A pinched nerve is a common and often very painful injury sustained by victims of auto accidents. Of course, people often ask our lawyers at FVF Law what kind of settlement they can expect for their pinched nerve after a car accident?
We can’t instantly answer that question because the estimated settlement value of any car accident will depend on many factors, many of which are unique to the individual or individuals who have been injured and the circumstances of the case.
However, if you choose to spend a little time speaking with an injury lawyer about your specific case, you can get a much better idea about what you should expect for your pinched nerve car accident settlement.
How Do We Determine the Value of a Pinched Nerve Car Accident Settlement?
There are too many unique factors present in any car accident case to be able to establish a static formula for accurately valuing a pinched nerve or other neck injury claim without gathering quite a bit of information. However, there are a few primary considerations to keep in mind when trying to assess the dollar value of a neck injury, such as a pinched nerve.
This should assist you, should you be looking to determine the potential of your own car accident case, and to establish some context for the value of a pinched nerve car accident settlement. This should also help you make decisions that can increase the settlement value of your pinched nerve case and avoid insurance pitfalls that many people fall into.
Our lawyers have gotten pinched nerve settlements for many clients, ranging from a thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars because we know what to look for and how to properly handle a case.
The primary factors involved in determining the settlement value of any pinched nerve case include the extent of your pinched nerve injury, how the pinched nerve has impacted your quality of life, whether the pinched nerve will result in permanent symptoms, pain and impairment, the future medical costs associated with treating your pinched nerve, how clear it is that the other driver or party was at fault for causing your pinched nerve, whether you have any history of similar injuries, and how much insurance or other resources are available to recover from.
In sum, more serious pinched nerve injuries clearly caused by people with larger insurance policies or assets will command a larger settlement.
However, with the assistance and guidance of a qualified personal injury lawyer, many of these factors can be better proven to increase your pinched nerve settlement.
Estimating Quality of Life Damages for a Pinched Nerve
Many of our clients are concerned about how they will be compensated for their non-economic damages, or the losses they face because of the change in their quality of life because of a pinched nerve caused by a car accident.
This is probably the most difficult part of a pinched nerve injury case to calculate. In our experience, the most important factors include: how much pain the pinched nerve is causing, and how frequently that pain occurs, how effective medical care has been to reducing or eliminating the pinched nerve symptoms, and how the pinched nerve injury is impairing your ability to perform daily functions, work, or hobbies.
Because everybody has a different pain tolerance, and pinched nerve injuries can vary so greatly in severity, each case must be evaluated on its own merits.
For example, a person who leads a very active lifestyle and has dedicated their lives to physical fitness that suffers permanent impairment in their ability to exercise because of a pinched nerve should expect a higher pinched nerve car accident settlement than someone who leads a sedentary lifestyle.
Or, someone who is a violinist who is no longer able to hold or play their musical instrument because of their pinched nerve can prove how the pinched nerve has dramatically lowered their quality of life.
These are the types of losses that insurance companies and juries take very seriously, and compensate well.
Often, proving how the pinched nerve has impacted your quality of life involves talking with your friends, family, and co-workers for an accurate, objective narrative of the changes.
Photographs and videos of prior activities that you used to be able to do, but can no longer do, can further illustrate the real losses that you have suffered because of the pinched nerve injury.
The better picture that can be painted of your losses, the better chance you will have of securing an exceptional pinched nerve car accident settlement.
Proving Legal Liability Is Essential
Finally, another major factor in valuing a pinched nerve car accident settlement is based on the likelihood that the other party or parties can be found liable at trial. That will depend greatly on how much evidence you have that proves the defendant was at fault for the car accident that led to your pinched nerve neck injuries.
The value of the case goes up in proportion to the level of fault you can prove. Since Texas is a comparative fault state, you have to be able to prove the other party or parties were more than 50 percent liable. If you were more than 50 percent responsible for causing the car accident, then you will not be able to recover any compensation for your pinched nerve injury.
So, liability of the other parties, compared to your own responsibility for causing the car accident, can have a major impact on your pinched nerve car accident settlement.
This is why it is incredibly important to consider talking to a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after your car accident. Making informed decisions about who you talk to and what you say, especially to insurance companies, can make a significant difference in the outcome of your case.
Also, a qualified personal injury lawyer with sufficient resources, like FVF Law, can conduct a thorough investigation of how the car accident happened, increasing your chances of proving liability falls on the other parties.
