During an auto accident, the rapid back-and-forth motion causes the neck to rush forward and then snap back, stretching or tearing the sensitive soft tissue. Without a medical explanation of the mechanism of injury in your neck injury claim, your case would boil down to I was in a car accident and now my neck hurts, give me money. Meaning, without the jurys understanding of this topic, how much money you get for a neck injury will be negatively affected. a congenital disorder. Early documentation of damage (especially if it includes a diagnosis) can increase the value of your back injury settlement. Lordosis describes the normal front-to-back curvature of multiple areas of the spine, including the neck. But, true structural permanent loss of lordosis is usually secondary to advanced degeneration , or structural changes to the bones . The best way to know if your injury is serious is to contact a medical professional and get the proper testing. Symptoms may not appear for weeks or months after the crash. That is until something happens to them. Much like the lower regions of the spine, the neck can also receive spinal cord damage in an auto accident. We will start by reviewing mechanism of injury and its importance to the value of your neck injury settlement payout. This neck instability can also lead to or worsen injury to the facet joint of the cervical vertebrae. An MRI revealed a herniated disc to her cervical spine, and she ultimately underwent a cervical fusion surgery. Rapid movements such as these can cause serious injury to the muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints and nerves in the cervical spine, where your neck is located. For example, if the liable drivers insurance policy limit is not adequate, your lawyer may consider tapping your own policys Personal Injury Protection (PIP) or uninsured/underinsured coverage before filing a lawsuit. You need to find the best law firm that is not too big or small for your case type and likely outcome. The more identifiable symptoms are in your medical records, the more ammunition your lawyer will have to argue for a larger settlement. Depending on the literature you rely on, some doctors will call it a permanent injury after 6 months or 12 months. It can be as much as 100% or as low as 1%. When this happens, you can feel pain, weakness, tingling and numbness in the neck, shoulders, arms, hands and fingers. Your spine is one of the most delicate components of your body. Whiplash symptoms can appear days or weeks after the accident occurred. Philadelphia, Pa.: Elsevier; 2018. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Here is how we treat every one of our clients cases: If your lawyer goes all in and builds your whiplash case like a six-figure case, no surprise, it is more likely to become a six-figure case. This occurs when the body accelerates quickly forward, causing the head to accelerate via the neck. As many as 50% of injury victims go on to develop persistent symptoms that can have a detrimental effect upon their mental and physical well being. Special damages are also referred to as economic damages for this reason. From rear-end collisions to side-impact wrecks, car accidents are the primary cause of neck injuries in America. The victim was sitting in his double-parked car on a two-way road when the truck operator approached from behind. Mr. Benyamin is a registered member of the following legal organizations: Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles(CAALA), theLos Angeles County Bar Association(LACBA), theState Bar of California, theAmerican Bar Association (ABA), and the American Association for Justice (AAJ). Pain and suffering are non-economic damage that can significantly increase your accident settlement. Kinematics of human cadaver cervical spine during low speed rear-end impacts. To correct a loss of cervical lordosis, the underlying cause must be addressed. The spine has three main sections: cervical (neck), thoracic (middle and upper back), and lumbar (lower back). Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist Accidents, The National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center. MVA's especially rear-enders cause serious injuries to the body's soft tissues (MUSCLES, LIGAMENTS, TENDONS, and most particularly, FASCIA - especially in the SCM), and can defy most treatment approaches (). $865K Accident Settlement for a worker struck by a dump truck while driving a company vehicle. All of this needs to be monitored and recorded so that it can be integrated into your neck injury compensation settlement. Unfortunately, f you are an injury victim dealing with whiplash, you will be unhappy to hear it is less than $10,000. Cervical spondylosis is very common and worsens with age. Generally, the diagnosis is based upon your history (being involved in a car accident would be a strong clue) and symptoms. Vehicle accident settlement with cervical fracture injury, $370,000 Much like any type of personal injury claim, neck injury settlements vary wildly depending on the individual factors of each case. In turn, this factor increases its overall settlement amount. While no amount of money can erase the accident, it can help a victim resume a normal lifestyle as best as possible. If a spinal injury or trauma has damaged the spine and caused the loss of cervical lordosis, the injury must be addressed proactively to improve the spine's health . VA disability ratings for back pain go from 10% to 100% depending on how severe your symptoms are, including your range of motion and pain frequency and level. Rollover auto accident settlement with cervical disc injury, $128,000 Period. Car accident settlement with cervical soft tissue injury, $20,000 Ongoing bouts of dizziness. But despite their small size, they balance a whole lot of weight. The cost of this surgical procedure was greater than $33,000. Damage to the spinal cord or discs due to shearing and bending between the cervical vertebrae, physical stretching of the spinal cord or direct impingement by fractured vertebrae. The cervical spine is your neck, from the base of your skull to your shoulder blades. Rear end bus accident settlement with cervical disc injury, $2,760,000 Loss of cervical lordosis is a diagnostic finding most often seen on MRI reports in association with chronic neck pain. Accessed Jan. 8, 2018. 