How much is my settlement worth? This is a question that many people ask when they are considering filing for a cervical spine injury settlement. However, the answer to this question can vary depending on the severity of your injury and what you have experienced.
With the average settlement for cervical spine injuries being around $1 million, it’s not surprising. If you have been injured in an accident and believe you may be entitled to a settlement, then this article may be a great read for you.
In this blog post, we will discuss the frequently asked questions about cervical spine injury settlements so that you can get an idea of how much money you might be entitled to.
Table of Contents
What is a cervical spine injury?
A cervical spine injury can happen due to an accident or traumatic event that causes damage to the neck and spinal cord. Some common symptoms include numbness, tingling, weakness in limbs, and pain in the shoulders and back.
Cervical spine injuries are very severe because they affect your ability to move around freely and feel sensations properly throughout your body.
A spinal cord injury can occur in many different ways and result in complete or incomplete injury. A cervical spine injury occurs when the neck is injured, and this can happen from a car accident, a slip-and-fall incident, an assault case such as a gunshot wound to the head that manages to injure the cervical spine in some way.
How much compensation will I get for a cervical spine injury?
The range of amounts awarded in typical cervical spine injury settlements is between $100,000 up to $200,000. There are other factors that may enhance or lower the amount of money you receive in your cervical spine injury settlement.
Therefore, it’s important to work with an experienced personal injury attorney who can provide insight on your case and what type of compensation is reasonable.
Factors affecting the amount in your cervical spine injury settlement
- The severity of your cervical injury
The severity of the cervical injury and how much it costs to get treatment will impact your settlement amount. If you broke a handful of bones in your cervical spine, then there is a high likelihood that the case will go before a jury.
This means that multiple members of the community would be involved in the decision-making process. If you have a high medical bill, this will also be considered when determining your cervical injury settlement amount.
- The amount of time it takes for you to recover
Your cervical spine injury may take several months before you can return to work and/or school. The judge will likely consider this when determining your cervical injury settlement amount because they know that you may not be able to resume working or go back to class for a few months after getting injured in an accident.
- How much pain and suffering do you experience because of your injuries
If your injury causes you much pain and suffering, the judge is more likely to give your case higher cervical spine settlement amounts. It can be very hard for others to understand how much mental anguish someone goes through when they are in constant pain because of their injuries.
If your cervical injury has caused you these types of problems, it would be helpful to include this information in your case.
- How long it will take before you can return to work or school after getting injured
It is important to keep in mind that cervical spine injury settlement amounts are not the same for everyone. Everyone’s case and injuries are different, which means every person will get a different amount of money for their pain and suffering.
The average time it takes before someone can return to work or school after receiving an injury depends on how severe your cervical spine injury is. The more severe your injury, the longer you will likely end up being out of work or school.
If a judge rules in favor of your case, they are likely to base their decision on the medical evidence and reports you present. The judge will then use your cervical injury settlement amount to determine how much money they think is fair for both parties involved in the case.
How much should I settle for a neck injury?
The average settlement includes money to cover medical bills, pain, and suffering, future treatment needs. These include physical therapy or surgery, loss of earning capacity if you cannot return to work, lost income due to inability to work, and future medical care.
How much do insurance companies pay for neck injuries?
Typically, insurance companies pay an average of $250k for neck injuries. However, the amount can vary depending on the severity of your injury and other factors.
How much is a neck fusion settlement?
A neck fusion settlement can range from $30,000 to as much as three times that amount. To get a better idea of what your cervical spine injury could be worth, give us a call, and we will help you determine an average payout for different types of injuries.
What is the average settlement for a spinal injury?
You or a loved one may be eligible for financial compensation if they have suffered from spinal cord injuries. Spinal Cord Injuries are serious and can cause significant medical bills and lost wages due to complications during the rehabilitation process that insurance companies do not cover unless another party’s negligence causes it.
You shouldn’t financially burden yourself alone, especially when other people need help more than capable of doing so themselves. The average settlement amount for a cervical spine injury is between $100,000 up to $200,000.
What is a fair settlement for pain and suffering?
This can be answered by an insurance company negotiator or your attorney. A fair settlement would also include compensation for any future medical bills that might be incurred due to the injury and the loss of income if you are unable to work again because of your injuries.
They will consider the medical bills, compensation needed for future needs such as caretakers, and loss of income if you cannot work again due to your injuries. However, if you feel there has been no improvement in your symptoms after a year or so, you can request a reevaluation by your doctor.
You can also include any emotional suffering that has been caused as a result of the injury, and settlement negotiations should reflect this as well. The amount will vary from case to case, but your attorney needs to consider all cases when negotiating with insurance companies on average cervical spine injury settlements.
The average settlement for cervical spine injuries can be anywhere from $12,000 to $120,000 depending on the severity of your injury and other factors such as if you were a child or adult when you suffered this type of accident. If any future medical bills need to be taken into account, these might increase the settlement amount.
What are the most common injuries associated with cervical spine injury settlement amounts?
