In any personal injury case, the damages are based on what you personally experienced, not what type of injury it is. That being said, certain injuries often involve higher damages because of the effects typically involved with those injuries.
For neck and back injuries, you should always have a lawyer review the settlement offer to determine whether it is good. What’s good in one case may not be nearly enough in a case that involves paralysis or serious injuries that interfere with your work. In any case, a “good” settlement will cover your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering in full.
For help, call the Lafayette, LA personal injury lawyers at Schoenfeld Law Firm today at (504) 688-7760.
What Damages Can Be Awarded for Back and Neck Injuries?
In any injury case, you are looking at damages to cover at least the medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering damages you face. With neck and back injuries, these are often all quite high.
Medical Bills
Damages for medical bills should cover the full cost of treating the injuries, from X-rays and MRIs to surgery and physical therapy. What you specifically need should be covered in full.
Lost Wages
Back and neck injuries range widely in their effects on your ability to work. While physically demanding jobs may be impossible, neck and back injuries can even affect your ability to sit and look at a computer screen, potentially interfering with low-impact “desk jobs.”
Pain and Suffering
Back and neck injuries often linger, causing you ongoing pain and discomfort, potentially for the rest of your life. Having a “bad back” going forward isn’t just a random effect, it is something you can demand compensation for.
Assessing Severity of Injury
Neck and back injuries have a wide range of possible types of injury and consequences, all of which can affect your settlement amount.
Sprains and Strains
Plenty of muscles and tendons in your back could be injured, resulting in a few weeks of pain and discomfort. More severe sprains and strains may need physical therapy and rehabilitation, and they could result in months of accommodations at work.
Whiplash
Whiplash can range in severity, with some of the more severe cases involving permanent injury and ongoing discomfort. These injuries commonly result in more pain and suffering than you might expect, resulting in higher damages.
Herniated Discs
The tissue between the bones can bulge out, often impinging on the spinal cord and causing long-term tingling, numbness, and discomfort. This often requires surgery, raising medical costs.
Broken Bones
Breaking your neck or back is usually one of the most serious and dangerous injuries you could face. Many people with broken bones that do not damage their spinal cord still end up facing ongoing discomfort and pain for years.
SCI and Paralysis
Serious damage can cause spinal cord injuries and paralysis, leading to much higher damages for home adaptations, total inability to work, home nursing care needs, and incredibly high pain and suffering.
Settlements vs. Jury Awards in Louisiana
Understanding whether the settlement amount is fair or not is almost impossible without consulting a Louisiana personal injury lawyer. We need to assess all of your damages and calculate them ourselves so we can advise you on whether any settlement offers are “good” or not.
If they are, you are free to settle; but if the amount is too low, we can negotiate for a better settlement. If the insurance companies refuse to pay up through settlement, we can take the case to court.
In many cases, jury awards are higher, but there is always a risk of losing or getting a jury that values the case low.
FAQs for Back and Neck Injury Settlements in Louisiana
Can I Get More Money After Accepting a Settlement?
You only get one chance to get paid in an injury case. If you settle, the case is over. You cannot go back and claim more money later or take the case to court.
Who Determines Damages?
Our lawyers can calculate your damages for you so you know what your case should be worth. The other side will do their own calculations, which often come out lower. The goal of settlement is to bring them up to our level, so you get full compensation.
If the case goes to court, the jury does its own calculations, taking both sides’ demands and calculations into account.
How is Pain and Suffering Calculated?
There are a few ways of calculating pain and suffering.
The “multiplier method” chooses a multiplier from 1.5 to 5, based on the severity of the accident. Then you multiply the other damages by that amount to get non-economic damages (i.e., pain and suffering).
The “per diem” method takes your daily wages and approximates a per-day value for your pain and suffering, adjusting up or down as necessary. Then, you get that amount for each day you faced or will face pain and suffering.
What Evidence is Needed for Damages?
Even when trying to convince the defense to settle, let alone proving damages to a jury, evidence tracking each and every expense is necessary to justify the amount claimed. This means producing bills, financial records, pay stubs, and other evidence of the costs you face. We also project future costs from those records.
Pain and suffering calculations are less of a science and open to more room for argument.
Can I Settle Without a Lawyer?
You should always have a lawyer review a settlement offer with you before accepting it. This makes sure you understand what you are agreeing to and helps you understand what your case should be worth, so you can decide if the settlement is “good.”
What is the Average Settlement for Back and Neck Injuries?
Most settlements are out of court, so courts cannot readily track the settlement amounts, let alone classify them strictly by injury. Even if we had good data on this, each case is different, and each neck/back injury is different, so averages would not help show what your case is worth.
Call Our Louisiana Back and Neck Injury Attorneys Today
For a free assessment of your potential case, call (504) 688-7760 to speak with the Louisiana personal injury lawyers at Schoenfeld Law Firm.
