The severity of a herniated disc is determined by the medical complications that it causes. This mainly depends on the nerve damage or radiculopathy that the bulge causes in the spinal cord. The symptoms of a severely herniated disc include:
pain in an arm or leg, or in the neck, shoulders, or back,
tingling in the extremity of a limb,
a lack of feeling in the hands or feet,
numbness in an arm or leg, and
muscle weakness in a limb, up to and including an inability to move it.
In many cases, a disc herniation only impacts one side of the body of the accident victim.