bodily trauma. They usually have taken a long medical journey bouncing from one clinician to another looking for answers to problems that seemingly evade all treatments. Despite his efforts, his range of motion was severely impacted, and he was unable to return to his career as a landscaper. Yes. This means your whiplash settlement should be for a permanent, lifelong injury, not for a 4-6 week minor injury. The answer is also yes. Cervical spondylosis is the natural wearing down of cartilage, disks, ligaments and bones in your neck. Take the Quiz! Before diving into a lawsuit, your car accident attorney will first attempt to work with the at-fault drivers insurance company to recoup damages. If your medical records show that there was a neck problem prior to the car accident, then with the right help from a creative lawyer, it could be proven that the accident made the existing condition worse. He has been practicing law for 10 years. Sometimes, that nominal amount is $5,000, and they think they just pulled a fast one on the insurance adjuster but what this does in reality is close the door on any more money when you realize your injury is actually worse. A pinched nerve in the shoulder occurs when a nerve is compressed or irritated anywhere along its path, from the nerve root where it emerges from the cervical spine to the area in the shoulder it supplies. However, if you received delayed injuries and were not aware of their extent for several months, you should confirm your case still falls under the statute of limitations in your state. 1996 Aug;66(2-3):223-7. When neck and back injuries are catastrophic, settlement values can go into the millions. As a result, issues with memory, sleeping, and balance can occur. February 9, 2023. Neck Injury Settlements for Car Accidents (and Other Accidents) Whether your car accident attorney can prove negligence in your caseand how negligent the at-fault driver waswill affect your neck injury payout and if a judge or jury rules in your favor. The timeline for healing, as well as the amount of medical treatment required during the healing process, directly impacts your potential settlement amount. But despite their small size, they balance a whole lot of weight. Normally your neck has a slight backward C bend. Tearing, sprains, or strains to the ligaments, muscles and tendons in the neck following a car accident are described as soft tissue damage. This website, and any viewing, reading, or receipt of the information herein, does not create an attorney-client relationship. A tendon is a type of tissue that links muscle to bone. In comparison, a minor injury that requires weekly chiropractic treatment may only cost $10,000 a year, depending on insurance. Seek a free case evaluation today to learn how much your neck injury settlement amount may be worth. . Accessed Jan. 8, 2018. What does this mean? In summary, loss of lordosis can and usually is associated with irritation of the muscles causing loss of the normal curvature. The bones that make up your spine are called vertebrae, and these bones are separated by jelly-like cushions called intervertebral discs. If you suffered a disc injury in your neck and had surgery, that always causes and leaves permanent issues and symptoms. To find out what you might be able to claim for your neck injury, schedule a free consultation with one of our lawyers via email or the contact form below. 3% (74/2176) 2. If it is related to posture and/or obesity, lifestyle issues might also need to be addressed. Kinematics of human cadaver cervical spine during low speed rear-end impacts. The victim sustained serious injuries to his neck and back, which required an anterior cervical discectomy, cervical fusion, and lumbar fusion surgery. Neck Pain can also be caused due to poor sitting posture, degeneration due to normal aging process, and overuse. Your spine is composed of several different types of soft tissue, including muscles, tendons, ligaments, and nerves. Be Careful with Seemingly Not Serious Neck Injuries, Neck Injury Settlements & Verdicts From Vehicle Accidents, Insurance Company Valuations of Neck Injuries, Danger of Early Settlements in Neck Injury Claims, Get Help With Your Neck Injury Settlement, Supporting Citations, Literature & Resources, cervical spine can become inflamed and irritated, Hyperextension soft tissue injuries of the cervical spinea review, Cervical Herniated Disc Symptoms and Treatment Options, Five years after the accident, whiplash casualties still have poorer quality of life in the physical domain than other mildly injured casualties, How healthy discs herniate: a biomechanical and microstructural study investigating the combined effects of compression rate and flexion. Rear-end vehicle accident settlement with cervical disc injury, $535,000 As a result, they settle early on for a nominal amount making their whiplash claims payout average much lower than it could be. When the impact from such events causes fractures and/or dislocation of the vertebrae (disks of the spine), a . Cervical Spine Injury & Neck Injury Settlement Amounts *[2023]* Stapp Car Crash Journal,44, 171-188. These delicate bones influence your center of gravity, mobility, and more. Average Whiplash Injury Settlement | Compensation Payouts There are instances in which a direct injury to the cervical spine or injury due to persistent muscle spasms may change the degree of the neck curvature. The man also suffered a mild traumatic brain injury. If the at-fault driver was working when the accident