How Much Compensation Will I Receive for Neck and Shoulder Injuries?

One of the most common vehicle accident injuries are neck injuries, which are second only to contusions and bruises following a vehicle accident. Unfortunately, despite the fact that these are very common, they are also frequently undervalued injuries in car accident settlements. You'll need to understand the different types of neck injuries, how a mechanism of injury can influence your case, and when or not to settle a neck injury claim. 

Neck injuries can be hard to diagnose, too, because you might not feel any pain right after the accident. Some people take painkiller medications as a precaution or get plenty of rest after the accident when shock is hiding some of the most serious symptoms. The body can take some time to start showing these symptoms. It’s so important to be fully screened for all possible injuries before you step into your legal claim. 

Your doctors can give you a general idea about what to expect with your recovery period, but because soft tissue injuries can vary so much, this is not the be all and end all for your recovery. Your doctor might give you a very long range, for example, saying that you could recover in anywhere from 6 to 12 months. The specifics of your injury and your daily life will influence this recovery period, too.

A neck injury mechanism explains what occurred to your body during the traumatic event that led to your injuries, in this case a neck injury. Someone who is not familiar with vehicle accidents might not realize the importance of making this case for you with the insurance company or in court. Your neck is extremely vulnerable during vehicle accidents. In fact, over 80,000 neck injuries are tied to vehicle accidents every year in the United States. Wearing a seatbelt can help prevent many of the most severe injuries for your entire body, but the neck is still exposed because it can be thrust forward and back at any point of impact. You could also be hit by flying debris, and these rapid movements can cause damage to tendons, muscles, nerves, joints, and ligaments. 

The force of an accident also causes many people to tense their neck muscles, which increases their potential for injury when compared to having relaxed neck muscles. There are three different injury types that can all affect your neck during an accident. The first is called direct impact damage. This involves problems with your soft tissues where the trachea connects to the esophagus, larynx, veins, and major arteries to the head and the brain. 

The second involves damage to the disks or the spinal cord, such as physical stretching of the spinal cord. The final type of injury is fracturing of the cervical vertebrae or rupturing or damage of the ligaments and soft tissue that link vertebrae together. Fracturing of the cervical vertebrae and damage to the spinal cord or disks are usually caused by shearing, displacements, or excess bending. 

Another common neck injury is known as hyperextension. This is usually not a severe injury but it can cause long term disability and this should be incorporated into your settlement demand when your lawyer creates it. Hyperextension can cause spine dislocation and vertebrae dislocation as well. This is a rare injury but can usually only be identified through x-rays and can be helpful when you are claiming whiplash injuries post-accident. Other injuries include compression extension, compression flexion, and tension extension. Soft tissue damage, herniated discs, slip discs, neck fracture, facet joint injury, and more are all other common types of neck injuries.

One of the most common outcomes of a car accident is for someone to suffer what is known as whiplash. This is due to the sudden back and forth movement of someone being rear-ended or struck in an accident. Whiplash injuries can be very difficult to diagnose because they are a soft tissue injury. 

You might not experience the symptoms of whiplash immediately after being hurt in a vehicle accident, and it can take several days or even weeks to discover that you have whiplash. For many people, whiplash goes away after a period of a few weeks, but it can be permanent. You may be able to have your physician call this a permanent injury after 6 or 12 months, but you will want to talk with your doctor and your lawyer about this. 

If any pain associated with a car accident whiplash injury continues for longer than 10 weeks, it could be an indication that there are additional injuries, such as a bone spurt, torn vertebral disc, facet joint injury, or a compressed nerve. The recovery period for whiplash can be as short as a few weeks with as many as 50% of injury victims going on to develop persistence of symptoms that have a serious impact on their physical and mental wellbeing. Chiropractic adjustments and physical therapy are some of the most commonly recommended treatments for whiplash injuries, but healing from a neck injury following a vehicle accident can happen at different speeds for different people.

The only way to know for sure how much compensation you will get for neck and shoulder injury is to have clarification on the damages you have already sustained and how that is likely to affect you in the future. Ongoing pain and problems can include cognitive issues, less relaxing sleep or restless nights, chronic neck pain, severe and frequent headaches, early onset arthritis, depression or anxiety, and decreased work performance. Each of these elements can impact the total damages available in your neck injury settlement amount.

Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to recover a full and fair settlement for your neck injury. This is because it can be very difficult for someone to understand how this injury has affected you. You may deal with the pain on a daily basis, but it is not as easy as presenting, for example, a broken bone x-ray to illustrate how your life has been impacted. You need the experience of a trusted lawyer to guide you through this legal process and to help give you the necessary support that you need.

One of the best ways to resolve your personal injury case with neck and shoulder injuries is through settlement. You might be able to present information about your injuries to the other side and make a settlement demand. From there, it will become a back and forth between the other side and your lawyer. It could go back and forth a few times with different settlement amounts until you can arrive at a number you’re all comfortable with.

Bear in mind that, even during these negotiations, you don’t have to accept any offer. If you truly believe that your neck injury is more serious than the other side believes, you can choose to walk away from the settlement table. At that point, your case will continue to go through the legal system. 

Most of these cases can become the most complicated when they enter the settlement phase. Trying to do this on your own can be frustrating and overwhelming and also exposes you to possible mistakes. 

Hire an experienced personal injury lawyer to help you with your case so that you have the support needed for all aspects of your case. Contact Morgan & Morgan to receive a free, no-obligation case evaluation to get started.