How Much Is a Neck and Back Injury Worth?

How much is a neck and back injury worth? This is a common question when it comes to personal injury cases. The truth is, there isn't any specific amount that dictates the value of such an injury. 

The injury could be worth thousands or even millions of dollars, depending on the case details. This article explains everything you need to know about the process of calculating the value of a neck and back injury. 

Read on for more details. 

While so many factors decide the final value of a neck and back injury, the following three are the most common. 

Liability of the Defendant

Neck and back injuries occur in different settings and environments. However, such injuries are often common in car accidents. For this reason, we'll use a car accident as an example. 

After a car accident, the plaintiff or their lawyer is responsible for proving to the insurance company or jury (if the claim goes to court) that the insured is liable for the accident. But this doesn't necessarily mean that being responsible for the accident equals total compensation for the plaintiff. 

Legally, the plaintiff must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant had a role to play in the accident. And, the settlement for the neck and back injury could either increase or increase depending on the circumstances resulting in the accident.

Here's an example of a situation that could increase the claim's value.

If you're driving, obeying all traffic laws, and a drunk driver hits you from behind, they may be held totally liable for your injuries. In such a case, their insurance company will be required to compensate you for your neck and back injury if applicable. 

Now let's look at a different scenario.

Suppose you're driving at an intersection with stop signs at both sides of the road, and you and the other driver fail to stop. If you crash into each other and suffer neck and back injuries in the process, you may still be eligible for compensation.

However, the value of your claim will significantly reduce because you were also at fault for not stopping at the intersection. 

The severity of the Injury

Although this seems pretty self-explanatory, not so many people understand what factors attorneys and insurance claims adjusters consider when calculating the severity of the injury. 

In the legal context, the severity of the injury is a term that encompasses multiple factors. For example, if you suffered slipped discs and fractures to your back and neck, the injury is considered more severe than if you only had scratch marks without any further damages.

The more severe and long-lasting the injury, the higher compensation to expect when filing a personal injury claim.  

Only a professional doctor can determine the extent of the injury. For this reason, Morgan & Morgan personal injury attorneys recommend seeking medical treatment right after the injury, provided you're able to do so.

If you're unsure where to start with your medical treatment, Morgan & Morgan attorneys can help you get started. All you need to do is fill out a free case evaluation and one of our legal representatives will get in touch with you within 24 hours. 

Type of Medical Treatment

There isn't any standard medical treatment for neck and back injuries. This is because such injuries vary depending on the nature of the accident. 

For example, a spinal cord injury that requires surgery could attract a larger settlement than a neck injury that only requires physical therapy. In most cases, clinic treatment draws higher settlements than physical therapy and other similar forms of treatment. 

Types of Damages

Given that the list of damages caused by neck and back injuries is endless, personal injury law groups them into two categories, as explained below.

Economic Damages for Neck and Back Injuries

Economic damages refer to the compensation offered for verifiable financial losses due to personal injury.

In this context, verifiable financial losses mean the kind of losses the victim can actually prove they incurred following the accident. The victim must also prove that they would have avoided such financial losses had they not been involved in the accident caused by the defendant.

For instance, loss of wages is considered economic damage. However, it might be impossible to verify such damages if the plaintiff didn't have a job before the accident. 

Some of the most common ways to verify economic damage include using pay stubs to prove loss of income and earning potential, medical receipts to prove medical expenses, among others. 

A personal injury attorney from Morgan & Morgan can help you prove economic damages. This attorney will gather all required paperwork to build a strong case against the defendant before presenting it to their insurance company. 

If the insurance company refuses to negotiate a reasonable offer, Morgan & Morgan attorneys will take the matter to court. But, in most cases, insurance companies dread the idea of facing our injury attorneys in court. For this reason, they'll most likely agree to an out-of-court settlement. The few who dare take the matter to court usually end up paying up to 20 times their initial offer. 

Morgan & Morgan is a personal injury law firm that keeps its word. Click here to view some of our most recent results and settlements. 

Non-Economic Damages 

Like economic damages, non-economic damages also vary depending on the nature of the case. But first things first, let's define non-economic damages. 

Non-economic damages are the kind of damages that don't involve money but affect the victim of the personal injury case, including their spouse or families. These damages come in different forms. Examples include:

Pain and Suffering

If you've suffered unspeakable pain due to the injury, you might be eligible for compensation on the grounds of non-economic damage. This pain could either be physical or even emotional. 

Loss of Consortium 

Loss of consortium is usually a standalone claim filed by the spouse or family members of the injury victim. While many people assume that this term refers to loss of sexual relationships or anything in between, it's usually more than just that. 

Sexual relationships aside, a loss of consortium claim includes many other factors such as:

• companionship;
• love;
• affection;
• comfort;
• society.

For instance, let's assume you suffered a neck and back injury after slipping and falling at a grocery store. In that case, you may be eligible for compensation for loss of consortium if the injury leads to partial or complete paralysis, affecting your ability to engage in sexual relations with your spouse. 

The spouse can then file a lawsuit against the grocery store for their negligence that led to your new condition and affected your sexual interaction with them.

Speaking of grocery store injuries, here's everything you need to know about them.  

Additional non-economic damages that could derive from such a lawsuit include:

Loss of care or assistance: You can no longer access specific care or assistance due to the loss of a caretaker or provider resulting from the injury. 

Loss of education or opportunity: You were in school before the accident or had an opportunity you were looking forward to but can no longer take it because of the injury. 

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): You are scared of being in certain environments (such as driving, going grocery shopping, using the stairs, etc.) due to the accident. 

Loss of enjoyment of life: You can no longer go out with your friends or do what you once enjoyed doing because of your new condition. 

Disfigurement: The injury caused particular physical damage that will stay with you for the rest of your life—for example, a huge scar on your back or neck after an injury.

However, given that non-economic damages are not tangible, how do you prove them?

Medical reports can help prove this kind of damage. For instance, if you usually attend counseling or therapy sessions due to the injury, the therapist's assessment or report could help prove your claim.

Such reports usually hold more weight than having your best friend testify how the injury has changed your life. 

A Morgan & Morgan attorney can help you obtain medical reports documenting the severity of the injury, eventually proving non-medical damages. 

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages can also determine the value of your neck and back injury. 

Sometimes, the jury awards the plaintiff punitive damages to prevent the defendant and others from engaging in similar conduct. However, not every personal injury claim attracts punitive damages; these damages are usually common in cases where the defendant was found liable for outrageous conduct, which led to the plaintiff's injury.

Here's an example.

If you get injured in a car accident involving a drunk driver, they may suffer punitive damages to discourage other drivers from drinking and driving. In their argument, the jury will claim that the defendant knew it was wrong to drink and drive, but they did it anyway. As a result, their negligence and outrageous conduct led to your life-changing neck and back injury. 

To sum up, it's not always possible to determine how much your neck and back injury is worth right after the accident. This is because so many factors are considered when calculating the final settlement amount. 

This is where the importance of hiring a personal injury attorney comes in. 

Whether it's a slip and fall accident, car accident, or anything in between, working with an experienced attorney from Morgan & Morgan, the largest injury law firm in the United States, significantly increases your claim. 

To receive an estimate of the amount of settlement to expect from your beck and back injury, you just need to send us your case information online for a free, no-obligation evaluation. 

Alternatively, give us a call at 877-602-8690, and one of our representatives will talk to you about your case.