occurred, such as in the UPS example above, you might be able to file a claim against their employer as well. The first two injury types are typically caused by an excess of bending, shearing or displacements produced by force pushing the head and neck away from your upper body. A 15 lbs (6.8kg) 6-month-old boy should ride in a forward-facing car seat in the rear center seat. In general, the more severe and long-lasting the injury, the higher the compensation in a personal injury insurance settlement or jury verdict. Compression fractures generally occur in the thoracic (mid-back) or lumbar spine (lower back). Consider it this way:The National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Centerreports that the average lifetime cost of a spinal cord injury is $5 million for a 25-year-old victim. The answer is also yes. We may also prescribe exercises to strengthen neck support or ergonomic practices to help you control your cervical alignment at work. It can be as much as 100% or as low as 1%. Of course, there are also stories from people who have a long history of neck problems and their car accident/whiplash injury turned occasional neck pain, dizziness, vertigo, and radiating pain into a daily event. To counter aggressive insurance companies and defense attorneys, you need a strong case and a skilled personal injury attorney. Obviously, the individual's case, who underwent the neck surgery, is valued much higher than the . We fight the insurance company and do whatever it takes to get you justice. Best loss of cervical lordosis settlement lawyer. Loss of lordosis can begin in early childhood, however, whiplash from automobile accidents, stress, injuries from falls and sports injuries can cause this issue in adulthood. Just like you, we want to make sure you are a good fit for our clinic prior to accepting your case. The cervical spine, or neck, consists of seven cervical vertebrae referred to as C1 through C7. Estimating 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. an iatrogenic disorder. In a typical front end or rear end accident, the neck will bounce in both directions forward and then returning to the headrest, or vice-versa. Car accident settlement with cervical disc injury, $100,000 As we see at our center and as noted in many research papers including this paper published in March 2020 in the Journal of Spine Surgery, (2) from which we will quote: The cervical spine takes one of five distinct sagittal (the line that separates the body in left and right parts or considered the side view) profileslordosis, neutral, kyphosis, S-shaped, and inverted S-shaped. In more severe cases, whiplash can cause chronic headaches, dizziness, and vertigo. The Spine Journal. Cervical kyphosis can mean your neck is either abnormally straight or bent backward . The man was a passenger traveling in a company-owned truck when the at-fault motorist ran a stop sign and collided with the trucks passenger side. When discussing cervical spine injury settlement amounts, you must bear in mind the strength of your personal injury case. The significance of changes to the normal cervical lordosis following an automobile trauma has been the subject of a number of studies. We'll start with some examples of real-life verdicts and personal injury settlements involving neck injuries, then cover some key factors in figuring out what a neck injury claim might be worth. 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). Along with this injury came the new onset of symptoms of headaches, vertigo, vision problems, anxiety, blood pressure problems, and other neurologic and cardiovascular-like symptoms. Personal Attention & Quality Legal Service Since 1961. Can the straightening of the cervical spine lead to a worsening or delayed development of whiplash-related symptoms. Introduction. "We've known that the neck curve is a big deal in helping avoid structural overload . These claims result from automobile accidents, slip and falls, wrongful death incidents, homeowners insurance, work injury, construction accident, trip and fall . The muscles in the neck and shoulders have to work harder to support the weight of the head as the curvature that usually facilitates the even distribution of this weight is lost. Clin. Doing that requires a lot of time. How healthy discs herniate: a biomechanical and microstructural study investigating the combined effects of compression rate and flexion. After a car accident, you may need to visit cervical spine specialists, doctors, surgeons, and physical therapists. It will vary depending on the type of injury, but the average payout for a neck injury is between $5,000 and $50,000. In the state of Arizona, you need to file an insurance claim with the at-fault drivers insurance company to seek compensation for your damages. Most of the people have neck pain at one point or the other, especially people who spend long hours sitting in front of the computer at work and have a job which requires them to lift things overhead. Fair or not, many insurance companies will gauge the seriousness of an injury based on the nature and cost of the medical treatment required. While this is not life threatening, it can lead to long term disability and can be included in your settlement demand. As its name suggests, post-traumatic kyphosis is a condition that results from serious injury, such as a fall from a height, a motor vehicle accident, a horseback riding accident, or even a bounce off a wave while boating. In fact, there are eight factors that influence the