What Are Typical Pinched Nerve Settlements?

There is no typical pinched nerve settlement as every personal injury case is unique. The amount you could recover for a compressed nerve depends on the location and impact of the injury, the facts of your accident, and your financial damages. Moreover, the future prognosis for your pinched nerve can also play a role in calculating a fair settlement amount. 

If someone else caused your painful and debilitating pinched nerve, they should make you “whole” again and pay for your damages. Morgan & Morgan is here to help injured victims get what they deserve. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation to clarify your legal options. 

How to Determine the Worth of a Pinched Nerve 

Most personal injury victims do not only suffer a pinched nerve injury but have additional injuries and damages. Therefore, there is no such thing as a typical pinched nerve settlement. However, personal injury claimants could receive economic and non-economic damages after a significant nerve injury. 

Economic Damages for Nerve Injuries 

In most types of accidents that cause compressed nerves, whether a slip and fall or a car crash, victims incur economic damages, such as:

• Medical expenses, including hospital stays and surgery
• Medication costs
• Transport expenses
• Medical devices such as wheelchairs or crutches
• Rehabilitation expenses, such as physical therapy
• Lost wages and potential future lost income
• Miscellaneous expenses

Non-Economic Damages for Pinched Nerves

The pain, suffering, and discomfort victims experience with a pinched nerve could exceed their medical costs and make up a considerable amount of their final settlement. Those suffering from a severe or permanent nerve injury may no longer be able to partake in activities and hobbies they enjoyed before the accident. Victims could seek compensation for such non-economic losses, including:

• Pain and anguish
• Emotional distress
• Inconvenience
• Loss of life enjoyment
• Disability

Assessing your economic and non-economic damages adequately, including future expected losses, can be tricky without the help of a skilled personal injury attorney. Therefore, if you experience a nerve injury due to another’s negligence or willful action, seek legal help and assistance as soon as possible. Our experienced personal injury attorneys are ready to assess your specific case, determine your options, and move forward with a claim. 

Factors That Can Impact Your Pinched Nerve Settlement

Several factors come into play when calculating an adequate settlement. The amount you could pursue for your damages can depend on the degree of fault of the responsible party, the amount of insurance cover available, and your conduct during the claims process. 

The Question of Fault

In most states, victims can recover compensation even if they have some fault for the accident. The legal term for this principle is “comparative negligence.” However, if you are partially to blame for an accident, the amount you can receive will usually be reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if your damages amount to $100,000, and you have 40 percent fault for the accident that caused your pinched nerve, you could only claim $60,000 in damages. 

Insurance Cover

Available insurance payouts can significantly depend on the type of accident that caused your pinched nerve and whether the at-fault party has sufficient insurance coverage. In some cases, such as slips and falls or a car accident, the at-fault party could have adequate insurance coverage to offer you a fair settlement. 

However, if a driver or other at-fault party lacks a comprehensive insurance policy, you might have to sue them personally for damages. You may also file a lawsuit if an insurance company refuses a payout or minimizes your claim. Victims often need the help of a personal injury attorney to assert their rights and fight for what they deserve. 

Your Conduct

Your behavior and actions during a personal injury claim or lawsuit can considerably influence your pinched nerve settlement recovery. The insurance company and at-fault party’s lawyers may try to discredit your testimony, push the blame for an accident on you, or come up with excuses to deny a comprehensive settlement. Actions you can take to increase your chances of recovery include:

• Be polite and professional throughout the legal process
• Refuse to give recorded statements to another party’s insurer
• Hire a personal injury attorney to protect your rights
• Keep the facts and circumstances of your case confidential 
• Comply with your doctor’s orders and treatment plan
• Attend all medical appointments diligently
• Follow the advice of your personal injury attorney 

Moreover, in the unlikely event that your case goes to trial, consider that a jury is more likely to side with an honest, personable, and reasonable plaintiff. 

How a Morgan & Morgan Personal Injury Attorney Can Help

In all but minor injuries and accidents, having a determined personal injury attorney in your corner can be essential. Morgan & Morgan’s personal injury attorneys can protect you, assert your legal rights, and ensure that you are not leaving any money on the table in settlement negotiations. Ways in which we can help include:

• Offering legal advice and determining your options
• Helping you get adequate medical care
• Collecting and organizing evidence to prove your case
• Calculating a fair settlement amount for your economic and non-economic damages
• Estimating your future expenses in connection with a nerve injury
• Negotiating strongly for a fair out-of-court settlement
• Fighting for what you deserve at trial, if necessary

Victims should not be pushed into settling for a lowball offer when their case is worth much more. Morgan & Morgan never settles for less. Our experienced trial attorneys know the value of your nerve injury claim and can bring your fight all the way to the courtroom. We reject pitiful settlement offers because we understand that you depend on fair compensation to put your life back together after suffering a debilitating injury. 

