A back injury, especially one that affects the spinal column, is a serious matter. Back pain is a leading cause of disability, stopping many people in the prime of their lives from earning a living.
If you have suffered a back injury in a car accident that was not your fault, you might be wondering, “How much is the average back injury settlement?” You could be awarded compensation for your back injury and the impact it has had on your life. While the compensation any one individual may receive would depend on many factors, we would expect a back injury settlement to range from $10,000 to $100,000. Because of some multi-million-dollar settlements, one database of verdicts and settlements found that the median plaintiff’s verdict award for motor vehicle cases that involved back injuries is $212,500. Every one of these cases is unique and there is a large number of factors that determine the value of a case. Of course, another consideration is now much insurance coverage is available for the claim.
Joye Law Firm can help you seek the compensation you need if you have suffered a significant back injury in a car accident in South Carolina. You may face high medical costs, lost income, ongoing pain, and emotional distress due to a car accident back injury. You should not have to cope with these costs on your own if someone else’s negligence caused the car accident.
Our South Carolina accident lawyers have been helping individuals and families whose lives have been disrupted by car accidents for over 50 years. Contact us at 888-324-3100 or online for a free discussion of how we can help you.
Why Work with Our Experienced Back Injury Lawyers?
After you have suffered a back injury in a car accident, the insurance company has three options for dealing with your claim:
- Pay your claim as demanded
- Reject your claim and pay you nothing
- Offer you a settlement that is lower than your demand
Typically, an insurance adjuster will offer a settlement for a back injury based on the company’s prior payments and statistics about back injuries and patients who fit your profile (age, income, lifestyle, life expectancy, etc.). It will not be based on your specific case and will almost certainly be less than the maximum available to you.
Joye Law Firm can help you make a case for all of the compensation you deserve to receive. Our South Carolina personal injury attorneys have over 300 years of combined legal experience. We know that there is no such thing as a “typical” car crash or back injury. We will compile the evidence and submit a demand to insurers for a settlement that fairly pays for the back injury and losses that you have suffered.
We can ensure you get the medical care you need, including referring you to doctors, specialists, and therapists. Our legal professionals can document all that you go through as you recover, especially the costs. As we tend to a thousand little details, you can concentrate on your medical care.
We understand insurance law and how to deal with insurance companies that use the “deny, delay, and defend” approach to claims. Our goal is to cut through the insurance red tape and see that your medical bills and other costs are paid. You can rely on our long history of successful results in claims just like yours.
What Are Factors that Can Affect Your Back Injury Settlement?
The primary factor affecting the value of a back injury claim is the seriousness of your injury. Back injuries can range from serious lower-back muscle strains to spinal cord injuries that cause paralysis.
A spinal cord injury that results in paralysis is a life-long disabling injury. The lifetime costs of a spinal cord injury can easily run into millions of dollars, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center.
Other back injuries that can occur in a car accident, in order of seriousness, include:
- Spinal fractures
- Herniated discs
- Whiplash
- Other soft tissue injuries, like tendon and muscle strains
Another factor that can affect the potential value of your back injury settlement is the amount of your medical expenses. You may pay for expenses like:
- Hospitalization
- Surgery
- Spinal traction
- Physical therapy
- Steroid injections
- Prescription pain medications
When a client has suffered a permanent back injury, we work to project future medical costs and, when appropriate, future lost wages. We may have a nurse consultant complete a medical costs projection or work with consultants who prepare life care plans. A life care plan is a comprehensive assessment of the injured person’s future needs related to a disabling injury. These plans cover the costs of future medical treatment and ongoing needs, such as medication or assistive equipment, and other economic losses, such as the need to hire someone else to complete tasks like yardwork or provide personal assistance to the injured person.
The next largest factor in a back injury settlement is typically loss of wages and/or income. You may have the right to lost income compensation if your back injury prevents you from returning to your job or to the same kind of work, resulting in your having to take a lower-paying job.
A demand for a lost income payment should include raises that you would have received if you had not been injured. Your demand can also include the value of lost benefits, such as retirement plan contributions, stock options, and similar losses.
If a back injury claim goes to court, a jury could also award noneconomic damages for your:
- Pain, suffering, and inconvenience
- Mental anguish and emotional distress
- Loss of society and companionship, due to your inability to participate in activities you once enjoyed
- Loss of quality or enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium and the loss of an intimate relationship with your spouse
Let Our Attorneys Help with Your Back Injury Claim
Our attorneys will fight to get the compensation you are entitled to for back injuries you have suffered in a car accident. Before accepting any settlement offers or signing any documents presented to you by insurance company representatives, contact the Joye Law Firm. The South Carolina personal injury and workers’ compensation attorneys of Joye Law Firm have been securing compensation for accident victims since 1968.
Contact Joye Law Firm today at 888-324-3100 or online. You’ll pay no fee unless we recover compensation for you.
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