The Shoulder
The Shoulder
64
Car accidentsdaring-tern-671

Doctors keep dismissing my shoulder pain as 'pre-existing' — it started the DAY of the crash

I genuinely don't know how much more of this I can take. My accident was about 14 months ago — rear-ended at a stoplight by someone on their phone — and I have been fighting for a real diagnosis ever since.

I've done X-rays, two MRIs, a round of cortisone shots, and now I'm almost done with my second stretch of PT. My shoulder still hurts constantly. Like, radiating, can't-sleep-on-that-side pain. And every specialist I see finds a slightly different thing to focus on but none of them are connecting it back to the crash.

The worst part? My most recent orthopedist basically implied this looks like 'degenerative wear' — the kind of thing that builds up over years. I'm in my early 30s and was completely fine the morning of that accident. I have photos, the police report, ER discharge papers from the same night. None of that seems to matter.

He didn't say I was lying exactly, but his whole tone was like he thought I was exaggerating or chasing a payout. It was humiliating. I left the appointment feeling like I had done something wrong.

The at-fault driver's insurance has already been slow-rolling everything, and I'm terrified that if no doctor will clearly say 'this injury is crash-related,' I'm going to be stuck with all these bills AND a shoulder that doesn't work right.

Has anyone else dealt with doctors who just refuse to connect the dots? Did you ever find someone who actually listened? I feel completely alone in this.

10replies

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10 replies

  • 12
    candid-badger-403

    Oh my gosh, this is almost word for word my experience after my accident two years ago. I kept getting 'possible degenerative changes' on every report and I was like — I was a competitive swimmer before this, my shoulder was FINE. It took me four different specialists before I found a sports medicine doctor who actually read my full file and wrote a clear causation letter. Don't give up. That doctor is out there.

  • 13
    calm-stoat-562

    Degenerative findings on an MRI can absolutely be aggravated by trauma — that's a real and recognized thing in medicine. The frustrating truth is that some imaging looks 'old' even when the symptomatic flare-up is completely new and crash-related. If you haven't seen a physiatrist (physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist), that might be worth asking for. They tend to be much better at connecting mechanism of injury to functional symptoms than a lot of orthopedic surgeons. Also, keep a daily pain journal if you aren't already. Dates, activities, sleep, pain levels. It matters more than people realize.

  • 21
    genuine-crane-867

    The at-fault insurer knows exactly what they're doing by dragging this out. The longer your care looks 'inconclusive,' the easier it is for them to argue causation down to zero. Don't give them a recorded statement if you haven't already, and be really careful about any settlement offers right now while your diagnosis is still up in the air. Settling before you have a real diagnosis is one of the biggest mistakes I see people make.

    • 13
      careful-dove-286

      Not legal advice, but I'll say this: the gap between 'degenerative condition' and 'crash-caused injury' is something PI attorneys deal with constantly. There are independent medical examiners and spine/orthopedic specialists who are experienced at writing causation opinions for exactly these situations. If you consult with a personal injury attorney, that's often one of the first things they'll help coordinate. Most consultations are free, so it doesn't hurt to at least have that conversation.

    • 7
      weary-neighbor149

      Solid advice. Getting it in writing is the part most people skip.

  • 8
    warm-crow-391

    I used to work claims. Honest answer: when a file has imaging with any 'degenerative' language in it, adjusters are trained to latch onto that as a way to reduce or deny. It doesn't mean you're wrong or that you won't prevail — it just means you need a doctor who will clearly document the aggravation of that condition by the accident, even if it existed in some minor form before. That's a legitimate legal and medical argument. The problem is finding a provider willing to write it plainly.

  • 18
    silent-owl-611

    Get a second opinion and specifically ask the new doctor to review the mechanism of injury — meaning, describe exactly how your body moved during the crash and ask them to explain whether that force is consistent with your symptoms. Don't just hand them the MRI and wait. Walk them through it. Some doctors respond completely differently when you come in prepared.

    • 4
      thankful-road-soul781

      Following up on this — any update on how it turned out?

  • 18
    bold-mole-367

    I'm so sorry. The condescending doctor thing is just awful — you're already dealing with pain and stress and then someone talks to you like you're making it up? You deserve better care than that. Please don't stop pushing. You know your own body.

    • 19
      candid-marten-902

      Did the ER do any shoulder imaging the night of the accident, or just a general check? And did any of the early records specifically mention the shoulder as the complaint, or did that develop later? I'm not doubting you at all — I'm just thinking about what the documentation trail looks like, because that timeline matters a lot for how a doctor (or an insurer) reads the case.