Our bodies are not designed to absorb the impact of a serious car accident. The impact experienced during a car accident can generate enough force that it may cause a victim’s neck to strain forward and backward quickly. As a result, many car accident victims suffer neck injuries ranging from herniated discs to whiplash. If you have been injured in a Charlotte car accident, you may be wondering how much your neck injury lawsuit is worth. It is impossible to accurately predict the exact award you could recover through a personal injury lawsuit or insurance claim. However, an experienced personal injury lawyer can help you estimate what your claim is worth.
The Importance of Correctly Valuing Your ClaimValuing the worth of a neck injury claim means coming up with the best estimate possible of what a jury might award you when you bring a personal injury lawsuit against the defendant. Valuing your claim can be challenging, especially when it comes to determining what your medical cost will be in the future. At Arnold & Smith, PLLC, we can work with a network of financial experts who can help us determine all of the costs you will experience because of your neck injury.
We understand that for many of our clients, filing a personal injury lawsuit or insurance claim is one opportunity to recover the compensation they need to provide for their families. Many of our clients are unable to work because of their neck injuries. They will rely on their settlement or verdict to survive financially in the future. We work hard to ensure that when we value our clients’ claims, we include every expense that they will incur and include an appropriate amount of compensation for their pain and suffering.
How to Value a Neck Injury ClaimWhen calculating the value of your neck injury claim, we will consider what we think the defendant would be willing to pay. Specifically, we will consider what the defendant would be willing to pay in a settlement agreement before the case goes to trial. We will also consider what a jury might award our client after a trial. How likely is a jury to find that the defendant’s negligence or recklessness caused our client’s neck injury? Our analysis may also take into account how strong our clients' cases are and how much medical evidence we have showing that their neck injury is debilitating and causing long-term pain and limitations.
Proving the Severity of Your Neck InjuryAs mentioned above, one of the significant challenges in obtaining the full amount of compensation you deserve is proving the severity of your neck injury. Neck injuries range from moderate ones, such as whiplash and spinal disc damage, to severe ones involving cervical fractures that cause paralysis from the neck down. The more long-lasting and severe the neck injury, the more compensation the victim can obtain, in most cases. Whether you are pursuing a settlement through an insurance claim or a lawsuit, you will need to provide evidence of your neck injury. Undergoing a thorough medical examination after your accident is crucial.
You will need a doctor to provide a diagnosis of your specific neck injury and provide his or her opinion as to how your neck injury will limit you in the future. As a rule, neck injuries that are easily shown in an MRI or x-ray secure more compensation than soft tissue injuries like pinched nerves and whiplash. Our legal team can help you gather the evidence you need to show that your neck injury is serious and requires expensive medical treatment. If your neck injury requires that you undergo surgery, such as a spinal fusion, you will typically be able to secure more compensation than if you only needed to visit a physical therapist or chiropractor.
Contact a Charlotte Neck Injury LawyerHave you or your loved one suffered a neck injury in a Charlotte car accident? If so, you may be entitled to compensation through an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit. If you plan on filing an insurance claim, you need an experienced lawyer on your side who will negotiate with the insurance company and hold them accountable. In that case, you need an attorney who can navigate the negotiation process and take your case to trial when a settlement is not an option. Contact the experienced neck injury lawyers at Arnold & Smith, PLLC today at 704-370-2828 to schedule your free initial consultation.