The three damages that come up in almost every case of a cervical spine injury are paralysis, quadriplegia, and paraplegia. These disabilities can be very costly for someone who has to deal with them both now and into the future.
For example, if you are paralyzed, your settlement will take into account the cost of therapy and future medical expenses.
The most common cause of cervical spine injuries is car accidents. Other causes include slip-and-fall incidents or sports injuries. Most individuals who suffer from this type of injury end up filing suit against those at fault for causing their accident.
Cervical Spine Injury Settlement Amounts: Verdicts and Settlements
Cynthia Wentworth, 44 years
Cynthia Wentworth was involved in a car accident that left her with permanent injuries. She suffered cognitive loss and chronic headaches ever since the at-fault driver’s negligence caused this tragedy that left her with disc herniation and cervical spine injury.
After the injuries, she underwent a discectomy and cervical fusion. A jury awarded $1 million dollars ($1,135,346) to cover medical costs as well as compensate the damages on top of making the party involved financially liable, so they can’t get away easily.
Marcus Richard, California
After being involved in a car accident, 50-year old passenger Marcus Richard had to go through months of physical therapy and surgery. He suffered rib fractures and other injuries requiring chiropractic care and spinal injections for his C5-6 symptoms, which lingered after her two-level fusion procedure at St Joseph Hospital & Medical Center (Settlement).
This settlement amounted to $700K plus attorney fees paid out by defense lawyers who disputed some aspects on behalf of their client’s liability according to court records reviewed online. This shows that these types of cases need higher compensation rates.
Mike Smith, Florida, 51 yrs
After being rear-ended, Mike Smith injured his neck and lower back. He had three lumbar procedures to fix the damage: These included:
- A revision fusion (which fixes the original injury)
- Decompression surgery for more space in that area of the spine where there already isn’t enough room due to bone compression from other injuries or diseases
- A Laminectomy
Lastly came out with no job because he couldn’t work on scaffolding platforms as a painter anymore after having done so before without any problems whatsoever when it comes down to long hours painting roofs during really hot weather conditions. The case settled for $2,300,000.
Tiffany J. Smith
Tiffany J. Smith was rear-ended while on an exit ramp, and she alleges that the at-fault driver’s negligent tailgating caused her injuries.She underwent a cervical discectomy and fusion to treat her neck and spinal injuries.
Tiffany made allegations against the at-fault driver for predatory motor vehicle collisions. The court jury found the at-fault driver 100% liable due to their actions leading into a car accident after the driver hit her head first, causing neck pain and injuries to both arms, shoulders, back abdomen, and lower spine. Tiffany was awarded $1,051,800.
Do I need to hire a lawyer for cervical spine injuries?
Most people won’t need to hire a lawyer for cervical spine injuries since an experienced claim rep is likely to help you out in case of such an injury. However, if there was paralysis from the neck or spine that required surgery, then it might be worth speaking with a personal injury attorney about your cervical spinal injuries settlement amount.
You should note that if you hire a personal injury attorney, they typically take around 33% of the settlement amount. Thus, it’s important to factor this into your decision on whether or not you should use an attorney. If there wasn’t any paralysis from the neck down and no surgery was required, then most injured people will be able to settle for a cervical spine injury claim with an experienced insurance company rep.
However, you should speak to your family and friends or the people you trust the most about whether or not they think that it’s worth hiring a personal injury attorney for your settlement amount.
When it comes to this, if there was paralysis from the neck or down the spine and surgery is required, then it might be worth your time to speak with a personal injury attorney about the settlement amount for cervical spine injuries.
If you did not have surgery and there was no paralysis from the neck down, most people will settle their claim without an injury lawyer. In other cases, if there is ongoing pain that the insurance company isn’t taking seriously, then it might be important to speak with a personal injury attorney about cervical spine injuries.
Final Thoughts
When you are involved in a car accident and suffer injuries, you must file your claim as soon as possible because there may be benefits available for those who act quickly. As we mentioned earlier, regardless of whether or not someone wins their case, they will more likely have to pay attorney’s fees.
Thus, if the amount you settle for is higher than what your insurance policy covers, you need to be aware of this fact because it could leave you financially responsible for a portion of the cervical spine injury settlement amounts.
If someone has been injured in an accident and wants to file a claim, they need to be aware that they need to get all of the necessary medical attention and care. They will also want to keep track of their treatments and any bills that may have been incurred because this information can impact cervical spine injury settlement amounts down the road.
If you want more information about neck injuries or what you need to know about cervical spine injury settlement amounts, then call a personal injury attorney in your area today.
Resources
- Spinal Cord Injury: https://www.aans.org/en/Patients/Neurosurgical-Conditions-and-Treatments/Spinal-Cord-Injury
- Spinal Cord Injury: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/spinal-cord-injury/symptoms-causes/syc-20377890
- Number and cost of claims linked to minor cervical trauma in Europe: results from the comparative study by CEA, AREDOC and CEREDOC: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2556470/
