Yes.  A car accident can cause a herniated disc.  Additionally, motorcycle accidents, and slip and falls, can cause a herniated disc. In many personal injury cases, the at fault party has insurance.  His or her insurance company gets to hire their own doctor to examine you. These insurance company doctors often say that symptoms appear very quickly if there is a disc herniation that was caused by a car accident.   Or caused by any type of accident. Therefore, insurance company doctors will say that your herniated disc wasn't caused by the accident if you didn't have pain shortly after the accident.