When you get injured, you face a wide range of effects. From the medical bills to the lost wages to other incidental damages, your case has a lot that needs to be compensated. Making sure your neck and back settlement covers it all is essential.

In most injury cases, you claim medical bills, lost wages, and other economic damages, plus pain and suffering. For neck and back injuries, these damages can be very high because of the ongoing effects of the injury. Especially if you now face a lifelong disability, paralysis, or other serious effects, the damages in your case could even be six or seven figures.

For help assessing your case, call Phoenix Accident and Injury Law Firm’s Arizona personal injury lawyers right away at (480) 428-0816.

What Damages Can I Claim for a Neck/Back Injury?

Injuries to the neck and back are plagued with similar issues:

• Ongoing pain and suffering
• Ongoing medical care needs
• The potential for spinal cord injury (SCI) that could lead to paralysis
• Healing often requires total work stoppage, even for workers with less physically demanding jobs.

This means that damages are often quite high in all three of the major areas of damages:

• Medical bills
• Lost wages
• Pain and suffering.

When you claim these damages, you should claim the full value of the harm you faced; that means claiming all medical bills, lost earnings, and high-dollar compensation for your pain and suffering.

Calculating Damages

Every case is unique, and we cannot say what a good settlement would be for your neck or back injury case without examining the details.

Economic Damages

Our Arizona personal injury lawyers can go through all of the bills, records, and receipts you have to help locate all of the economic damages in your case. Only after we do that can we come up with a value for your case.

We also project future damages and costs, such as what ongoing medical care you will need and how much your overall earning potential is decreased because of the injury.

Non-Economic Damages

On top of that, your pain and suffering is very personalized. We will have to go over the various effects on your life to determine the full extent of your injuries:

• How much does the injury affect your lifestyle?
• Are there activities you can no longer participate in because of the injury?
• Do you face ongoing pain, tingling, numbness, or other physical effects?
• Has the injury caused paralysis or permanent changes that result in depression, feelings of loss, or other mourning for your life before your injury?

Calculation Methods

All of these factors go into calculating how “severe” your injury is, which can play into two calculation methods for non-economic damages.

• The “per diem” method chooses a per-day cost for your pain and suffering and pays it for each day you face pain and suffering. This can include ongoing costs as well, and usually starts calculations by using your daily wages.
• The “multiplier” method chooses a multiplier based on your injury’s severity. This number goes from 1.5 to 5, and you multiply it by the rest of your economic damages to calculate non-economic damages. It is imprecise, but it is a good tool for estimating damages.

How Do I Know if I Have a Good Settlement?

It is very hard to tell if your settlement offer is “good” for your case or not unless you review your claim with a lawyer. We can help you understand what similarly situated plaintiffs’ claims have been worth and what your case should cover.

We help look for damages you might not have considered and non-economic damage calculations. If the offer is too low, we can negotiate with the defense for a fair settlement, then advise you to accept that.

If the settlement is still unfair, we can go to trial instead of accepting it.

FAQs for Neck and Back Injury Settlements in Arizona

How Do Neck and Back Injuries Compare to Other Cases?

Neck and back injuries might be incredibly severe, especially if they cause permanent disabilities like paralysis. If you end up in a wheelchair and undergo a total change in your life because of the injury, it can end up being one of the most expensive types of injury cases out there.

On the other hand, even mild or moderate back and neck injury cases often involve ongoing pain, the potential need for surgery, and future missed work because of bad days. These damages are no joking matter and may be higher than the defendant expects to pay.

What is a Neck or Back Injury Worth?

Every case is different, and your injury is worth as much as it costs you in terms of medical bills, other economic losses, and pain and suffering. There is no one-size-fits-all pricing for personal injury cases.

What is Loss of Consortium?

Many serious injury cases – especially ones involving SCI and paralysis – see the victim’s spouse or family receiving compensation for the lost ability and companionship they face because of their loved one’s injuries. These damages should be included in your claim, and you should review them with a lawyer.

Can I Accept Insurance Before a Settlement?

Accepting money from the defendant’s insurance often functions as a settlement. You cannot settle through insurance or take money under the table and then go to court later if it isn’t enough. You only get one chance to get paid, so make it count.

There is typically an exception for first-party insurance, such as medical payment coverage on your auto insurance policy. This comes from your insurance, not the defendants, so you may be able to accept this in the meantime while you finalize settlement negotiations with the defense or take the case to trial.

Still check with a lawyer before accepting anything.

Call Our Personal Injury Attorneys in Arizona Today

Call (480) 428-0816 for a free case assessment from Phoenix Accident and Injury Law Firm’s Phoenix personal injury lawyers.