{"id":1257,"date":"2026-08-13T01:42:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T01:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/34-74-180-255.nip.io\/catastrophic-back-neck-injuries\/diagnosing-catastrophic-spinal-injury\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T22:05:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T22:05:33","slug":"diagnosing-catastrophic-spinal-injury","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/chglawyers.com\/resources\/catastrophic-back-neck-injuries\/diagnosing-catastrophic-spinal-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"How Spinal Injuries Are Diagnosed: MRI, CT & Neuro Tests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/span>\"Neurosurgeon
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Spinal Cord Injuries<\/p>

How Doctors Diagnose a Spinal Cord Injury<\/h1>

MRI, CT scans, and neurological testing tell the story of a spinal injury \u2014 and that story matters for both your recovery and your claim. Here's what to expect, in plain language.<\/p>\n

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By CHG Lawyers \u00b7 Published August 05, 2026<\/p>\n\n

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How Doctors Diagnose a Catastrophic Spinal Cord Injury: The Bedside-to-Grading Journey<\/h2>\n

Someone you love was just brought into a trauma bay after a serious crash. You are probably standing in a hallway. You keep hearing words like “C5,” “incomplete,” and “ASIA grade.” None of them mean anything to you yet.<\/p>\n

This guide follows the diagnosis in the order you will live through it. We start at the ambulance. We end at the moment a doctor sits down and grades the injury.<\/p>\n

We are a personal-injury law firm, not a medical provider. Nothing here is medical advice. Treatment decisions belong to your doctors. Our goal is simple. We want to help you understand what is happening at the bedside. We also want you to know why the record being built right now matters \u2014 both for recovery and for any future claim.<\/p>\n\n

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Not sure what your next step is?<\/h3>

Talk it through with our team — the first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation.<\/p>

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Get a free consultation<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Why these first hours carry so much weight<\/h2>\n

Car crashes are the leading cause of spinal cord injury in the United States. Falls are the second. This comes from the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC)<\/a> at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. It is the federally chosen tracker of these injuries. The NSCISC also estimates about 18,000 new spinal cord injuries happen nationwide each year.<\/p>\n

In the catastrophic cases our attorneys handle, the record made in the first hours often becomes the most important set of facts. It does two things at once. It guides your loved one’s care. Later, it anchors any injury or wrongful-death claim your family may bring. Here is the order in which that record gets built.<\/p>\n

Step 1 \u2014 The scene: they treat the spine as broken until proven otherwise<\/h2>\n

Before anyone confirms anything, paramedics assume the spine is hurt. That is why they fit a stiff neck collar. They also secure the head and body before moving the patient. Clinicians call this spinal motion restriction<\/strong> (the older term was “immobilization”).<\/p>\n

The logic is simple and protective. A partial injury can become a complete one if a broken or unstable spine shifts during transport. So they lock it in place first and ask questions later.<\/p>\n

Step 2 \u2014 The trauma bay: airway, breathing, circulation, then the neck<\/h2>\n

At the hospital, the team runs the ABCs first \u2014 airway, breathing, circulation. Then they turn to the spine. This does not mean they are ignoring the injury. A high neck injury can weaken the muscles a person needs to breathe. So protecting breathing is<\/em> protecting the spinal cord patient.<\/p>\n

Only after the basics are stable does a physician do the emergency neurological exam. If your loved one is awake, expect this to happen fast and often.<\/p>\n

What the bedside neurological exam actually checks<\/h3>\n

The exam is hands-on and low-tech. It drives every decision that follows:<\/p>\n