Cervical Spondylosis After a Car Accident: What It Means for Your Personal Injury Claim

If you’ve been in a car accident and later diagnosed with cervical spondylosis, you may be wondering:

• What is it?
• Did the crash cause it — or make it worse?
• And how does it affect my personal injury settlement?

At Ryan & Rouse, we represent injury victims across North Alabama who suffer from neck pain, nerve damage, and degenerative spine conditions after a wreck. Here’s what you need to know about cervical spondylosis — and why insurance companies often try to use it against you.

What Is Cervical Spondylosis?

Cervical spondylosis is a medical term for degenerative changes in the cervical spine(the neck). It refers to wear and tear affecting:

• The vertebrae (bones of the neck)
• Intervertebral discs
• Facet joints
• Ligaments and cartilage

It’s extremely common, especially as people age. Many people over 40 have signs of cervical spondylosis — even if they have no symptoms at all.

How a Car Crash Can Aggravate Cervical Spondylosis

Insurance companies love to say, “It’s just a degenerative condition” — but that’s misleading.

Even if you had preexisting cervical spondylosis, a car accident can:

• Aggravate a previously asymptomatic condition
• Turn a mild issue into a chronic, painful injury
• Cause a disc herniation or nerve compression on top of existing degeneration
• Lead to radiculopathy(pain, numbness, or tingling down the arms)

Whiplash, sudden hyperextension of the neck, and spinal compression during a collision can all accelerate or worsen spondylosis — and that makes it a legally compensable injury in many cases.

Common Symptoms After a Crash

If cervical spondylosis is worsened by a car wreck, you may experience:

• Chronic neck pain or stiffness
• Radiating pain into the shoulders, arms, or fingers
• Muscle weakness
• Numbness or tingling
• Limited range of motion
• Headaches

MRI findings may show disc bulges, facet joint arthritis, or spinal cord impingement — all of which can support your injury claim when documented properly.

How It Affects Your Personal Injury Settlement

Cervical spondylosis can significantly increase the value of your claim if the wreck caused a flare-up or worsened a preexisting issue.

Your settlement may include compensation for:

• Medical expenses (MRI, pain management, physical therapy, injections, or surgery)
• Lost wages and future earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Permanent impairment or chronic disability

However, insurance companies often argue that your condition existed before the crash and they shouldn’t be responsible. That’s where we step in.

Preexisting Conditions Don’t Bar Recovery in Alabama

Under Alabama law, a defendant takes the plaintiff as they find them — known as the “eggshell plaintiff” rule. That means:

If someone else’s negligence aggravated a preexisting condition — even one you didn’t know you had — they are still legally responsible for the harm they caused.

We work with orthopedic specialists, neurologists, and radiologists to prove causation, document aggravation, and fight back against the insurance company’s “blame-it-on-aging” argument.

Let Ryan & Rouse Help You Get What You Deserve

If you’ve been diagnosed with cervical spondylosis after a car accident, don’t let the insurance company write it off as an old condition. Whether it’s a new injury, an aggravation, or a delayed onset of symptoms, we’ll make sure your medical records, imaging studies, and pain complaints are clearly presented and supported.

📞 Call us at (256) 801-1000 to schedule a free consultation. At Ryan & Rouse, we know how to handle complex spine injury claims — and we’ll fight for the settlement you deserve.