Let's Understand Whiplash Settlements
Whiplash occurs when one's neck and head move forward and backward suddenly. This sudden movement involves damage and stretching of the tendons, muscles, and ligaments of the neck and not actually the bones, which is a soft tissue injury. When such an injury happens following a car accident, it is possible that whiplash settlements are warranted.
Whiplash is common in car accidents when the car is rear-ended. Common whiplash symptoms include; pain in the neck, headaches, muscle spasms in the neck and pain in the shoulder among others.
Whiplash symptoms might not appear immediately but appears after several hours or even days. As soon as you realize you have suffered whiplash injury you should see a medical practitioner.
The Stages of Whiplash Claims and Whiplash Settlements
In order to ensure that you get the correct and fair amount of whiplash settlements, there are several stages that you should go through. You should not settle for an early settlement from the third party insurers since it might be much less than the amount you should receive for your injuries.
Here are the stages to go through to ensure you get the right amount.
Medical Assessment
Your first step should be to a medical officer who will examine you and prepare a report detailing all your injuries.
The medical expert will indicate in the report how long it will take to recover from the injuries and if the symptoms are permanent. For your solicitor to evaluate your claim, they must know how long it will take to recover.
Receiving Whiplash Settlements
The duration it takes for you to receive the settlement largely depends on the prognosis received from the medical expert. If the medical expert states that you shall recover within six months to one year, then you can expect your settlement between six months to one year.
You must wait for this duration and not be in a hurry to settle. If you settle early, you cannot go back and claim further damages if the symptoms continue past expectations.
If you suffered serious whiplash injuries and the effects are long-lasting, you can expect to wait longer for the settlement to come through since you have to have a strong prognosis.
Whiplash Claim in Court
Most whiplash cases settle out of court. Since taking the case to court consumes both time and money, both sides prefer to settle out of court. The solicitor negotiates with the defendant so as to arrive at an appropriate settlement amount.
However, if the defendant refuses to settle for an appropriate amount you can opt to go to court. You will need an experienced solicitor to represent you in court.
Whiplash injuries do not receive huge sums of money since neck injury is not considered a serious injury. Even with that said, you should ensure you get a fair amount that is why you should get an experienced solicitor.
Whiplash Injuries – Damages
There are many things that impact injury settlements. When whiplash injuries appear, their nature becomes relevant. Unfortunately, the true physical damage extent suffered is never fully understood. This is especially the case when referring to soft tissue problems in the neck region.
After an accident happens, you need to visit a doctor. This is when you are checked to see if whiplash injuries appear. Full symptoms extend can take days to show up. Agreeing to whiplash settlements before the full extent is discovered is a huge mistake.
Remember that in serious cases, whiplash injuries lead to prolonged medical problems. Usually, these injuries become nuisance claims. This is not the case. They are serious medical injuries.
The huge problem with whiplash injuries is they are hard to document. This is similar to all soft tissue injuries. You need to prove whiplash. This is difficult.
Pain Duration
Fortunately, most injuries disappear in just one week to 3 months. However, this is not always the case. How long the neck injury symptoms last impacts the necessary compensation. This includes tingling, limited mobility, pain, numbness and more.
The only way to prove the duration of pain after a whiplash injury is through documentation. Medical documents have to essentially be used as proof. Always get medical treatment and document absolutely everything.
How Much Will You Received?
Trial verdicts or whiplash settlement values for a whiplash injury vary from one case to the next. However, in most of the mild to moderate cases, the value of the settlement will be somewhere between $2,000 and $10,000.
In serious cases, amounts go over $30,000. Once again, all this varies based on the extent of the injury and pain incurred. When neck injuries affect more than just the neck area, like vertebrae, amounts go over $100,000.
When Should You Hire a Personal Injury Attorney?
No matter what many believe, you need to hire a personal injury attorney whenever there are doubts about what happened. It is the specialist that knows what to analyze to offer really good advice. In addition, the personal injury attorney knows what it takes to prove the extent of damages.
