There is no minimum amount of compensation you can receive for whiplash. Lawyers must determine the amount of money you deserve based on your circumstances. Several factors can influence your case value, including the cost of your medical treatment, the severity of your whiplash symptoms, the amount of income you lose because of injury, and the degree of your pain and suffering.
Whiplash is most associated with car accidents but can also occur during physical attacks, slips and falls, sporting accidents, and other incidents. If you or a loved one suffered whiplash, speak with a personal injury lawyer about whether you have a compensation case.
Why Whiplash Can Be a High-Cost Health Condition
To recover compensation, you need to identify the specific symptoms of whiplash:
- Pain and discomfort: Whiplash-related pain often affects the back and neck and may cause tenderness in your shoulders and arms.
- Headaches: These deep, throbbing headaches can make even the simplest task seem impossible.
- Sensory problems: Whiplash may contribute to ringing in the ears, vision changes, and other inconvenient, agonizing, and seemingly indefinite sensory problems.
- Fatigue: Whiplash may coincide with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Like TBIs, the effects of whiplash can include fatigue. This lack of energy may present an alarming barrier to living your life as you want to live it.
- Mood and personality changes: Whiplash’s potential effect on the brain and the general pain and inconvenience the injury causes may cause significant negative changes in the victim’s mood and personality. The individual may even experience depression as a direct result of their whiplash symptoms.
These are just some symptoms you may experience due to whiplash.
Whiplash Symptoms May Interfere with Every Aspect of Your Life
Some people dismiss whiplash as a minor injury, but they should not. The truth is, while whiplash might not strike fear in the way that internal bleeding, a broken arm, or other injuries might, the effects of whiplash can come at a catastrophic cost.
Your whiplash may prove to be an expensive injury because:
- There is a significant chance that whiplash symptoms will either prevent you from working, cause you to cut back your hours, or change professional roles.
- Headaches, pain, hearing problems, and discomfort from whiplash can place the victim in a near-constant state of distress, which is an exhausting way to live.
- You may need extensive, long-term medical care to address symptoms and alleviate pain, and medical care is always expensive.
Auto Accident Victims and Others with Whiplash Should Consider Hiring a Lawyer (Right Away)
If you suffer from whiplash, hire a personal injury lawyer as soon as you can due to:
- Filing deadlines: Most states have deadlines for filing personal injury lawsuits. Insurance companies generally expect claimants to file claims within a reasonable period of time. In any case, have a lawyer begin work on your case promptly.
- Potential arguments against your case: If you wait to pursue a lawsuit or insurance claim related to your whiplash, liable parties may use your hesitation against you. For instance, they might claim that you’re not as injured as you claim—if you were, they might say you would have taken action sooner.
- The fleeting nature of evidence: Evidence of negligence is almost always a vital component of a personal injury case. If you don’t hire your lawyer to secure evidence immediately, you might lose evidence to intentional or unintentional destruction or disposal.
You might also be at risk of insurers’ bad-faith tactics when you lack an attorney. The moment you hire a lawyer is the moment you can stop worrying about these time-sensitive concerns.
Specific Reasons Why a Whiplash Attorney Is Valuable to You
Before you hire your whiplash attorney, you should understand the immense value your legal team will bring to your case.
You may choose to hire an attorney because:
- Lawyers make whiplash cases far easier for the client: Most people who suffer from an injury want, more than anything, some relief. They don’t want to have to deal with insurance companies, complicated math, or complex negotiations. Hiring a lawyer enables you to bypass these and other case-related headaches.
- You may face many threats to your case: Assuming your compensation case will be easy would be a mistake. Hopefully, liable parties will hand over fair compensation without a fight, but history indicates this is unlikely. An attorney will snuff out bad-faith tactics from insurers, lowball offers, and all other potential threats to your case’s success.
- Your law firm may provide resources you would not otherwise have: A law firm’s attorneys and paralegals are resources in and of themselves—and valuable resources, at that. A firm may also offer experts, accident reconstructions, and other resources that significantly enhance your case.
- Attorneys understand insurance companies’ (and other lawyers’) tactics well: Due to their experience, a proven whiplash lawyer will be prepared for insurance companies and civil defense lawyers. They will see through any deception or bad-faith tactics these parties might use against you.
Do not neglect your health. If you do not focus your attention and energy on your recovery, you may suffer for longer than you otherwise would. Embrace teamwork by allowing a personal injury lawyer to lead your case as you lead your recovery.
Why You May Deserve Compensation for Your Whiplash (and All Other Related Damages)
When whiplash results from someone else’s negligence, the individual suffering from the whiplash generally deserves compensation. This is how our insurance and civil justice systems work—when negligence causes harm, the harmed party has a right to fair compensation.
Your personal injury attorney will confirm if you deserve compensation for whiplash and related damages by:
- Confirming that someone owed you a duty of care: Having a “duty of care” simply means that someone has a responsibility to act reasonably. Property owners have a duty of care, as do motor vehicle drivers, car manufacturers, and countless others. As part of proving negligence, your attorney will highlight that the at-fault party owed you a duty of care.
