No one ever wants to deal with car accidents. However, negligence is a never-ending problem, which means that unfortunate victims must deal with them. While some of them will only have minor effects, others will result in more serious injuries to the neck, for example.
Spinal cord injuries of this nature can sometimes create a situation where someone is unable to do the job they used to ever again. Below is a look at such injuries, what some of the expectations should be, and how to navigate the circumstances effectively.
Remember That Symptoms of Back and Neck Injuries Are Often Delayed
Some car accident cases will see the affected victims experiencing the symptoms of back or neck injuries immediately. However, this is not always the case. Some injuries such as whiplash and soft tissue damage may create swelling or inflammation alongside other challenges over time. Some of the delayed symptoms include:
Headaches
Appetite, sleep, mood, or behavioral changes
Tender and sore muscles
Visual or hearing changes
A restricted range of motion
Pain or stiffness in the head, shoulder, neck, or back
Bruising or skin discoloration
Nausea
Abdominal pain
Feelings of anxiety or stress
The Statute of Limitations Is Important When Seeking a Back or Neck Injury Settlement
The statute of limitations outlines how long a person has after a certain occurrence to file a lawsuit for compensation. Depending on the claim type, these timelines can vary. In New York, car accident-related injuries allow for a three-year timespan within which to file a claim. This timeline is measured from the time a diagnosis is received.
Should the time pass, the victim cannot file a lawsuit.
New York Has the Highest Median and Average Settlement Amounts for Neck or Back Injury Claims
As far as reported median and average settlement reporting goes, New York's numbers exceed those of any other state. The average car accident settlement in the state stands at a shocking $8.6 million with the median being around $3 million.
So far, the highest of all was a 2017 $71 million verdict. This was to a 19-year-old female who suffered a fractured lumbar spine after a car accident.
Are Personal Injury Claims Affordable?
Dealing with car accidents is hard enough because of the expenses that are introduced and the changes that can happen, especially when injuries such as those to the neck are sustained. Therefore, the thought of what a personal injury attorney will cost can be incredibly frightening.
However, in most cases, personal injury attorneys will take on cases under what is known as a contingency fee basis. Effectively, payment only becomes required if a settlement is awarded and will be a percentage of the said settlement. Therefore, there is no need to be concerned with the ability to afford the claim.
What Will Affect Neck and Back Injury Claims?
Medical Expenses
This means future, current, and past medical expenses. What has already been spent on visits, hospital fees, medicine, physical therapy, etc? What kinds of costs are currently being dealt with? What kinds of future medical expenses are expected to arise out of the spinal cord injury? All these are accounted for in a settlement amount.
Lost Wages
Alongside medical treatment is the matter of income loss if any was experienced. The potential damage that neck injuries can cause is well documented. In the case of paralysis, for example, the car accident victim is about to live a completely different kind of life, which would likely encompass a lack of income.
Whenever there are injuries sustained to the neck, people will likely be temporarily or permanently unable to work. This consideration looks at whatever wages have already been lost and what may be lost in the future.
Severity of the Injury
Of course, not all back injuries are made equal. Some are very mild while others are incredibly severe. While many factors will make up a neck or back injury settlement figure, it's generally true that worse injuries are characterized by bigger payouts. Apart from the severity, there's also how likely a recovery is and what the extent of that recovery will look like
Pain and Suffering
This isn't quantifiable based on referenceable figures like medical expenses would be. That's because this is a more subjective class of damage. Physical pain is to be expected after car accidents where there is injury.
The mental anguish that follows an accident is also not to be ignored. Some victims even end up having PTSD, which affects their quality of life.
Insurance Policy Limits
Unless the aim is to sue the negligent driver directly, which isn't feasible unless they have substantial holdings, it's the person's insurance company that will be required to pay out the settlement figure. The personal injury protection element of an insurance policy, like other elements, has a limit and the recoverable amount will be up to that limit.
Tips for Assuring Better Back or Neck Injury Claim Outcomes
Keeping a Medical Journal
Remember that pain and suffering is something that isn't easily quantifiable. Beyond that, proving it is not easy. One action that can help immensely is keeping a medical journal to document what the recovery process looks like and how life has been affected. Doing this gives your personal injury attorney one more tool to support your case.
Seeking Medical Records
There's a lot of important medical documentation that can come out of a car accident, which includes the following:
Prescription records
Hospital stays
Home modifications
Medical imagining records
Physical therapy appointments
Keeping these makes it easier to prove that the injury is as severe as is being represented and it also makes it more likely that a fair compensation amount will be reached. Experienced personal injury attorneys work with their clients to help them understand what kinds of records are appropriate to prove the injury severity and the course of treatment received. They can also help information on a rotator cuff tear car accident settlement NY.
Staying off Social Media
In today's world, people are compelled to post just about everything that happens on social media. Car crash victims with neck and back injuries may want to avoid doing that. In fact, anyone who is aiming to get compensation for any kind of personal injury should stay off social media.
The defense can use something as simple as a post about cooking or walking the dog to state that the injury cannot be too severe if it's possible to do normal tasks.
Retaining a Motor Vehicle Accident Lawyer
This one goes without saying. While it's not a legal requirement to retain the services of a Long Island automobile accident lawyer, it does drastically improve the chances of coming out of the ordeal with a fair settlement. That's because such an attorney is a professional in the legal field that allows for stellar advice and expert case building.
It also helps that there's familiarity with all the tricks the defense will likely pull to get out of having to pay some or all of what is due.
Is a Trial Likely?
Technically speaking, a trial is very unlikely in matters of personal injury. Most of them will be settled before they ever go to court. That doesn't mean it's easy. There is usually a negotiation process, complete with offers and counter-offers before an agreement is reached.
If it's not possible to settle out of court, only then will a trial need to take place. This is another area in which having an attorney is beneficial since they represent their clients in court as needed.
Be Careful When Communicating with the Negligent Party's Insurance Company
Don't ever forget that an insurance company's priority is always itself. This applies to insurance companies that represent victims too. They will do whatever they can to avoid having to do payouts. If they can't avoid them entirely, they'll try to reduce them.
That's why it's essential to be careful when engaging with them. After an accident, the negligent driver's insurance company may reach out in what appears to be a sincere attempt to check on the well-being of the victim, for example. What's actually happening is that they want the victim to feel comfortable enough to make statements such as "I'm not feeling too bad."
Such statements can then be used in the proceedings to say that it was said that the injury is not too bad.
Leave as many of these kinds of interactions as possible.
Requestable Damages When Car Accident Victims Suffer Neck Injuries
The damages that can be claimed fall under economic and non-economic categories. Economic damages are those that have a quantifiable dollar value based on elements such as documentation and receipts. Examples include lost wages and medical bills.
Non-economic damages are more rooted in quality of life and are subjective. A professional attorney will usually be valuable in quantifying these. Examples include pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment.
Schedule a FREE Consultation with an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney Today!
Evidently, neck injuries are nothing to laugh at given the way they can turn life upside down. Thankfully, the best in Long Island legal counsel is available to assist.
If you've been injured in a car accident in the area and have back or neck injuries as a result, you may be entitled to compensation.
Schedule a free consultation with a well-versed car accident attorney at The Law Office of Carl Maltese by calling today!