Cervical spine injuries involve damage to the upper part of your spinal cord where it meets your neck. These injuries may not only be extremely painful, but they can leave victims permanently injured and needing lifelong care and support.
Damages in cervical spine injury cases tend to be very high. As such, a good settlement should also be quite large. Medical bills, lost income, ongoing and future care, and severe emotional distress should be factored into your settlement. Negotiating a good settlement depends on your evidence and whether you can prove the costs of your injuries. Your attorney can help you gather strong, effective evidence to help you get the best settlement possible. If a settlement is not possible, your lawyer can quickly transition to helping you sue. Settlements break down all the time, often because defendants refuse to acknowledge their wrongdoing. A lawsuit can help you get the compensation you need when a settlement is off the table.
If you experienced a cervical spine injury, our Alabama personal injury attorneys at Howe Law can help you argue for a good settlement if you call us at (844) 876-4357 and schedule a free case review.
What Are Damages in a Cervical Spine Injury Case Worth in Alabama?
While every case is different, and it is difficult to say how much any given case might be worth, cervical spine injury cases tend to involve significant damages and large settlements. Injuries to a person’s cervical spine might lead to serious pain and long-term injuries. Many injured victims are paralyzed, sometimes from the neck down. Injuries of this magnitude often lead to very large settlements.
Medical Costs
Your medical bills are a big factor in your settlement for cervical spine injuries. A cervical spine injury is incredibly painful in many cases and very complicated to treat. Doctors often must be extremely careful to avoid making a delicate injury worse. Surgery, x-rays, pain medicine, and long stays in hospitals are typical in cervical spine injury cases.
If your injury leads to long-term complications or disability, like paralysis, you might be in for a lifetime of medical care. Our Madison, AL personal injury attorneys can help you estimate the value of future medical needs and make sure your settlement covers them.
If you are disabled after a cervical spine injury, you might need expensive mobility aids and physical therapy. These costs should also be factored into your settlement.
Loss of Income
Cervical spine injuries tend to be devastating, and victims often take a long period of time away from their careers to recover. For many, cervical spine injuries are career-ending. It might be impossible to continue working when you are paralyzed from the neck down. No matter how much time you lose from your job, our attorneys can help you estimate the value of your lost income and add it to your overall damages.
If you cannot return to work for the foreseeable future or even forever, we can help you calculate how much income you might have earned in the future had it not been for your injuries. Factors that might have increased your income over time, such as promotions or other career advancement opportunities, should be considered. For people who are disabled after a cervical spine injury, a settlement should be quite large to account for years of lost earnings.
Need for Support
After a debilitating cervical spine injury, injured victims often need expensive, long-term care. Many people have difficulty with mobility after such an injury and might need a caregiver to assist them daily. For some, they need round-the-clock care from trained medical professionals. Private at-home care can be extremely expensive, and a good settlement should cover these costs.
Your need for support does not have to be great to be factored into your damages. Some people only need minor assistance with certain activities. Even relatively minor private at-home assistance can be costly. Talk to your attorney about your injuries and care needs so that your settlement covers everything you need.
Emotional Distress
Cervical spine injuries often cause victims significant emotional and psychological distress and turmoil. The injuries and complications from such injuries tend to be long-term. For many, their lives and bodies are permanently altered. Coming to terms with such a sudden change can be extremely difficult, and your non-economic damages for pain and suffering may be very high.
Your settlement should account for pain and suffering and other non-economic damages. Since these damages are highly subjective, there might be some pushback from defendants during settlement negotiations. Your attorney can work to keep these damages high so that you get the largest settlement possible.
How to Negotiate a Good Settlement for a Cervical Spine Injury in Alabama
The key to negotiating a settlement in any case is evidence. Evidence that the defendant is liable for your accident is crucial. If this evidence is strong, the defendant should realize that their odds of winning a trial are low, and a large jury verdict against them is likely in their future. Agreeing to a settlement might help them avoid an embarrassing trial and costly legal fees.
If you lack strong evidence of the defendant’s liability and negligence, they might be less inclined to agree to a settlement. They might like their odds of success in the courtroom and refuse to negotiate. Alternatively, they might still agree to settle but to a smaller amount of compensation.
Settlements largely revolve around damages, so you will need evidence showing that your damages are significant. Some damages are very easily proven through records. For example, your hospital records regarding your bills and costs will likely be very detailed. For future expenses that you have not yet incurred but likely will, we need something to show how we arrived at our estimates. For example, when estimating future medical costs, we can use your current medical costs as a sort of baseline. Pulling numbers out of thin air makes for weak negotiation tactics.
What Happens if I Cannot Get a Good Settlement for My Cervical Spine Injury Case in Alabama?
Not all settlements succeed. If your settlement negotiations break down, your attorney can help you explore other legal options. Many injured victims in this situation end up suing the defendant for damages. The lawsuit might be enough to show the defendant they should settle or risk a hefty jury verdict. If they still refuse to compromise, we can help you prepare your case for trial.
Contact Our Alabama Personal Injury Lawyers About Your Cervical Spine Case Today
If you experienced a cervical spine injury, our Birmingham personal injury lawyers at Howe Law can help you negotiate a settlement if you call us at (844) 876-4357 and schedule a free case assessment.
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