The Importance of Facet Injections (“FI”) After a Colorado Car Accident

When are facet joint injections appropriate after a Colorado car accident? Facet joint injections are typically used when a person has ongoing neck or low back pain from injured spinal joints that has not responded to conservative care. They serve as both a pain treatment and powerful evidence of a serious spinal injury. These injections can reduce inflammation in the small joints of the spine, help patients tolerate physical therapy, and clearly document pain is significant enough to require interventional care.

Facet joints are the small joints along the back of the spine that guide movement and provide stability. When a crash or fall injures these joints, people may develop persistent “axial” neck or low back pain, sometimes with stiffness, spasms, and difficulty bending or twisting. In that scenario, a facet joint injection can both confirm that the facet joint is the pain source and provide relief. Medically, it is a step up from medication and physical therapy. Legally, it is a major marker of injury severity.

When are Facet Joint Injections Recommended After an Accident?

A facet joint injection involves placing a needle into or near the facet joint under imaging guidance and injecting a mixture of local anesthetic and steroid medication. The anesthetic gives short-term pain relief; the steroid targets inflammation inside the joint for longer-term benefit.

Facet joint injections are typically appropriate when:

• The primary complaint is axial neck or low back pain rather than classic “sciatica” or arm pain from a pinched nerve.
• Examination or imaging (X-ray, CT, MRI) suggests facet joint arthritis, capsular strain, or post-traumatic facet injury.
• Conservative treatments such as rest, anti-inflammatory medication, bracing, chiropractic, and physical therapy have failed to provide adequate relief.

They can be done for diagnostic reasons (to see if the facet joint is actually causing the pain) and for therapeutic reasons (to reduce pain for weeks or months).

From a personal injury angle, seeing that a treating physician has moved from conservative care to facet joint injections usually signals to an insurer, mediator, or jury that this is not a simple sprain/strain case.

How Well Do the Medical Records Support the Claim?

If the providers document properly, facet joint injections generate some of the strongest medical records you can have in a spine case.

Ideally, the records will show:

• A clear diagnosis: e.g., post-traumatic facet arthropathy, facet joint syndrome, or axial low back pain with facet involvement.
• Imaging results showing facet degeneration, joint narrowing, or trauma-related changes (though imaging can sometimes under-reflect the true pain generator).
• A history of failed conservative care: physical therapy, medications, maybe chiropractic or massage.
• The rationale for injections: pain severe enough to limit work, sleep, and daily function.
• Detailed procedure notes and follow-up visits describing pain levels before and after the injection, ability to move, and any need for repeat injections or additional interventions.

That kind of documentation tells a very clear story: the client hurt, tried to get better, escalated care appropriately, and still had enough pain to justify a spine injection. It makes the “serious injury” argument far more credible.

Do Facet Joint Injections Help Patients Do Physical Therapy?

In many cases, yes — and this is one of the best arguments for them.

Facet joint pain often flares with movement. When every attempt to bend, twist, or extend the spine causes sharp pain, patients naturally guard, move less, and de-condition. A successful facet joint injection may reduce pain enough for the person to:

• Resume or intensify physical therapy.
• Tolerate core strengthening and stabilization work.
• Improve range of motion in the neck or low back.
• Break the cycle of pain, guarding, and muscle spasm.

In the records, you want to see that pattern: severe pain → injection → better participation in PT, even if not full resolution. That sequence proves to an adjuster or defense lawyer that the client was working hard to get better, not just sitting on the sidelines waiting for a payout.

Risks and Potential Side Effects of Facet Joint Injections

Facet joint injections are considered minimally invasive, but they are not risk-free. Common or expected effects include temporary soreness at the injection site, a short-term flare in pain, and transient numbness or weakness if the local anesthetic spreads.

Less common but more serious risks can include:

• Infection in the joint or surrounding tissue.
• Bleeding or hematoma formation, especially in patients on blood thinners.
• Allergic reaction to contrast or medication.
• Nerve irritation or, very rarely, neurologic injury.
• Steroid-related side effects if injections are repeated often (blood sugar changes, bone health concerns).

There is also a malpractice dimension: published reviews show that facet injections occasionally appear in malpractice litigation when there is a gross procedural error, delay in recognizing a complication, or inadequate consent discussion.

Legally, the fact that a client willingly underwent a procedure with these risks is another indicator of how severe their pain was.