average settlement for cervical spine injuries. Loss of cervical lordosis from a car accident. Whiplash is one form of soft tissue neck injury. -ABNORMAL CERVICAL CURVE; CAR WRECKS AND LOSS OF THE One of the most common ways to really foul up a cervical curve is to be involved in a MVA (MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT).). Call (727) 733-0433 for a cervical lordosis evaluation! If you have military neck, also called . Our auto accident practice includes service in the follow areas: Serving all of Los Angeles, including Arcadia, Beverly Hills, Claremont, Canoga Park, Chino, Chino Hills, Covina, Diamond Bar, Downey, East Pasadena, El Monte, Encino, Highland Park, Inglewood, La Verne, Long Beach, Malibu, Montebello, Monterey Park, North Hollywood, Northridge, Pasadena, Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, Reseda, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Dimas, Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, South Bay, South LA, South Pasadena, Sunland, Tarzana, Thousand Oaks, Torrance, Van Nuys, Venice, West Covina, West Hollywood, and Westlake Village. A muscle is a band of tissue responsible for movement. Not only does the impact of a collision affect the neck, but the anticipation of impact often causes the individual to tense their neck muscles, meaning that theyll have more potential for injury than if their muscles were relaxed. degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine is from $55,000.00 to $300,000.00 or more if spinal fusion is needed and results in complications. This includes becoming . Likewise, auto insurance companies like to blame injured parties byciting comparative fault laws, which can slash your settlement amount. Here is how we treat every one of our clients cases: If your lawyer goes all in and builds your whiplash case like a six-figure case, no surprise, it is more likely to become a six-figure case. This is why its crucial to receive medical attention immediately after the incident, even if youre not experiencing significant pain. There should be cervical lordosis. Pain. So, if a driver is partially at fault for their accident, coverage may be less than the claim amount. Treatments discussed on this site may or may not work for your specific condition. Q. If the injured accident victim has to seek physical therapy, injections, or other procedures to treat the soft tissue . Philadelphia, Pa.: Elsevier; 2018. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Secondly, you have a complete reversal of the lordotic curve (x-ray on the right). The UPS truck driver entered the opposite lane to pass the victims vehicle but was met with oncoming traffic. Unlike minor injuries, an injury that requires spinal fusion surgery averages more than $200,000. As is often the case, signs and symptoms of a neck injury may not appear until several hours or even days after the accident occurred. How Long Will It Take To Settle Your Personal Injury Case? san jose state basketball recruiting; 5 types of imagery in the pedestrian. Severe, chronic headaches. It can also lead to referred pain in hand, vertigo and many other symptoms which we will discuss later on. $2,840,000. However, a Martindale . The loss of the normal cervical lordosis might be localized, occurring in just one or a few segments of the vertebrae, or it can involve the majority of the cervical spine segments. To receive more information or a FREE consultation with one of our Los Angeles attorneys, give us a call, send us an email, or submit the contact form below. Available medical literature shows there is approximately a 40% chance of your whiplash injuries being permanent if they persist beyond two years. Our lawyers have handled ACDF accident cases that settled for $75,000, and ACDF accident cases that settled for over $750,000. The settlement was the result of a personal injury lawsuit that was filed after the client was in a low-impact, rear-end, car accident. Plus, pain medications can cause drowsiness or dizziness, making returning to certain positions dangerous. Some damages, like medical bills and lost income, are fairly easy to quantify. Loss of Cervical Lordosis - Centeno-Schultz Clinic 4. Regardless of the underlying cause of a straight neck, the impact can be severe. If your job requires you to stand for hours on end or sit for long periods of time, you may not be able to return to work at all. Much like the lower regions of the spine, the neck can also receive spinal cord damage in an auto accident. Neck injury lawsuits are typically filed when car accident victims do not receive enough from an insurance claim to cover medical costs, lost wages, property damage, and other expenses. Rear end auto accident settlement with cervical soft tissue injury, $91,000 We are an out-of-network provider. It is best for an attorney to help you navigate this and help you make a decision versus taking the first offer that you are given. But for subjective damages like "pain and suffering," predictions are at best an educated guess based on awards in similar neck injury cases. The following three major injury types can occur to the neck and cervical spine following a car accident: Fracturing of the cervical vertebrae and damage/rupturing of the ligaments and soft tissue that link the vertebrae together. Spondylolisthesis is the medical term for when a single vertebra slips out of place. When the curve of the spine points toward the front, it's called a lordosis and toward the back, it's called a kyphosis. The best way to know