How Much is My Back Injury Lawsuit Worth in North Carolina?

Back injuries can be devastating and can occur in many different types of preventable accidents, from car accidents to slip and fall accidents. Even fender-bender car accidents can cause tissue and nerve damage that can cause ongoing, painful side effects. If you have been injured in a preventable accident caused by another person's negligence or recklessness, you may be entitled to compensation.

At Arnold & Smith, PLLC, our Charlotte region personal injury lawyers have helped many clients successfully obtain the compensation they deserve for their back injuries. One of the first questions our clients ask us is how much their back injury claims are worth. It is impossible to predict how much each back injury claim is worth, but we can estimate based on the severity of the injury and the ongoing symptoms. We will discuss some of the factors that help us determine how to value back injury claims. If you are wondering how much your back injury is worth, you can take the following steps to estimate the value of your claim. The best thing you can do is speak to an experienced personal injury lawyer.

The more severe your back injury, likely the greater the value of your legal claim. If your doctor expects your back injury to heal relatively quickly, your claim will likely be lower than if you suffer permanent symptoms and pain from your back injury. However, even strains and sprains in the back can cause muscle spasms, difficulty walking and standing upright, and pain that increases with certain movements. Similarly, bulging or herniated discs can cause significant pain, muscle weakness, numbness, and tingling. Depending on the severity of the herniated disc, you may need to undergo serious spinal cord surgery requiring extensive recovery time.

Finally, if you have experienced fractured vertebrae, you may experience chronic or acute back pain, weakening, and accelerated spinal aging. If you have become partially or totally paralyzed from your back injury, your claim’s value will be significant and can sometimes top $1 million.

Successful plaintiffs are entitled to economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include easily quantifiable costs. Non-economic damages refer to damages like pain and suffering that are more difficult to quantify. The first thing you should do in valuing a personal injury case is to look at the numbers for the easily quantifiable costs. We work with a team of financial experts who can estimate how much our clients’ back injuries will cost going forward in terms of medical expenses. If you have not undergone a thorough medical investigation, we recommend doing so. Understanding the precise nature of your back injury and how it will affect you in the future will help our legal team determine how much income and work benefits you will lose due to your back injury.

Additionally, successful plaintiffs are entitled to compensation for lost future income. In other words, if you are not able to return to work due to your back injury, you can see compensation for all of the income, retirement benefits, health insurance benefits, and other employment benefits you will lose. The defendant may claim that you should be able to return to work, but we can gather evidence showing that your back injury makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for you to go back to work.

When a back injury causes a victim to lose the ability to spend time with his or her family and engage in the activities he once loved, the victim can seek compensation for permanent disability. Serious back injuries often prevent a person from working, but they can also prevent a victim from engaging in activities he or she once loved. For example, suppose you used to enjoy skiing, and you suffered a spinal cord injury, or you are a mother who can no longer pick up your child. In that case, your case may be more valuable because your back injury has severely affected your life.

When you have experienced a back injury caused by another person's negligence, you need to consult with an attorney as soon as possible. At Arnold & Smith, PLLC, our personal injury lawyers have the experience and skill necessary to estimate your claim’s value accurately. Contact us today to schedule your initial consultation.