Car Accident Whiplash Settlements

The damages in a whiplash case will help provide relief to injured people for a wide range of ways their accident has impacted their lives, including the cost of medical care, lost income while recovering, and the impact an injury has on quality of life. The most catastrophic cases we see account for permanent, life-altering impacts.

We look at the whole picture of your accident and its effects on your life. We work to make sure our clients know we have left no stone unturned when calculating neck and back injury compensation. The questions we ask typically include:

• What kind of medical care have you needed and will you need in the future?
• How has your ability to earn an income to your full potential been impacted?
• Will you need long-term supportive care or modifications to your home or vehicle?
• Are you in constant pain?
• Are your injuries expected to improve?

Many people try to estimate how much their whiplash settlement will be. The truth is, when you have been injured by a negligent driver, it should be as much as possible for the extent of your injuries. The law affords a number of ways through which we can maximize damages for clients, including:

• Medical expenses
• Rehabilitation and recovery expenses
• Lost wages and future income
• Pain and suffering
• Other expenses, such as childcare or in-house care

Maybe you used to coach your daughter’s soccer team, but now you sit on the sidelines because of someone else’s negligence. Texas personal injury law allows you to seek compensation when someone else has hurt you, and that includes financial compensation for the actual costs of your care, but also your pain, suffering, and your overall ability to enjoy your life. Factors taken into consideration often include:

• The severity of your injury and recovery time. People who recover quickly and fully from car accident-related spine injuries can expect to see smaller damages than those with severe or permanent injuries. Your doctors will use their medical expertise to diagnose and treat you, and ultimately they will predict for the jury the trajectory of your recovery time and medical needs. This will all play a big role in calculating fair compensation for your injuries.
• Lost income and reduced ability to work. Both while you are healing and afterward, your injuries can impact not only your ability to do your actual job but whiplash can impact your ability to do the most basic functions that you need to be able to do to get through a day at work and earn an income. When you can no longer stand at a cash register, sit at your desk, or walk your clients around a model home, you will likely miss a substantial amount of income. If your injuries are severe, you may never be able to return to your job.
• Lost mobility or chronic pain. Whiplash can be a serious spinal cord injury, resulting in paralysis, loss of motor functions, or even chronic pain. Unfortunately, your mobility needs are likely to go beyond medical treatment when you have a severe injury. We consult with life-care planners to understand what short-term or long-term costs you can expect when it comes to adjusting to your new reality. These costs can include home healthcare, house adaptations, adaptable transport, and housekeeping services.
• Impact on quality of life. Insurance companies often try to pass off whiplash from a car accident as “minor,” a hostile technique they use to devalue your claim. Make no mistake, whiplash can have a lasting and meaningful impact on your overall quality of life, and you are entitled to compensation.

FVF Law works to help clients determine what kinds of damages they may be able to recover and will work with your medical providers to demonstrate to the jury how your accident contributed. Contact our car accident lawyers in Austin, TX today.

In addition to the extent of your injuries and their impact on your life, there are other factors that contribute to the amount of your recovery. While some are relatively concrete, such as the actual cost of surgery you will need or the cost to replace your totaled vehicle, we want every client to understand that the value of their case is also determined by its strength and how far we push to get the most compensation possible. This means factoring in:

• Comprehensive medical documentation. When you experience a whiplash injury, it’s vital that you get medical treatment immediately, even if you may think you will recover on your own. Even whiplash injuries that seem minor at first have been shown to cause significant long-term quality of life consequences — perhaps making it not such a minor injury after all. It’s important to keep any medical documentation related to your injury, including X-rays, diagnoses, prescriptions, and bills. If you are already undergoing physical therapy or other treatment, it’s also recommended that you keep all of this paperwork, too. This documentation all goes toward showing your injuries’ impact on your life.
• Limitations of insurance payouts. Texas law requires drivers to carry liability insurance with only $30,000 per person in injury coverage and $60,000 in injury coverage per accident. Those are the maximum amounts available to you if the driver who hit you has only the state-required minimum in coverage — even if your losses exceed that amount. Many people avoid lawsuits for their injuries because they don’t think there is a way to recover additional money from insurance companies, but it is possible. Insurance companies are not even the only source of additional recovery, depending on the circumstances of your accident.

Anyone who has been injured in an accident caused by someone else has a right to explore their legal rights and avenues for recovery. When you’ve been hit in an exceptional circumstance, like being the victim of a drunk driver or being hit by a commercial truck, the number of liable parties responsible may be even greater than just the driver’s insurance company.

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