A broken tailbone is an incredibly painful injury that can take months to heal completely. If you suffered a broken tailbone in an accident that was caused by the negligence of somebody else, contact an experienced California Personal Injury Lawyer.
Call Maison Law as soon as possible after your tailbone injury for a free consultation.
What is the Tailbone?
The tailbone is also known as the coccyx. It’s a small bone at the bottom of the spine that is triangular in shape with the tip at the bottom. As it’s located in the approximate position of an animal’s tail, it’s called the tailbone. It consists of three to five vertebrae that are fused together below the sacrum. There are muscles, tendons and ligaments that are attached to it. Its purpose is to provide us with stability when sitting.
Causes and Symptoms of a Fractured Tailbone?
In the context of personal injury, nearly all cases of a fractured tailbone are caused by falling backward. High energy accidents have also been known to cause a minority of such fractures. According to the Cleveland Clinic, symptoms of a fractured tailbone include a constant dull pain directly above the buttocks that becomes more intense when sitting or when getting up and standing after sitting. The pain also intensifies when moving one’s bowel urinating or during sex. Regardless of the pain, most broken tailbones aren’t emergencies, but victims should be seen if they suffer extreme pain or tingling and numbness in one or both of their legs.
Treating a Broken Tailbone
The doctors at St. Luke’s Health System in Kansas City concur that as opposed to most other types of fractures, there is no way to immobilize a broken tailbone. The treatment objective is to increase patient comfort during the healing process. Icing the injury three or four times a day after suffering the fracture should help relieve swelling and pain. A special pillow or cushion might be recommended for sitting. Surgery is only needed on about 10% of all tailbone fractures. Many doctors won’t perform such a procedure. Those who do perform surgery on a broken tailbone simply remove it. Recovery time after removal surgery is about a month.
Tailbone Injury? Contact a California Personal Injury Lawyer:
If you suffered a broken tailbone in a fall or other type of accident anywhere in California, contact Maison Law right away, and you can arrange for a free consultation and case review. We’ll be pleased to talk about how you suffered your fracture, answer your questions and advise you of all of your legal options. If we enter into a statement with you, no legal fees at all are even due unless we enter into a settlement or obtain an award for you.
