In this article I will focus on X-ray testing and MRI testing.
Given the standard of care in treating post-traumatic injuries, most injured people will have some sort of X-ray testing. While we all know what an X-ray test looks like, it is important to understand the purpose of an X-ray test when representing an injured person. X-ray testing can detect dense materials such as bone or metal, which show up white on X-rays. X-ray testing can also detect fat and muscle, which show up gray on X-ray films. Soft tissue cannot be detected on X-ray testing. As a result, the plaintiff’s attorney needs to be aware that, generally speaking, many of his or her client’s injuries will not show up on the X-ray because they are limited to detecting fractures, infections, arthritis, osteoporosis and bone cancer.
