the Body
2. Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology
3. The Skeletal System
4. The Muscular System
5. The Nervous System
6. Pain

Part 2: The Spine

7.  An Overview of the Spine
8. Anatomy of a Neck Injury
9. The Anatomy of the Low Back and Limitations of Diagnostic Imaging of this Area
10. Spinal Cord Injuries
11. Myofascial Pain and Trigger Points
12. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: Anatomy of a Controversy
13. The Meaning of Waddell’s Signs

 

Part 3: Litigation Issues

14. Understanding Medical Records in the Twenty-First Century
15. The Independent Orthopedic Examination
16. The Physician as Expert Witness

Index