What is the Average Whiplash Settlement Payout

A number of factors can have a direct impact on the valuation of your whiplash injury case. The state where the accident occurred, as well as the unique details of the resulting injuries can tilt entitled payouts significantly. Some additional factors which may affect your settlement offer include:

Victims Actions After the Accident

What you say and do immediately following the crash can impact what you are entitled to get paid. Speaking to your insurance company before hiring a car accident lawyer may affect the outcome of your claim. Refusing medical attention or statements to law enforcement officers that you don't feel injured, can be used against you later. Your payout can be hurt by seemingly innocent actions taken, so let your lawyer handle communications as soon as possible.

Auto Insurance

The provisions and insurance policy coverage of the involved motorists plays an important role in determining the value of a claim. In no-fault states you can only sue at-fault drivers for injuries which exceed your policy limits and which meet the serious accident threshold. In at-fault states whether the at-fault driver had insurance coverage and the policy details will still play a role in a personal injury lawsuit seeking compensation.

Additional Injuries Sustained

How severe is the whiplash you sustained? Did you suffer any additional injuries in the crash? Was your neck injury disabling? The greater the severity of your injuries, the larger the settlement payout is likely to be. The more disabling and catastrophic the life-altering the injuries, the more losses will have to be accounted for when seeking redemption.

Eligibility for Future Damages

Severe neck injuries can be disabling for years to come, requiring long-term medical help, physical therapy and other forms of treatment. Paralysis can require in-home medical help for life, and victims should be compensated for the loss of income from being unable to work. As the losses accumulate in scale, so too should the settlement payouts.

Neck injuries are a typical result of auto accidents. Whiplash is a neck injury that occurs when the head is violently whipped forward, most commonly due to the impact of the vehicles in a collision. The acceleration of the head and neck and sudden whipped back deceleration causes the damage. Whiplash injuries can be especially severe when the victim was not expecting the crash, resulting in the protective muscles being relaxed at the time of impact. Being hit from behind in rear-end accidents commonly results in more damage to the cervical spine and regularly leads to whiplash injury for this reason.

How do I Know If I Have Whiplash?

• Painful: Neck injuries can be especially painful for victims, with pain traveling up the base of the skull into the head, resulting in chronic headaches and neck and back pain. While considered a soft tissue injury, bone breaks in the neck should be ruled out by a doctor.
• Facts: Over 3 million new cases of whiplash injuries each year in the U.S., according to the NIH, with 300,000 Americans disabled as a result of whiplash. Symptoms of whiplash last 6 months or longer in 75% of patients. More than 50% of whiplash injuries will suffer chronic pain 20 years after the injury.
• Whiplash Symptoms Include: Neck pain, fatigue, headaches, dizziness, restricted range of motion, blurry vision, tinnitus, disturbed sleep, numbness and tingling, and memory issues. Swelling can lead to secondary symptoms including pinched nerves.

Importance of Seeking Medical Treatment

See a doctor as soon as possible after a crash if you suffered a neck or back injury. Whiplash injury claims are scrutinized by the auto insurance compananies closely when a claim is filed. Having a qualified medical professional diagnosis will help confirm plaintiff's personal injury claims. Treatment may require the help of a pain management specialist, physical therapist, orthopedic surgeon, or other specialists, depending on the severity of the damage, the amount of which can bury the patient in expenses.

Neck and head injuries such as whiplash are serious on their own but also pose a substantial risk for other related damage. Constant headaches after an auto accident are not to be ignored. Brain and spinal cord injuries can often accompany neck injuries and should be ruled out by a medical professional.