What Is the Average Settlement for a Back and Neck Injury in a Car Accident?

There is no way to positively answer the question, “What is the average settlement for a back and neck injury in a car accident?” — primarily because various factors influence the amount. No two accidents or injuries are the same, insurance coverage varies, states impose differing restrictions, and people recover compensation on individual timelines.

If you received a back or neck injury in a car accident that wasn’t your fault, you shouldn’t bear the responsibility of absorbing any subsequent costs. Consult an experienced Morgantown car accident lawyer. You’ll want to discuss a legal strategy to obtain financial compensation for your damages.

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What Influences the Average Settlement for a Back and Neck Injury in a Car Accident?

Many factors influence your compensation amount and how long it takes to settle a back and neck injury claim. These factors include the severity of your injuries, level of medical treatment, permanent impairment or disability, lost earnings, the impact on your quality of life, and pain and suffering. Insurance policy limits are another significant influence.

Severity of Your Injuries

The nature and severity of your back and neck injuries have the greatest impact on your potential settlement amount. The more severe your injuries are, including the severity of your pain, mobility limitations, and any long-term effects, the more extensive your damages will be.

Level of Medical Treatment

Healthcare costs can be astronomical following a car accident. The more medical care you undergo for your injuries, the more compensation you can recover for your insurance injury claim. These costs include all emergency, medical, surgical, rehabilitation, and disability expenses.

Permanent Impairment or Disability

A neck or back injury resulting in permanent impairment or disability, such as chronic pain, loss of a limb, or paralysis, will be awarded a higher settlement value. A permanent impairment may include anything that creates a lasting impact on your quality of life.

Lost Income and Earning Capacity

If your back and neck injury and recovery caused you to miss work, you may be entitled to compensation for lost income. Also, if your injuries result in long-term impairment or permanent disability, reducing your ability to earn a living, your attorney will seek compensation for your diminished earning capacity or loss of future earnings.

Impact on Your Quality of Life

Back and neck injuries drastically impacting your daily life will affect your final settlement amount. For example, injuries limiting your ability to perform everyday tasks, engage in activities you once enjoyed, or have a strain on domestic relationships (loss of consortium) are more likely to render higher compensation.

Pain and Suffering

Another significant factor affecting the average settlement for a back and neck injury is the amount of pain and suffering you endure due to the car accident. These intangible losses, also called non-economic damages, include things like chronic pain conditions, emotional distress, and PTSD from the crash. Many states impose damage caps on non-economic damages. Your attorney will clarify local regulations.

Insurance Policy Limits

Coverage policy limits may also impact your car accident settlement for a back and neck injury. If the at-fault driver is underinsured or uninsured, the amount of compensation received may be limited to your personal uninsured motorist insurance coverage limits.

What Types of Damages Are Involved in a Back and Neck Injury in a Car Accident?

There is a comprehensive list of economic and non-economical damages that car accident injury victims may secure after the collision. These damages include medical, rehabilitation, and disability costs; vehicle-related and property damages; income-related losses; household, home maintenance, and delivery services; and non-economic damages. Surviving victims of wrongful death may seek a settlement for their loved one’s final expenses and personal pain and suffering.

Medical and Rehabilitation Expenses

Accident injury victims sustaining injuries must undergo medical and rehab treatments that are recoverable losses in a back and neck injury claim. Standard expenses involve:

• Emergency services (ambulance and ER)
• Surgeries and post-op care
• Hospitalizations
• Doctor evaluation and follow-up care
• Imaging and diagnostics
• Mental health care (therapy, medications, and workbooks)
• Prescription medications and medical devices
• Physical therapy
• Chiropractic care and massage
• Acupuncture (alternative medicine)
• Speech and language therapy
• Vocational and occupational therapy
• Future medical and rehab expenses

Medical and rehabilitation expenses can be proved by their paper trail of evidence. Keep all billing statements and receipts for any out-of-pocket costs, such as prescription medications and copays. The travel time expenses to and from your appointments may also be factored into your car accident settlement.

Disability and Long-Term Care Costs

Accident victims who experience disability or require long-term care costs can include these expenses in their attorney’s demand letter to liable insurers. Standard in-home mobility and vehicle transportation modifications are as follows:

• Widened doorways and door openers
• Wheelchair-accessible ramps and lifts
• Accessible bathrooms (raised toilets, step-less shower, lowered basin)
• Steering devices (spinner knobs, grips, prosthetic hook, and hand securement)
• Seat belt adjustments
• Hand controls for brakes and acceleration pads
• Lowering countertops and sinks in kitchens

Sometimes, vehicle modifications are not a viable solution for an accident victim’s disability. In that case, it may require replacement with a wheelchair-accessible alternative. Your attorney will include that cost while completing the valuation of damages in your case.

Vehicle-Related and Property Damages

Vehicle-related damages, vehicle replacement, and damages or destruction to personal property in a car accident are economic losses you may recover in your settlement. Typically, they involve things like:

• Vehicle damage (frame, body, airbags, mechanical, and electrical)
• Vehicle replacement, if yours is totaled in the collision
• Temporary transportation (Uber, Lyft, bus or subway pass, and taxi cabs)
• Rental vehicle while yours is being repaired
• Car seats and boosters
• Cell phones and other electronic devices
• Mailboxes, fences, sprinkler systems, and ornamental yard decor
• Gardens and landscaping damages
• Damages to a home or building

To prove these economic damages for your settlement, keep invoices, receipts, and other financial documents that verify their loss. Accident victims shouldn’t bear the burden of vehicle repairs when the accident wasn’t even their fault.