Examples of Pinched Nerve Settlements 

Nerve damage settlements can vary considerably depending on the circumstances and extent of the injury. Some victims may receive compensation in the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars for their medical costs and other damages. Other nerve injury settlements may reach six figures. Recent settlements and verdicts for varying degrees of nerve damage include:

• A 1.85 million settlement for a car driver who suffered a pinched nerve and herniated disc in a truck collision 
• Compensation totaling $100,000 for a slip and fall injury causing a nerve injury
• A $6 million verdict for a nerve damage birth injury leading to Erb’s palsy 

What Is a Pinched Nerve Injury?

According to the Mayo Clinic, pinched nerves occur due to too much pressure on surrounding tissues. Mildly pinched nerves usually go away by themselves. However, a more severely pinched nerve, often the result of an accident or a fall, may need extensive medical treatment and a lengthy recovery period. The signs and symptoms of a pinched or compressed nerve include: 

“Pins and Needles”

Numbness and tingling in the limb, extremity, or body area affected is one of the most common signs pointing to a pinched nerve. We all recognize the feeling of pins and needles when a leg or foot falls asleep. However, with a pinched nerve, the sensation of pins and needles might not go away or keep coming back over a long period.  

Muscle Spasms

Muscle spasms are painful involuntary contractions and tightening of muscles. They can be a classic symptom of pinched nerves. You may also feel muscle weakness together with muscle spasms in the affected body part.  

Limited Range of Motion

One of the more debilitating and troubling symptoms of a pinched nerve can be a limited range of motion in the body area affected. The feeling is similar to what we experience when a foot falls asleep and becomes temporarily unable to support our body weight. 

Pain

Pain and swelling can occur at the site of the pinched nerve. In some cases, the pain radiates outward to surrounding areas. 

What Are the Causes of Compressed Nerves? 

Pinched nerves can potentially happen in various accidents and incidents, such as falls, vehicle accidents, or work accidents. Some of the causes of pinched nerves include:  

Whiplash

Whiplash is a common rear-end car accident injury, although it can also occur in a sporting or other accident. With whiplash, the head jolts back and forth violently, causing damage to neck muscles and tendons. A moderate or severe whiplash injury can cause a painful compressed nerve. 

Herniated Disc

Herniated discs can occur with heavy lifting, car accident injuries, and other incidents.
A herniated or “slipped” disc can place severe pressure on a nearby nerve, leading to compression and a pinched nerve.  

Back and Neck Injuries

Strains or sprains of the back and neck can cause considerable swelling in the area of the injury. Since there are many nerves in the back and neck area, any swelling could cause pressure to build up and compress one or several nerves. 

A pinched nerve settlement should take into consideration the causes and circumstances of your injury. A compressed nerve rarely happens alone and is usually a secondary condition due to a primary back or neck injury. Settlements should compensate victims for the full extent of their injuries and damages.

Where Is Your Pinched Nerve Located?

The location of your compressed nerve can be a factor in determining what you could receive in a settlement. A pinched nerve can cause numbness, pain, and weakness in the affected body area. Therefore, if you experience loss of function or chronic numbness and pain in your legs or arms, you may not be able to return to work for a considerable period, if at all. Moreover, a severely pinched nerve in the neck could be virtually immobilizing and interfere with basic tasks such as bathing and dressing. 

The settlement you can pursue should take into account the location of your pinched nerve and its consequences on your work and home life. 

Is Your Pinched Nerve a Minor or Severe Injury?

What you could recover after experiencing a pinched nerve can depend on various factors, such as your actual medical expenses and the amount of suffering and pain. Crucially, your settlement can also vary depending on whether you have a minor or severe pinched nerve injury.

Pinched Nerves Can Cause Ongoing and Permanent Problems

A minor pinched nerve could heal on its own. However, a severely pinched or compressed nerve may require surgery, rehabilitation, and ongoing costly medical treatments. You may also have to come to terms with permanent nerve damage and symptoms such as: 

• Swelling and fluid buildup
• Persistent pain
• Permanent weakness and loss of function

Nerve function could return to normal after relieving the pressure. However, in severe cases, a permanent injury and chronic pain could persist. Generally, the more severe your pinched nerve injury and the more intense and costly your medical treatments, the higher the potential settlement you could pursue.

Can I Afford an Attorney for My Pinched Nerve Claim?

We believe that all injured victims deserve excellent legal representation, independent of their financial means. Therefore, our fee is free unless and until you win compensation. You pay no upfront costs such as legal expenses or attorney’s fees.

However, not all personal injury attorneys work this way, and some may charge you legal expenses upfront, such as:

• Court filing fees
• Transcription costs and other deposition expenses
• Fees for expert witnesses
• Mailing costs

When we take your case, you do not have to worry about paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars of out-of-pocket legal expenses. You pay nothing until we win.

Morgan & Morgan Fights Hard for the Injured 

We don’t leave you out in the cold if you suffer a painful and distressing pinched nerve due to another’s recklessness or carelessness. Our experienced and tenacious personal injury attorneys want to help you get what you deserve, so you can move forward with your life after a difficult time. 

While pinched nerve settlements can vary, we always fight for the maximum possible compensation, so our clients can recover physically, emotionally, and financially. Contact us now to find out more and to receive a free, no-obligation case evaluation.