What is an MRI?

When you are injured in a personal injury accident, you can suffer a variety of injuries. Whether your injury was caused in an auto accident, truck crash, dog bite, defective product accident, or a slip & fall, you need an experienced medical provider to diagnose your injuries and develop a treatment plan for your recovery. This step in the personal injury claims process is important for two reasons. First and foremost, you need to see your doctor after an accident or injury to protect your health and well-being. Many injuries, such as whiplash and closed head injuries, may not present symptoms for a few days after the accident. Therefore, you could be suffering from a serious condition even though you do not have any chronic symptoms. Second, you need to protect your legal right to file an injury claim against the party who caused your injury. For a successful claim, you need detailed documentation of your injuries. Insurance companies use a delay in treatment to argue that the injury was not sustained during the accident. Therefore, seeking immediate medical treatment is in your best interests for your health and your injury claim. The Pinder Plotkin Legal Team is here to guide you through each step in the claims process. If you have questions, call 410-525-5337  for a free consultation. What is Magnetic Resonance Imaging? Depending on the type and severity of your injury, your physician may order one or more diagnostic tests during the examination. One of those tests, a magnetic resonance imagining (MRI) test, is a noninvasive test used to diagnose a variety of injuries and illnesses. An MRI does not use radiation like an X-ray or CT scan to make images. By using radio waves and a magnetic field, the MRI can create images of the soft tissues in your body. In addition, the images can show the doctor areas of your body in layers. For example, if the doctor suspects you may have suffered a brain injury during the accident, he can use the MRI to view images of your brain. The images may be viewed in “slices” that are about a quarter of an inch thick. This highly detailed imagining technique allows your physician to detect even a slight abnormality that could indicate a severe injury. Medical professionals use MRIs to diagnose a variety of illnesses, conditions, and injuries. For instance, a doctor may use an MRI to diagnose cancer, blocked blood vessels, heart disease, bone infections, strokes, and multiple sclerosis. However, MRIs are also used to diagnose conditions that may have been caused by a personal injury accident.  Examples of injuries an MRI may detect from an accident include:
  • Brain injuries, including checking for internal bleeding in the brain or around the brain
  • Spinal cord injuries, such as injury to the nerves or discs
  • Damage to joints, including the tendons, bones, cartilage, and ligaments of the knees and elbows
  • Detect broken bones and fractures that an X-ray may miss
  • Damage to internal organs, such as the liver, kidneys, and bladder
  • Injury to the lungs or heart
Do I Need an MRI After an Accident? You should discuss any risks and benefits associated with an MRI in detail with your physician before consenting to this procedure. There are always risks and benefits associated with any medical procedure. You should be fully informed of all the risks and benefits so that you can make an informed decision whether to proceed with an MRI. In some cases, a doctor may be hesitant to perform an MRI because he or she does not believe it is required given your symptoms. You have a couple of options if the doctor says you do not need an MRI. You can choose to follow your doctor’s treatment plan, or you can seek a second opinion. While the choice is purely your decision, if your symptoms continue or grow worse, you may want to seek another opinion from a medical expert in the field of medicine that treats your specific injuries and symptoms. An MRI is a powerful tool our Maryland accident attorneys can use to prove damages in an injury claim. However, as the patient, you must make a personal decision about how to proceed with your medical treatment. Are all MRI Machines the same? No, always ask the MRI provider what “tesla” its MRI scanner. Tesla indicates the strength of the magnets used.  The stronger the magnet the better the imaging and the easier it is to diagnose the injury. Think about the quality of an old flip phone photograph vs. an iPhone.  We recommend that you locate a facility with at least a 3 tesla MRI machine. Charter Radiology offers 3 tesla MRIs in Baltimore County and Howard County, Maryland.   Call Pinder Plotkin LLC for a Free Appointment with a Maryland Accident Attorney The Pinder Plotkin Legal Team treats each injury claim very seriously. We believe injury victims and their families deserve to be compensated for the financial, physical, and emotional damages caused by a negligent party. Please call our office at 410-525-5337 to schedule a free consultation with one of our Maryland personal injury lawyers.     The information provided in this website is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject. The information contained in this blog is also subject to change and should not be relied upon. Contact the Pinder Plotkin Legal Team for a FREE consultation.
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