$2.16 Million for Car Accident Head Injury
In this article I will discuss the personal injury settlement received for a car accident head injury claim. I will give you a brief description of the case and an analysis of the final compensation received.
You can then apply the same analysis to your own settlement claim.
Personal Injury Settlement Case : Head Injury
Accident Settlement Received :
$2.16 Million
Car Accident Description:
A 48 year old woman was driving a Chrysler minivan when she was rear ended by another vehicle. The accident caused her seat back to collapse and she struck her head on the seat behind her.
Personal Injuries:
As a result of the accident, the woman suffered the following injuries:
- Head injury with post-concussion syndrome
- Traumatic brain injury
- Jaw dysfunction
- Herniated cervical disks
- Shoulder impingement requiring surgery
The injuries resulted in this woman experiencing visual disturbances, balance problems, hearing loss, and depression. She had difficulty with normal daily activities and was permanently disabled.
Personal Injury Settlement Result:
The woman sued the manufacturer of the minivan and alleged that the vehicle was un-crashworthy. The jury awarded her $2.16 Million and found the manufacturer 60% at fault and the other driver 40% at fault.
Analysis
This woman received a 7 figure claim settlement. Why? Because her case had 2 main elements of all large settlement cases:
- She suffered serious and life changing personal injuries.
- She was not at fault for her accident.
As I’ve talked about before in which injuries pay the highest settlement amount, head injuries tend to result in large claim settlements. This is because the consequences of head injuries can be quite serious and highly unpredictable.
A head injury can have a variety of permanent consequences. It can affect the way you think, act, feel, move etc. A head injury can basically change everything about you in a matter of seconds!
The unpredictability of a head injuries also explains for the large settlement. Symptoms can re-occur in the future and further cause the victim more pain and suffering.
In this example, the head injury caused the woman to have difficulty with basic tasks such as balancing, hearing and seeing. The accident significantly reduced her present quality of life and there is no guarantee that she will ever fully recover from her injuries.
In this situation it’s not hard to argue and convince a jury the level of pain and suffering this woman is currently experiencing and may continue to experience.
The other major factor is that the accident was not her fault. She was able to show that the car manufacturer and the other driver were at fault for her accident. Which meant that her final settlement amount would not be reduced due to her negligence.
Conclusion
Not every injury claim will result in a 7 figure settlement. However it’s still useful to look at these types of cases to understand how to assess your own accident claim.
In this personal injury settlement, the woman suffered serious head injuries, required major surgery, and was permanently affected by the accident. Her pain and suffering is obvious and easy to prove with medical reports.
In addition, she was not at fault for her accident so that further increased her odds of getting a high settlement.
When you are trying to assess your own injury settlement I want you to ask yourself:
- Are my injuries serious?
- Are there long term consequences?
- Can I clearly show signs of pain suffering?
- Did my injuries require medical care such as surgery, pain medications, repeat visits to doctors?
- Were my medical bills really high?
- Was I responsible for the accident?
Asking yourself these questions will give you a realistic assessment of your what your accident claim is potentially worth.
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