How Facet Joint Injections Fit into the Overall Treatment Plan

In most serious spine cases, facet joint injections sit in the middle of the treatment ladder:

1. Initial trauma care and evaluation.
2. Conservative management: rest, meds, PT, chiropractic, activity modification.
3. Advanced imaging to clarify the pain source.
4. Interventional care such as facet joint injections or medial branch blocks.
5. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for longer-term relief if blocks are helpful.
6. Surgical evaluation if interventional steps fail.

Facet joint injections often serve both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. If the patient’s pain improves briefly after a diagnostic injection, that tells the doctor the facet joint is a primary pain generator and supports proceeding with therapeutic injections or RF ablation.

In a personal injury case, that stepwise progression is gold: it shows reasonable, guideline-consistent care, not an attempt to over-treat for litigation.

What Is the Expected Cost of Facet Joint Injections?

The cost can vary widely based on the facility, region, use of imaging guidance, and whether multiple levels are treated. Cash prices for a facet joint injection typically range from around $560 to $1,400 or more, with some sources listing that range across states for a single procedure.

In many cases, injured people pay for these injections through:

• Medical payments (MedPay) coverage under auto insurance
• Health insurance
• Letters of protection (lien-based care)
• Workers’ compensation (if work-related).

For damages, that cost becomes part of the medical special damages. When you add in repeat injections, follow-up visits, imaging, and associated PT, spinal facet injuries can generate substantial medical bills that directly increase case value.

Presenting Facet Joint Injections as Evidence of Serious Injury

Facet joint injections are powerful evidence because they show:

• Pain persisted despite weeks or months of conservative care.
• A specialist believed the facet joint injury was significant enough to warrant an interventional procedure.
• The client accepted the risks and inconvenience of the injection to try to get better.
• The injury affected function — work, sleep, daily life — enough to justify a procedure aimed at substantial pain relief.

You can use the timeline and narrative in the records to show that this was not a short-lived sprain. If the injection provided only partial or temporary relief and symptoms returned, that becomes compelling proof of chronic facet joint pain and possible permanency.

Will You Need an Expert Witness?

In many facet joint cases, yes, you will want an expert.

A treating pain specialist or physiatrist can explain:

• What a facet joint is and how it can be injured in a crash.
• Why the client’s pain pattern fits a facet syndrome rather than simple muscle soreness.
• Why facet joint injections were reasonable and medically necessary.
• How the response (or failure) of injections informs prognosis and need for future care.

Because imaging sometimes under-represents facet joint pain, defendants often argue that injections were “unnecessary” or “unrelated.” An expert who can walk a jury through the anatomy, physical exam findings, and clinical reasoning is crucial to overcoming that line of attack.

What About Settlements and Verdicts in Facet Joint Injection Cases?

There is no reliable “average settlement” number for facet joint injections, but a few consistent themes emerge:

• Cases with clear post-traumatic facet injury, no significant pre-existing spine history, and a well-documented course of treatment (PT → injections → possibly RFA) tend to resolve at significantly higher values than pure soft-tissue cases.
• Settlements often reflect not just the cost of the injections themselves, but the ongoing pain, activity limitations, risk of future procedures, and the possibility of facet joint syndrome becoming chronic.
• When facet joint pain persists despite injections, and a physician opines that it represents a long-term or permanent impairment, the non-economic damages (pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment) can be substantial.

Online “settlement calculators” exist, but even the firms that host them emphasize that they are rough tools and that true value depends on age, occupation, permanency, credibility, venue, and the quality of the medical proof.

What you can say confidently is that facet joint injections in personal injury cases are strong indicators of a high-severity claim compared to those that end with only medications and a few PT visits.

Why Facet Joint Injections Matter in a Personal Injury Case

For your clients, these injections are about pain relief and function. For their case, they are about proof.

Facet joint injections in personal injury cases show that:

• The client’s pain was serious enough to warrant a procedure in the spine.
• Conservative treatment did not fix the problem.
• Specialists believe there is a real, ongoing facet joint injury.
• Future care and permanent impairment are realistic concerns, not speculation.

Contact Colorado’s Top Colorado Personal Injury Law Firm

If you developed chronic neck or back pain and needed facet joint injections after a crash or fall, you are dealing with more than a simple sprain. Our firm understands how to present this treatment, link it to the collision, and prove its impact on your life. Facet joint injections in personal injury cases can significantly increase case value when properly documented and explained.

Contact our office today to speak with an attorney who understands spinal facet injuries, interventional pain management, and the evidence needed to secure full compensation for your medical bills, lost income, and long-term pain. Contact the top-rated personal injury law firm in Colorado to get a free consultation with one of our car accident attorneys. We serve Colorado including Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, and Fort Collins.