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Even if the potential damages are high, a defendant will be less willing to settle and more inclined to take their chances at trial. If the plaintiff has little or no evidence proving the defendant was at fault for the accident that led to the neck injuries, the value of the case goes down considerably. The other major factor in valuing a case is the likelihood a defendant will be found liable at trial. Similarly, if a plaintiff had a preexisting neck injury, her damages might be reduced since it might not be possible to tie the defendant's actions to all of the plaintiff's current pain and suffering. For example, if the plaintiff is an avid violin player, but can no longer hold the instrument properly because of the neck injury, his damages based on "loss of quality of life" will likely be higher in the eyes of a jury. Because every case and every jury is different, even the best analysis will still only predict pain and suffering damages within a broad range.Īnother key is how the neck injury affects a particular plaintiff. But for subjective damages like " pain and suffering," predictions are at best an educated guess based on awards in similar neck injury cases.
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Some damages, like medical bills and lost income, are fairly easy to quantify. Estimating DamagesĮstimating the potential recovery with any degree of accuracy is quite difficult for one main reason: at trial, it will most likely be a jury that ultimately decides just how much money the defendant must pay the injured plaintiff. Learn more about how the "right" medical treatment increases injury settlement value. Similarly, injuries requiring treatment by physicians-as opposed to chiropractors, or even physical therapists-are given more weight by many insurance adjusters. A neck injury requiring spinal fusion or another surgical intervention will be "worth" more than a strained neck requiring a few weeks in a brace. Type of Medical Treatment Mattersįair or not, many insurance companies will gauge the seriousness of an injury based on the nature and cost of the medical treatment required. Learn more about how the nature and extent of injuries affects claim value. Additionally, "hard" injuries like a fractured bone (cervical fracture in the case of a neck injury) tend to result in larger settlements than soft tissue injuries like whiplash or pinched nerve (cervical radiculopathy). In general, the more severe and long-lasting the injury, the higher the compensation in a personal injury insurance settlement or jury verdict. Neck injuries range from minor whiplash-like strains and sprains to spinal disk damage and cervical fractures. Nature, Severity & Duration of the Neck Injury Regardless of which side is doing the calculating, the two big factors in valuing these kinds of cases are the extent of the plaintiff's injuries and other losses (" damages" in legalese) and how likely the jury is to find the defendant at fault for the accident that led to the neck injury. what the plaintiff would be willing to accept to settle the case before trial.what the person being sued (the defendant) would be willing to pay, and."Valuing" a personal injury case in this context often means coming up with a best guess at what a jury might award the person who is suing for a neck injury (the plaintiff), and then estimating: $1,200,000 settlement for aggravation of pre-existing neck injury, requiring surgery, after plaintiff rear-ended in an accident with semi-truck.$537,000 settlement for a man who required cervical fusion surgery following a car accident.$300,000 verdict for a woman in a car accident who sustained disc herniations, required surgery and experienced a 60% loss of range of motion in her neck.$250,000 settlement for aggravation of a pre-existing neck injury in a car accident.$100,000 settlement for bulging discs requiring surgery after 60-year-old plaintiff was rear-ended.$9,500 trial verdict for neck injuries resulting from a minor rear-end accident.Not surprisingly, a lot of these outcomes stem from car accident injury cases: Here are a few real-world examples of personal injury cases involving neck injuries. Settlement and Verdict Examples in Neck Injury Cases