2016 May;89(1061):20150996. Having two avenues for filing could increase your settlement amount. If the at-fault driver was working when the accident occurred, such as in the UPS example above, you might be able to file a claim against their employer as well. The following three major injury types can occur to the neck and cervical spine following a car accident: Fracturing of the cervical vertebrae and damage/rupturing of the ligaments and soft tissue that link the vertebrae together. A bulging disc occurs when the outer cartilage of the spinal disc cracks, revealing its soft center. In this article, we will present our clinical findings and observations on how the treatment of cervical ligament damage may be the answer that has eluded them. Yes. Consider this if a law firm has 30 cases and each case has over a million dollar potential, whose case will that law firm spend extra time on, your $10,000 case, or someone elses $1,000,000 case? Journal of Spine Surgery. You can recover from your initial symptoms of a whiplash injury within a few weeks of the accident occurring. This is because of the unique nature of each accident, injury, and individual. $900K Rear-End Car Accident Settlement for a New York photographer hit by a truck at a stop sign. Median: $320,000. Article Author: This law article was written by attorney Ray Benyamin, Esquire. Tractor-trailer accident settlement with cervical disc injury, $270,000 Spinal cord injuries range from cord pressure and bruising to partial or total paralysis. $3,500,000 This can lead to shoulder pain, numbness, and pins and needles, and can even affect the movement of . Yes. There is no right or wrong answer, only a right or wrong answer for you and where you are in your life. What does this mean? Paralysis is forever. The severity of the injury refers to the extent of the injury itself as well as the healing time. The cost of physical therapy in that case was a bit over $7,000. He suffered C4-5 and C5-6 protrusions and spondylosis. They tell the story of a bad whiplash that reversed their cervical spine lordosis. Even if you dont feel as if the level of pain that youre suffering warrants a trip to a doctor or emergency room, you should still seek an opinion from a medical professional. Tell your doctors, physical therapists, and chiropractors everything you are suffering through so they can document it for your case. Just like you, we want to make sure you are a good fit for our clinic prior to accepting your case. A statute of limitations is a time limit placed by courts that determines how long a victim has to filea civil lawsuitor take action against the individual who harmed them. The disc herniation itself can cause pain and swelling, but the aggravation to surrounding nerves can create a tingling, burning, and stabbing sensation. With a national reach, we invite you to contact us for help. Copyright 2023 attorney advertisement by Injury Advocates Group and licensed, practicing attorney Ray Benyamin, Esquire. Are you a chronic pain expert? The resulting damage caused the victim to be unable to return to work and created intense feelings of stress, depression, and chronic anxiety. . There are instances in which a direct injury to the cervical spine or injury due to persistent muscle spasms may change the degree of the neck curvature. Cervical spine injuries can range widely, from strains and sprains to paralysis. The answer is also yes. A strong attorney-client relationship can help you properly price lost wages and determine your accidents impact on future income, so you can receive the compensation you deserve. Loss of cervical lordosis from a car accident. As the disks dehydrate and shrink, signs of osteoarthritis develop, including bony projections along the edges of bones (bone spurs). Before searching for cervical spine injury settlement amounts, its important to fully understand the types of damages that can be included in an injury claim. pattismith said: There is a significant relationship between cervical muscle imbalance, including extensor muscle weakness, and loss of cervical lordosis. More common causes of cervical lordosis are: Postural changes: A change in the curvature can happen over time with habitually poor posture when standing, frequent weightlifting . This is why its crucial to receive medical attention immediately after the incident, even if youre not experiencing significant pain. addresses the question of whiplash trauma and acceleration of degenerative disc disease. Car accident settlement with cervical disc injury, $100,000 If you are 100% better, or think you are, wait another 30-60 days and see how you feel. Once you give them this and they discover hurtful information, there is no undoing that. We fight the insurance company and do whatever it takes to get you justice. With the ability to cause chronic, systemic issues later in life, untreated or misdiagnosed neck injuries resulting from car accidents can be serious and debilitating. Vehicle accident settlement with cervical fracture injury, $350,000 If pain resulting from a whiplash injury continues for more than ten weeks, it may also be an indication that there are other accompanying injuries, such as: Some researchers also believe that some persistent or worsening pain and headaches following a neck injury may be associated with a form of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and that a car accident can cause psychological stress that manifests itself in physicals symptoms. Kinematics of human cadaver cervical spine during low speed rear-end impacts. Approximate Synonyms. 