How We Deal with Insurance Companies in Austin, TX
Always remember who you are dealing with. Insurance companies profit by paying out as little as possible on claims, including pinched nerve injury claims like yours. Insurance adjusters are trained to effectively convince you to settle your case for less, oftentimes before you have properly determined the full extent of your pinched nerve injury.
It is common for insurance adjusters to make you feel like they are making a reasonable offer, such as one that includes payment of your medical bills for some defined period of time plus an additional amount for inconvenience.
This is a tactic designed to get you to commit to a settlement before you know the full extent of your pinched nerve injury, and can save the insurance company tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars at your expense.
So, beware of any insurance adjuster offering to settle your pinched nerve injury claim too early on, and strongly consider spending thirty minutes or less consulting, for free, with a personal injury lawyer at FVF Law to learn whether the pinched nerve settlement being offered is a fair one.
Our goal at FVF Law is to take the time to educate you as early as possible so you can understand your rights and options, which will allow you to make informed decisions and maximize your recovery.
We will help you understand your options for getting medical care for your pinched nerve, and help make sure you take the time to fully develop your case, which is necessary to maximize your recovery.
When we deal with insurance companies, we make it very clear to them that we are not going to consider settling your case early, or until we have taken the time to fully investigate the case, and fully understand the extent of your short- and long-term harms and losses associated with your pinched nerve injury.
This means proving your future medical costs and proving how your pinched nerve will impact your quality of life. If the insurance company refuses to offer a fair settlement, we will file a lawsuit and prepare to take the case to a jury trial, if that is the path you want us to go down.
We assure you the decisions you make will be informed, and will be tailored to accommodate your specific wishes and expectations.
How Long Do Pinched Nerve Car Accident Settlements Take in Austin, TX?
As stated earlier, every pinched nerve car accident case is unique. Just as the amount of a settlement is heavily based on a variety of unique circumstances, so is the amount of time it will take to reach a settlement.
Here are some of the reasons your pinched nerve car accident settlement may take additional time.
- The cause of the accident. As with any personal injury case, it is essential that your attorney proves negligence. In order to ensure that your case is as solid as possible, your legal team will need to determine the cause of the accident and effectively prove who is at fault. This investigation process can vary depending on a variety of circumstances, such as who was involved in the accident, what kind of accident caused the injury, and what evidence is available to support your claim.
- The severity of your injuries. Not all pinched nerve injuries are created equal. Not only do victims experience pinched nerve pain at varying severity, but nerve pain impacts the quality of life in different ways. For instance, an athlete will likely experience a greater decrease in quality of life following a pinched nerve injury than someone who works in an office. Your legal team will need to assess how your injury affects your life, livelihood, long-term health, and ability to work to assess total damages and get an adequate settlement.
- The other party’s compliance. Pinched nerve claims as a result of car accidents can be greatly affected by how compliant the at-fault party and their insurer is. Should you find yourself up against a big corporation or an at-fault party that is non-responsive, your settlement will likely take longer.
- The litigation process and trial. Although not all pinched nerve cases will go to trial, victims should always prepare themselves for the possibility of a long fight. In addition to the potential of going to trial, your case could necessitate a lengthy negotiation process between your lawyer and the representation of the at-fault party.
Why You Need a Skilled Attorney by Your Side
Pinched nerve injuries can vary greatly in severity, and it is your burden to prove the extent to which your pinched nerve injury is causing and will continue causing harm and losses. Proving the full extent of your financial and non-financial losses flowing from a pinched nerve injury is part art, part science.
The lawyers at FVF Law have handled hundreds of neck injury cases, and have a deep understanding of how pinched nerve injuries work, and how to prove the long-term consequences of these serious car accident injuries.
Contact Our Austin Auto Accident Lawyers To Handle Your Car Accident Settlement
If you seek guidance from FVF Law, we will make sure you are taking the appropriate steps to fully prove your neck injury case, and advocate to secure you the maximum car accident settlement based on the circumstances of your case.
We will make sure to identify all potentially responsible parties and sources of recovery, so we make sure you are not settling for less than you should.
We can make sure you understand your options for getting medical care, and help you identify the best medical doctors in the community for treating your pinched nerve injury.
Do not hesitate to contact us for a consultation and case evaluation. This will not cost you anything but time, and we will not pressure you to hire us. However, you will walk away from that consultation understanding your rights and options, and much better equipped to handle the road ahead.
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