As injuries affect each person differently, there is no average settlement for a herniated disc. However, we can let you know what types of damages you can expect and what factors might affect your settlement amount.
What Damages Can I Collect for a Herniated Disc?
What you can recover depends on severity of your injuries and how they affect you. However, you can expect to recover the following:
Medical Expenses
Calculating your medical expenses is relatively straightforward. If we have your medical bills, we can use those to determine the total. Ensure you present all bills including the cost of ambulances, initial care, and medication. A herniated disc often requires visits to the chiropractor and physical therapist; be sure to include those costs in your demand. In more severe cases, you may require surgery; you deserve compensation for this as well.
In even more severe cases, your herniated disc may require long-term therapy and maintenance. You can often claim damages for the costs of ongoing treatment if you can provide documentation recommending it. If you require future care, we can work with financial and medical experts to determine what those costs would be.
Lost Wages
Collecting lost wages is typically straightforward as well. Calculating these damages simply requires taking your hourly wage and multiplying it by the hours you missed.
However, the calculation can grow more complex depending on the severity of your herniated disc.
For example, if you worked in a physical field such as construction, a debilitating herniated disc injury may force you to change careers. Or, in some cases, require you to retire altogether. If this is the case for you, your herniated disc settlement should include your lost earning potential through the duration of time you expected to continue working.
Miscellaneous Costs
Medical bills and lost wages are not the only costs you might be entitled to. You can also recover compensation for things like:
- The costs of getting to and from your doctor’s appointments
- Parking fees at your doctor’s office
- The costs of hiring help for things you did before your injury (e.g., childcare, yardwork, driving your children to school, etc.)
Noneconomic Damages
While most people only consider damages with a dollar amount, known as economic damages, noneconomic damages can often total even more than all your economic damages put together. Noneconomic damages are comprised of pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of quality of life, and others.
What Factors Will Limit My Herniated Disc Settlement?
Like all personal injury claims, insurance companies and adjusters want to reduce costs. The most direct way of doing that is paying you less in a settlement. Any of the following could affect your settlement amount:
Your herniated disc was preexisting. Herniated discs often develop through the natural wear and tear your body undergoes. If you ever received treatment for a back or neck injury before the accident, the insurance company might claim your herniated disc was preexisting.
You delayed treatment. The symptoms for herniated discs do not always manifest instantly. If you do not seek immediate treatment, the insurance company could argue another event caused it. It might also claim you are exaggerating or fabricating the injury.
You suffered minimal vehicle damage. Smaller accidents like a rear-ending often cause herniated discs. However, insurance companies often argue that such a small accident could not cause a disc injury.
The incident that caused your injury was minor. Slip and falls are a common cause of herniated discs. The insurance company might claim that the fall was not serious enough to cause the herniated disc.
You contributed to the accident. Georgia’s comparative negligence law allows involved parties to recover compensation even if they contributed to the accident. However, it is important to note that your percentage of fault affects how much you can recover.
For example, you were rear-ended by a texting driver. The investigation found the driver 75 percent at-fault for the accident. However, your brake lights were out, so you received 25 percent of the blame. You would be entitled to 75 percent of your demand. If you requested $10,000, you could recover $7,500. If you were 50 percent or more at-fault, you would be unable to recover anything.
Call an Atlanta Injury Attorney for Help Recovering the Settlement You Deserve
While most people consider a herniated disc to be a minor injury, they can be debilitating and frustrating. The aftermath of an accident is a time when you want to focus on rehabilitating and spending quality time with your family. But the reality is many people end up spending a lot of time sorting through legal and medical documents in hopes of managing the cost of an unfortunate accident.
S. Burke Law understands the difficulty you are facing. We attempt to take some of the stress off your plate, so you can focus on what is important. Call us today at 404-842-7838 for a free consultation.