38 CFR 4.16 a ( "Schedular") - To be eligible for this form of TDIU, the veteran will need to have one condition rated at minimum 60 percent or two conditions that can be combined to reach at least 70 percent, with one condition being a minimum of 40 percent. In more severe cases, whiplash can cause chronic headaches, dizziness, and vertigo. Rear end truck accident settlement with cervical disc injury, $2,500,000 This case was handled by Partner Jeffrey A. Soft tissue neck injury claims are worth between $5,000 and $20,000 on average. We keep mentioning the intervertebral discs in this article, and for good reason. This needs to be kept in mind when claiming whiplash after a car accident, because the neck injury lawsuit settlement should match your injuries. Claims involving both the cervical spine and the thoracolumbar spine are rated under the same general rating formula. Violent collisions may damage one or more spinal discs, causing a bulge or disc herniation. Along with this injury came the new onset of symptoms of headaches, vertigo, vision problems, anxiety, blood pressure problems, and other neurologic and cardiovascular-like symptoms. Cervical lordosis loss causes severe pain, discomfort and affects the patient's ability for normal movement of the neck and shoulders. . Neck injury lawsuits are typically filed when car accident victims do not receive enough from an insurance claim to cover medical costs, lost wages, property damage, and other expenses. If youve experienced a neck injury from a car, truck, ormotorcycle accident, err on the side of caution and contact a reputable car accident lawyer in your area. The settlement was the result of a personal injury lawsuit that was filed after the client was in a low-impact, rear-end, car accident. Unlike minor injuries, an injury that requires spinal fusion surgery averages more than $200,000. If you give up work permanently or even on a short-term basis, the money lost through unearned wages are recoverable. In the image below are x-rays of a lordotic curve (correct neck curvature) and the gradual loss of lordosis to a straightening or military curve, an eventual reverse curve or Kyphotic curve, and eventual reverse of the reverse curve the S curve signifying cervical spine instability. This is to rule out that you do not have an acute injury (a serious injury), such as a neck fracture. Not to mention, a spinal cord injury can make lifting, reaching, bending, or twisting impossible. These claims result from automobile accidents, slip and falls, wrongful death incidents, homeowners insurance, work injury, construction accident, trip and fall . When you go to the hospital following a car accident, they will often do an x-ray. As a result, they settle early on for a nominal amount making their whiplash claims payout average much lower than it could be. . This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine is from $55,000.00 to $300,000.00 or more if spinal fusion is needed and results in complications. Cervical spondylosis is the natural wearing down of cartilage, disks, ligaments and bones in your neck. For instance, an injury that requires minimal treatment and recovery time will average roughly $25,000. What they found was the existence of an association between the constitutional sagittal alignment of the cervical spine and the outcome after whiplash injuries. In other words, the curvature of the cervical spine is a factor in if patients would recover from a whiplash injury. To find out what you might be able to claim for your neck injury, schedule a free consultation with one of our lawyers via email or the contact form below. Herniated cervical discs at C3-4, C4-5, C5-6 and C6-7 with positive compression and cervical radiculopathy. A pinched nerve in the shoulder occurs when a nerve is compressed or irritated anywhere along its path, from the nerve root where it emerges from the cervical spine to the area in the shoulder it supplies. So, the settlement amount for any one motor vehicle accident must be decided on a case-by-case basis. These are all factors that are part of the mechanism of your neck injury and understanding them better will be a part of how to make a stronger claim for whiplash after a car accident. Can the straightening of the cervical spine lead to a worsening or delayed development of whiplash-related symptoms. Not surprisingly, a lot of these outcomes stem from car accident injury cases: "Valuing" a personal injury case in this context often means coming up with a best guess at what a jury might award the person who is suing for a neck injury (the plaintiff), and then estimating: Regardless of which side is doing the calculating, the two big factors in valuing these kinds of cases are the extent of the plaintiff's injuries and other losses ("damages" in legalese) and how likely the jury is to find the defendant at fault for the accident that led to the neck injury. A fracture can heal in a few months. Later in the article, I will explain how the Rectifier works. Estimating the potential recovery with any degree of accuracy is quite difficult for one main reason: at trial, it will most likely be a jury that ultimately decides just how much money the defendant must pay the injured plaintiff. A cervical vertebrae injury is the most severe of all spinal cord injuries because the higher up in the spine