Where Do I Go to Get the Settlement Check for My Neck Injuries?

A personal injury incident can result in the development of serious or even life-threatening neck injuries. The worst-case scenario is sustaining permanent spinal cord damage, while on the moderate end of the personal injury scale you might suffer just a mild neck strain. Knowing the type of neck injury you sustained is part of the process of filing a persuasive personal injury claim.

Herniated Disc
The spinal cord runs from the highest neck bone down to a vertebra located in the lower back. A herniated disc, which prevents a damaged disc from absorbing impacts, can cause considerable pain. During a strong impact, one or more spinal cord discs slip, bulge, rupture, or herniate.

Strain/Sprain
Neck strains and sprains share similar characteristics, but they present different healthcare issues. A neck strain involves a joint, tissue, or tendon stretching but not breaking. On the other hand, a neck sprain develops when a ligament in the neck tears. The result of either injury is pain that you feel every time you move your head and/or neck.

Pinched Nerve
With a pinched nerve, damaged bones, discs, tissues, and tendons shift and rub against nerves to trigger severe pain. Whiplash, which results from a strong impact on the neck, can compress nerves to cause intense pain that shoots outward from the affected area of the neck.

Cuts/Lacerations
Falling down a few stairs or getting hit by exploding glass resulting from an auto collision can produce minor cuts, as well as deep lacerations. Debris flying through the air after a car crash can hit vulnerable areas of your neck, which can lead to severe bleeding that requires immediate compression.

Muscle Spasms
Muscle spasms in the neck are one of the most common types of neck injuries. The strong impact caused by an auto accident forces the muscles in the neck to become tense or overstretched. Painful swelling and inflammation develop that require a cold pack to treat. Severe muscle spasms might require a victim of an auto collision to undergo a minor surgical procedure.

Knowing where to get a settlement check for neck injuries depends on the type of settlement your personal injury attorney successfully negotiates. If you choose to receive a lump sum settlement, you receive a one-time check that covers the value of the entire settlement. Your lawyer takes out money to pay off medical liens, as well as court and legal fees. After the deductions. you can have your check mailed or automatically placed in a bank account. You also have the option to cash a settlement check, although you have to pay costly processing fees for that to happen.

A structured settlement is a series of payments made each month until the value of the settlement reaches zero. Opting to have structured settlement payments directly deposited into a bank account is the most convenient way to receive compensation. With a structured settlement, the insurance company or the court where you filed a lawsuit deducts the value of outstanding liens and the amount of money you owe your personal injury lawyer. Then, you choose how you want to receive the series of structured payments.

Your personal injury attorney calculates a value for a settlement before sending a demand letter to your insurance company and the other party’s lawyer. A demand letter should include the value of the settlement offer, as well as a detailed description about how your legal counsel calculated a value for the settlement. Negotiations follow that can include several back and forth rounds of counteroffers. If you reach a settlement, the next step is to follow the guidelines established for receiving your settlement check.

Negotiating a settlement for a personal injury case that involves one or more types of neck injuries requires you and your legal counsel to gather and organize medical evidence. Your healthcare provider hands over the results of diagnostic tests that prove you sustained damage to the neck. A thorough description of treatments and physical therapy sessions also should accompany the evidence you submit with an insurance claim and civil lawsuit. Receipts that demonstrate the cost of prescription drugs and the use of an assistive device can help you recover the compensation you deserve.

You might settle a claim before filing a civil lawsuit, during the discovery phase of the litigation process, or at the request of the judge hearing your case.

Knowing where to get a settlement check for neck injuries does not mean you receive your check immediately after reaching a settlement with an insurance company or the party that committed one or more acts of negligence. You have to be patient because you might not receive your settlement check for days or even weeks after the resolution of a personal injury claim.

Sign Legal Documents
After you reach a settlement with your insurer or the other party, you can expect to receive a legal document called the Order of Settlement. You have either 30 or 60 days to sign and submit the Order of Settlement. The amount of time you have to submit the Order of Settlement depends on the ruling issued by the judge hearing your civil case. You also have to sign a release form, which prevents you from taking additional legal action against the other party.

Settlement Check Goes to Your Personal Injury Attorney
Your attorney receives your settlement check, regardless if it comes from an insurance company or from the attorney who represents the other party involved in the civil lawsuit that you filed. Your personal injury lawyer has to complete a few steps required by the judicial system before you receive compensation from the settlement. By law, the insurance company or the negligent party must issue your attorney a settlement on the day of receiving the signed release form.

Working with an experienced personal injury attorney ensures you receive your settlement check in a timely manner.

Pay Off Liens
Your personal injury lawyer is responsible for paying off any liens that you owe. A medical lien is the costliest lien to pay off because of the high cost of many medical procedures. Another type of lien placed on your settlement check comes from the repair shop that restores your vehicle to pristine condition. Your legal counsel accounts for every lien placed on your settlement check before addressing other types of expenses.

Court Costs and Legal Fees
The team of personal injury attorneys at Morgan & Morgan charges clients on a contingency fee basis, which means our litigators get paid when our clients get paid. This means the Morgan & Morgan personal injury lawyer assigned to your case deducts legal fees from your settlement check. Your lawyer also deducts the cost of court fees.

Receiving Your Settlement Check
You can choose to meet your attorney to receive a lump sum settlement check or have it mailed to the address the lawyer has on file. Another option is to ask your legal counsel to direct deposit the settlement check. Choosing the direct deposit method is the faster way to receive your settlement check. If you signed off on a structured settlement, you should set up a direct deposit bank account to handle the monthly payments.

Sustaining a neck injury or neck injuries can force you out of work for a considerable period. Without income coming in, how do you pay spiraling out-of-control medical bills? The answer is working with a state-licensed personal injury lawyer from Morgan & Morgan. Our experienced litigators help clients collect and organize the medical evidence they need to file a persuasive insurance claim and civil lawsuit. Taking a chance with an inexperienced attorney can result in a denied insurance claim and an unfavorable ruling issued by a civil court judge.

Learn more about the personal injury claims process, as well as where to get a settlement check for neck injuries, by scheduling a free case evaluation with one of our accomplished personal injury attorneys.