if your injury is serious is to contact a medical professional and get the proper testing. Only then will the insurance carrier look at the case differently and offer an above average settlement payout for your whiplash injury claim. The association between prevalent neck pain and health-related quality of life: a cross-sectional analysis. Special damages are also referred to as economic damages for this reason. Loss of cervical lordosis can result in pain and stiffness in neck. Would you rather have $30,000 today or $55,000 in 2 years? Can Car Accidents Cause Spondylosis? - The Barnes Firm Mechanism of injury is the medical explanation of what happens structurally to your body during a traumatic event which caused your injury. A loss of normal neck curve or lordosis (hypolordosis) was observed in only 4% the normal/non-injured patients. Approximate Synonyms. What they found was the existence of an association between the constitutional sagittal alignment of the cervical spine and the outcome after whiplash injuries. In other words, the curvature of the cervical spine is a factor in if patients would recover from a whiplash injury. You will also learn the 101s of: When not to settle a neck injury claim, What is mechanism of injury and how it can help you, Sample neck injury settlement amounts, What are recoverable damages in a neck injury claim. The second reason the all in approach often is not an option is it takes a lot of time. A ligament is a band of fibrous tissue that connects bone to bone at your joints. 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. Cervical Spondylosis. Having a surgery also means you endure the risk of infection and complications. Otherwise, find a lawyer who really understands these injuries and how to squeeze out maximum value for you. Spinal cord damage can cause you to lose sensation in parts of your body or lose reflex functions altogether. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Similarly, injuries requiring treatment by physiciansas opposed to chiropractors, or even physical therapistsare given more weight by many insurance adjusters. With a national reach, we invite you to contact us for help. Yes, whiplash can be a serious injury that can cause you to have lifelong chronic pain that will require medical treatment and possibly physical therapy. Journal of Spine Surgery. The control group only showed a neck disc arthritis incidence of 6%. Many cervical spine injury victims question whether they need an attorney from a reputable law firm to guide them through the settlement process. No fee unless we win. As you are reading this article, you likely have a problem with your cervical spine brought on by a whiplash-type injury. Fan Li, Nian-song Liu, Hong-geng Li, Biao Zhang, Shi-wei Tian, Ming-gang Tan, Baptiste. Your totalwhiplash personal injury settlementtypically relies on the severity of the injury. All of this needs to be monitored and recorded so that it can be integrated into your neck injury compensation settlement. A cervical spinal cord injury may also lead to bleeding, blood clots, and infections, such as pneumonia. Some of these variables, like property damage, are not genuine and are the subject of disingenuous lowball offers. Several studies have investigated the cervical spine alignment in asymptomatic subjects and have found that significant proportions did not have lordotic cervical spines. To reiterate, in other words, some people may be walking around with loss of their cervical curve and it is completely asymptotic. Military neck is an unusual curve in your cervical spine (this is your neck) called cervical kyphosis. Unfortunately, many of our "normal" daily tasks may also decrease the cervical lordosis, like viewing low lying computer screens (below eye level), sleeping with two . Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, how the nature and extent of injuries affects claim value, how the "right" medical treatment increases injury settlement value, determining fault in a personal injury case, finding the right personal injury lawyer for you and your case, Tips for Getting the Best Personal Injury Settlement. Cervical vertebrae are small, measuring just under an inch wide. Wade, K. R., Robertson, P. A., Thambyah, A., & Broom, N. D. (2014). In this article, we will present our clinical findings and observations on how the treatment of cervical ligament damage may be the answer that has eluded them. When you can file against multiple insurance policies, you have more of a chance of receiving full compensation for your damages. Such symptoms are referred to as whiplash associated disorders, or WAD. Ultimately, those who have whiplash injuries have been often shown to have poor quality of life long after their accidents. This neck instability can also lead to or worsen injury to the facet joint of the cervical vertebrae. Johnson G. (1996). If negotiating with the insurance company doesnt work, you might need to file a lawsuit to recoup your damages. $250,000 settlement for aggravation of a pre-existing neck injury in a car accident. Did you know more than800,000 car accidentsinvolving neck injuries are reported annually in the U.S. alone? The severity of the injury refers to the extent of the injury itself as well as the healing time. Car accident settlement with cervical soft tissue injury, $23,500 Car accident neck injury settlement amounts related to whiplash can often double and triple, but only after we push the case towards the finish line i.e., into litigation towards trial.