an injury occurs, the more damage that . Loss of cervical lordosis meaning is referred to as the condition in which the cervical curve arches too far inward. $250,000 settlement for aggravation of a pre-existing neck injury in a car accident. The story of Goldilocks and the three bears is analogous. An insurance adjuster will consider how much damage was done to the vehicles involved in the car accident before making a settlement offer, check whether the claimants injury shows up on an x-ray or an MRI, look at how long the recovery period was, and whether the neck injury is permanent. Firstly, you have the loss of cervical lordosis. A paper in the Spine Journal (3) examined the significance of cervical sagittal alignment in people who did not recover well or at all from a whiplash injury and found the existence of an association between the constitutional (the functioning) sagittal alignment of the cervical spine and the outcome after whiplash injuries. We may also prescribe exercises to strengthen neck support or ergonomic practices to help you control your cervical alignment at work. The second reason the all in approach often is not an option is it takes a lot of time. Yes, whiplash can be a serious injury that can cause you to have lifelong chronic pain that will require medical treatment and possibly physical therapy. If someone else caused your crash, you might be able to recover damages with a personal injury claim. A cervical spine injury can be completely life-changing, creating emotional and physical trauma as well as thousands of dollars in medical bills and lost wages. Neck disc injury cases that result in surgery average over $200,000. Our lawyers have recovered $200,000+ settlements for these types of injuries, but it is a dogged fight. Physical therapy, such as neck exercises or traction, may provide pain relief and help restore a normal neck curve. This includes becoming . Along the way, spinal cord injury victims may have several complications, including infection, bleeding blood clots, and pneumonia. Your spine is composed of several different types of soft tissue, including muscles, tendons, ligaments, and nerves. The first two injury types are typically caused by an excess of bending, shearing or displacements produced by force pushing the head and neck away from your upper body. You need to find that perfectly balanced bowl of porridge when hiring a law firm, one that aligns with your interests and potential case value. When you are in a car accident hit from behind and whiplash is suspected, getting proper diagnostics is important. Richard Staehler, MD, Cervical Herniated Disc Symptoms and Treatment Options, Spine-Health, July 2019, Sandoz, A review of neck injury and protection in vehicle accidents,Transportation Safety and Environment, Volume 1, Issue 2, 1 November 2019, Pages 89105, National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, Facts & Figures, Updated 2019, Paige Bierma, Whiplash, HealthyDay, December 31, 2019. Filing an injury claimallows you to sue the responsible party and/or their insurance company to recoup your damages. A 34-year-old man was rear-ended by a police officer. Just like the thoracic and lumbar spine, the cervical spine is incredibly vulnerable to injury during a car crash. According to clinical research and empirical evidence. $1,200,000 settlement for aggravation of pre-existing neck injury, requiring surgery, after plaintiff rear-ended in an, what the person being sued (the defendant) would be willing to pay, and. What they do know is that they are getting a lot of injections and adjustments and nothing seems to be helping them. northern echo archives deaths; devonta smith rookie card; world's 101 best steak restaurants. We are an out-of-network provider. Jaw pain. Medical bills and future medical expenses, including home care, Surgeries, such as discectomies, fusions, and laminectomies, Steroid and/or pain injections to reduce pain and swelling. 2 Teo AQ, Thomas AC, Hey HW. Mechanism of injury is the medical explanation of what happens structurally to your body during a traumatic event which caused your injury. During a collision in which a high level of impact occurs, the intervertebral discs in the cervical spine may slip out of place from between vertebrae and cause the injured disc to compress nerves in the spinal cord. We hope you found this article informative and it helped answer many of the questions you may have surrounding Whiplash associated disorders, Craniocervical Instability, upper cervical spine instability, cervical spine instability, or simply problems related to neck pain. It is best for an attorney to help you navigate this and help you make a decision versus taking the first offer that you are given. Ultimately, those who have whiplash injuries have been often shown to have poor quality of life long after their accidents. Throughout the insurance claim or lawsuit process, you must provide a plethora of evidence, give a detailed breakdown of all damages (special and general), and establish liability. walmart stabbing victim; google financial analyst salary london. Many cervical spine injury victims question whether they need an attorney from a reputable law firm to guide them through the settlement process. Whiplash is one form of soft tissue neck injury. A cervical spinal cord injury may also lead to bleeding, blood clots, and infections, such as pneumonia. Continued. The timeline for healing, as well as the amount of medical treatment required during the healing process, directly impacts your potential settlement amount. After suffering a cervical spine injury, you likely have dozens of questionsamong the first may be how to reclaim the damages youre owed.
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