Car accidents happen every day in the United States, and often lead to serious injuries. Neck and back injuries account for some of the most common injuries caused by motor vehicle accidents, including whiplash.
Whiplash, also called whiplash-associated disorder (WAD), can happen whenever a person is involved in a car crash that causes their body to jerk forward quickly while the head stays in place. Though whiplash is common in rear-end collisions, it can also result from side-impact collisions, head-on-collisions, or other auto accidents.
Some whiplash injuries can be treated quickly and whiplash injury victims may make a full recovery within a few days or weeks. However, other back and neck injuries may last for months or years to come, especially if a person doesn’t receive adequate medical care in time.
Whiplash can result from a person being struck in their car by another motorist. When this happens, the accident victim may want to hold the at-fault driver accountable for their actions. Medical expenses, lost wages, long-term medical treatment, and other effects may lead to a need for compensation.
Learn about the average whiplash settlement amount for a neck or back injury after a car accident and how to file a whiplash injury claim with the help of a personal injury lawyer.
What Is The Average Whiplash Settlement Amount?
Whiplash injury settlements will be unique according to each claimant. First, different factors will affect how much you will receive for your whiplash injury, like the severity of your injury and how it affected your life.
The type of injury will also play a role. If you suffered a serious back or neck injury that will cause you permanent disability, make you unable to work, or alter your life in other ways, you may receive a higher settlement offer.
Who was at fault for the car accident will also affect your settlement amount. When one driver is completely at fault for an accident because they failed to exercise proper care for other drivers on the road, this is known as negligence. Personal injury cases, such as those involving whiplash, must be able to prove negligence was a factor.
A court will determine a whiplash injury settlement offer that reflects the extent of your injuries and the way they have impacted your life.
Average whiplash settlement amounts may range from:
- $10,000 to $100,000 for minor neck and back injuries
- $1 million to $5 million or more for life-altering whiplash injuries or permanent disability
An experienced whiplash injury lawyer can provide you an estimate for how much you may win in a whiplash injury case.
There is no way to know exactly how much you will win a whiplash settlement offer, but a personal injury attorney with experience in this practice area can help you understand an average range for how much your case may be worth.
Factors That Affect Your Whiplash Settlement Offer
Whiplash injury claims 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 from a car accident. Filing an injury claim allows the whiplash injury victim to sue the responsible party and/or their insurance company for damages.
Many factors will be taken into account when determining your injury settlement, such as the following:
Severity Of The Injury
Nearly every personal injury settlement will be affected by the severity of the injury. If you had any broken bones or if whiplash will lead to chronic pain, this can affect your settlement amount. Broken bones may cause a person to miss work, resulting in lost wages and possibly unpaid bills.
The severity of your whiplash injury can also impact your life on a short-term or long-term basis. A broken bone may heal up in a few months to a year. However, more severe back or neck injuries can affect your life permanently and may result in a higher settlement offer.
What Your Whiplash Injury Has Cost You
A serious injury to the neck or back can cause physical pain, affect your earning capacity, or lead to permanent disability.
If you can never return to your career due to an injury, this will be taken into account in your payout. Medical bills can mount quickly for a severe whiplash injury. Whether you needed x-rays, MRIs, or other costly exams, surgeries, or medical procedures can affect your settlement offer.
How long you had to be out of work, how long it takes you to recover, if you are expected to make a full recovery, and if you had unpaid expenses during your recovery will also have an impact on your settlement value.
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Type Of Neck Or Back Injury
Car accidents can lead to numerous whiplash-related injuries.
Common injuries in the neck and back due to a car accident include:
- sprains
- herniated disc
- broken bones
- soft tissue injury
- spinal cord injury
- chronic pain
- neck pain
- back pain
A neck sprain may heal up in a few days or weeks, whereas a spinal cord injury could take months to heal and may cause chronic pain or disable you for the rest of your life. A car accident lawyer can help you determine the ways your whiplash injury has affected your life.
Negligence
One of the most important factors in a whiplash personal injury case is negligence. Each motorist on the road has a duty of care to exercise proper caution for other drivers. When a driver breaches that duty of care, this is known as negligence.
Personal injury cases depend on negligence. Whether your car accident attorney can prove negligence in your case—and how negligent the at-fault driver was—will affect your whiplash injury payout.
Average Injury Settlements After A Car Accident
Our personal injury lawyers can help you file a claim for damages caused by whiplash after a car accident. Florin|Roebig law firm serves personal injury clients in areas throughout the state of Florida.
Just some of our awarded payouts for car accident settlements include:
- $1.75 million: auto accident injury
- $2.3 million: car accident wrongful death
- $1.8 million: trucking accident/negligence
- $4 million: rental car company liability
- $1.5 million: delivery van negligence
When you or a loved one are ready to file a whiplash injury lawsuit to secure your own payout, consider working with the law offices of Florin|Roebig. With more than 30 years of experience in personal injury law and an impressive track record, we are ready to put our resources to work for you.
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Find A Whiplash Injury Lawyer Near You
Before talking to insurance adjusters after a car crash, consider calling an experienced injury lawyer. The effects of a car accident injury such as whiplash can be long-lasting, and may not be covered by a single insurance claim.
Contact Florin|Roebig law firm today for a free case evaluation to learn more about the average whiplash settlement amount and how much your personal injury case may be worth.