Income-Related Losses

If you experience income losses because you must miss work due to your injuries and rehabilitation, you may include them in your attorney’s demand letter. Standard income losses involve:

• Lost wages or annual salary
• Loss of opportunities for non-salary compensation (tips, commissions, and bonuses)
• Lost overtime
• Lost benefits (health, retirement, and pension)
• Lost progress toward promotion

Back and neck injuries that prevent accident victims from returning to work may have their future earnings or loss of earning capacity factored into their final settlement. Future earnings account for the future money you should have made had you not been injured or disabled in the crash.

Loss of earning capacity factors the loss of the ability to work in the same capacity as you would have without your back and neck injury. This also considers lost career trajectory and other professional effects on your life.

Household and Home Maintenance Services

If your injuries were severe enough to render you incapable of performing daily tasks, you may need to hire household service help. Household and home maintenance services that accident victims may seek damages for as follows:

• Cooking and personal chef
• Housekeeping and laundry
• Lawn and yard maintenance
• In-home childcare and out-of-home daycare services

If you’re responsible for caring for a senior parent or grandparent and your injuries prevent you from doing so, you might hire outside services to assist. Senior and home health services they require are also valid economic expenses to include in your final compensation.

Delivery Services

Accident injury victims who suffer injuries severe enough to render them unable to perform daily tasks, such as driving and shopping, can seek compensation for delivery services. These may include grocery delivery through apps like Instacart and other meal and prescription delivery services.

Non-Economic Damages

Your non-economic damages are the intangible losses incurred from the collision. Common non-economic damages associated with a back and neck injury after a car accident include:

• Loss of consortium (spousal relations, companionship, love, and affection)
• Physical pain and chronic pain conditions
• Psychological trauma
• Generalized anxiety and depression
• Loss of society and companionship
• Loss of enjoyment of everyday activities
• Emotional anguish and distress
• Loss of ability to perform essential life tasks
• Permanent impairments (scarring and disfigurement)
• A shortened life expectancy
• A worsening of existing injuries or conditions

Non-economic damages can be more challenging to prove because they don’t include a verifiable paper trail. Accident victims must document these damages with a post-accident injury journal. The more detailed your entries are concerning pain levels, sleep disturbances, and other pain and suffering, the better it bodes for your case.

Wrongful Death Damages

Families experiencing the tragic loss of a loved one after succumbing to back and neck injuries in a car accident can also file for damages. Wrongful death damages include:

• Final arrangements (funeral and burial or cremation)
• Final medical expenses of the decedent
• Pain and suffering of decedent before their death
• Your pain and suffering
• Loss of household services (childcare, cooking, and cleaning)
• The decedent’s lost wages or salary, bonuses, benefits, and future income earnings
• Loss of guidance and support
• Loss of consortium (companionship, spousal relations, and loss of assistance or service)

An experienced car accident attorney makes recovering damages easier. They are skilled negotiators who fight for the accident victim’s right to fair compensation every day. If you received a back and neck injury in a car accident, consult a lawyer immediately.

How an Experienced Attorney Can Help Secure a Settlement for a Back and Neck Injury in a Car Accident

Having an experienced attorney representing you in your insurance claim causes insurers to take your case more seriously. They often seek a fair settlement for a back and neck injury resulting from a car accident by:

Jeff Robinette, Car Accident Lawyer in Morgantown

• Providing a Free Case Evaluation —Car accident lawyers provide free case evaluations to understand your circumstances better before devising a plan to recover compensation. They will inform you if your claim is valid and represent your legal rights when filing one.
• Gathering Evidence —Evidence is crucial for establishing liability and proving negligence, injuries, and damages. Your attorney will gather evidence, including police and accident reports, witness statements, photos and video of the accident scene, pictures of your injuries, medical bills and records, and anything else to help win your case.
• Working With Experts —Car accident lawyers utilize a network of experts to help secure substantial settlements for back and neck injury victims. These experts include healthcare professionals, economists, engineers, occupational and vocational experts, highway safety experts, and vehicle safety experts.
• Accident Reconstruction —Another expert in their network is an accident reconstruction specialist. Your attorney may work with accident reconstruction experts to recreate the conditions of your accident. They can pinpoint precise moments of negligence and liability through computer simulation, comprehensive diagrams, and 3D models. Their testimony can be invaluable to maximizing car accident settlements.
• Negotiating Your Settlement —Negotiations are vital to recovering a financial settlement from liable insurers. Generally, they will send a low offer that doesn’t meet the demands of your attorney’s letter. Then, your lawyer will counter, and they may enter into a few rounds of back-and-forth before agreeing on terms. All settlement offers will be discussed with you, and the decision to accept or deny is yours.

Most Morgantown personal injury lawyers work for contingency and are only paid if awarded compensation. Contingency arrangements allow attorneys to offer their clients services at no initial costs. Schedule a free consultation today to determine a legal strategy to recover compensation for your damages.