What are Coccyx Fractures?
A fractured tailbone, also known as a broken coccyx, is a very painful injury that can take months to fully heal. Most tailbone injuries occur when someone slips and falls on a hard surface or falls backwards from great heights and lands on the buttock area. However, broken or bruised tailbone/coccyx injuries can occur in motor vehicle accidents as well. Tailbone injuries are not very common in motor vehicle accidents. In fact, our firm had a client that sustained a coccyx injury in a car accident and the insurance company originally denied responsibility and argued that the tailbone cannot fracture in a motor vehicle accident. Our firm vigorously contested that notion and provided the insurance company letters from our client’s doctors as well as literature on the bio-mechanics of coccyx fractures in rear-end type accidents. The insurance company eventually relented and accepted liability for the tailbone injury.
The coccyx bone is triangular bone structure located at the very bottom of the spine. The coccyx bone can consist of 3 to 5 bones depending on the person. The coccyx is not one solitary bone but is a series of bones fused together by joints and ligaments. The main function of the tailbone is to provide an individual balance and stability while in a seated position.
Coccydynia
Coccydynia refers to constant pain in the tailbone. The pain is usually localized to the tailbone and gets worse when the individual is seated. This condition is more common in women than men as childbirth accounts for a large percentage of coccydynia in women.
Coccygectomy Surgery—(Tailbone Removal)
In almost every case a tailbone injury will heal itself with modified activity, use of a donut type seating cushion and possibly some pain medication. There are situations where the injury does not repair itself and the pain does not go away. In these cases surgical intervention is required. The surgery involves either a full or partial removal of the tailbone. Some specialists will not perform the surgery and others will. The surgery has a success rate 50% to 90%. It can take up to a month to fully recover from this surgery even it is is successful.
Our Experienced Spine Injury Attorneys are Here to Help You. Free consultation. No obligation. No fee unless we recover for you.
If you or a loved one has experienced a broken tailbone because of someone else’s negligence and would like to discuss your legal options, contact an experienced Boston injury lawyer today for a free consultation. The Law Offices of Gerald J. Noonan has a proven track record with over 35 years of legal experience representing victims of broken bone injuries in southeastern Massachusetts.
For a free, no-obligation case review and consultation call our law firm today at (508) 588-0422 and you will have taken your first step towards getting fair compensation for your injuries or for the loss of a loved one. You can also click here to use our Free Case Evaluation Form.
We offer a free, no-obligation legal consultation to help you understand your rights and the value of your case.
Our personal injury trial lawyers handle all types of accident claims including those involving coccyx fracture accidents and broken tailbone injuries, throughout all of Massachusetts including, but not limited to, those in the following counties, cities and towns: Plymouth County including Brockton, Plymouth, Bridgewater, Marshfield, Hingham, Duxbury, Wareham, Abington, Rockland, Whitman, Hanson, Holbrook, Middleborough; Norfolk County including Quincy, Stoughton, Dedham, Weymouth, Braintree, Avon, Holbrook, Randolph, Canton, Sharon, Brookline, Franklin; Bristol County including New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton, Attleboro, Mansfield, Easton, Raynham, Lakeville, Norton; Cape Cod, Falmouth, Barnstable and the Greater Boston area including Cambridge, Somerville, Medford, Everett, Lynn, Revere, Dorchester, Roxbury.