- Establishing that the negligent party violated their duty of care: Your attorney will use all the relevant evidence they can collect to prove the at-fault party breached their duty of care. Several types of evidence, from witness statements to video, can help an attorney prove the breach.
- Proving the link between the breached duty of care and your whiplash: Your lawyer will create a logical narrative that ties the breach of duty of care to your whiplash. For example, if you suffered whiplash during an auto accident, your lawyer will prove how the breach of duty of care caused the accident. In doing so, your attorney will prove how the at-fault party caused your injury.
- Confirming that you’ve suffered damages due to the whiplash: The last step in proving negligence is to show the cost you’ve suffered due to the at-fault party’s negligence. During this step, they may produce medical bills and records, financial statements, expert testimony, and other relevant documentation.
Proving negligence is just one critical piece of a successful case. Your attorney will handle this step in stride while deftly managing every other case-related responsibility.
How Attorneys Secure Compensation for Clients with Whiplash
Proving that negligence caused your whiplash is one of the many duties your lawyer will embrace and fulfill. Some of their other responsibilities will include:
Puzzling Together All Documentation of Your Damages
When it comes to the harm you’ve suffered because of whiplash and whatever events caused you to suffer the injury, your lawyer will portray a comprehensive picture.
They need to show how you’ve suffered physically, financially, and otherwise, and they may prove your damages using:
- Your statements about pain and suffering and other harm related to your whiplash
- Testimony from doctors, mental health service providers, and any other experts who can shine a light on your damages
- Medical bills
- Bills for any counseling or other mental health treatment you seek (if this treatment is related to your case)
- Financial statements showing lost income and expenses related to your whiplash
Personal injury attorneys can document their clients’ whiplash-related damages while fully respecting the client’s privacy and well-being. This sensitivity is part of the art of being an effective, compassionate personal injury lawyer.
Determining Your Case Value
Determining the cost of whiplash is not as simple as adding up your medical bills.
The toll of this injury is usually far broader, and your lawyer must account for:
- Economic harm: Medical bills, lost income, and certain other damages are purely financial in nature. These expenses and financial losses may form a substantial portion of your case value.
- Non-economic harm: Whiplash (and other circumstances related to your case) can result in harm that does not have an obvious financial component. Pain and suffering is the prime example. Physical pain does not have an objective financial cost, but your lawyer will determine how much money you deserve for your pain.
- Any long-term damages associated with your case: In many cases, an attorney will wait for their client to reach maximum medical improvement (MMI) before seeking a settlement. However, this isn’t always possible. If the accident permanently disabled you, for example, your lawyer will need to determine the cost of any future harm you’ll endure.
Your lawyer will account for the full cost of your whiplash as they fight for all the compensation you deserve.
Seeking a Fair Settlement
Attorneys can resolve whiplash-related cases in several ways. The primary options are to agree to a settlement or seek a judgment at trial.
Most cases settle, but trust your lawyer to propose the right strategy for you. As circumstances in your case change, your lawyer’s strategy and advice may change, too—this is why you should seek a lawyer with ample experience in settling and bringing cases to trial.
Leading You Through the Legal System If Your Case Requires a Lawsuit or Trial
If you and your attorney pursue a lawsuit, your legal team will take the lead. Elite law firms are decisive and aggressive when filing lawsuits and making their cases in court.
The right law firm will fearlessly lead you through the civil justice system, should your case unfold that way.
Damages That Can Result from Whiplash and the Event(s) That Caused the Whiplash
Your lawyer will likely have experience representing other clients with whiplash. Ask about a personal injury attorney’s relevant experience when completing free consultations.
This familiarity with whiplash injuries will help your lawyer identify and document each of your damages, which may include:
- Lost income, missed bonus and promotion opportunities, lost earning power, and other professional damages related to your whiplash.
- Physical pain, discomfort, difficulty sleeping, lost quality of life, and any other types of pain and suffering related to the whiplash.
- Medical expenses.
- Mental health treatment costs.
Your lawyer will give you the floor to explain how whiplash has degraded your life. They will also do their due diligence to identify the damages for which you deserve compensation.
When Should I Hire an Attorney to Seek Compensation for My Whiplash?
Do not wait to hire a whiplash attorney. Consultations are free and come with no pressure to hire a firm, so take advantage.
Nicolette R. Nicoletti
Managing Partner
Nicolette R. Nicoletti is the founder and managing partner of the Nicoletti Accident Injury Lawyers. She was born and raised in New Port Richey, Florida. Nicolette attended Genesis Preparatory School and graduated salutatorian of her class. She then went onto Saint Leo University for her undergraduate education. She graduated magna cum laude from the Honors Program with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. While at Saint Leo University, Nicolette was President of Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science Honor Society), Secretary of Alpha Phi Sigma (Criminal Justice Honor Society), and an active member of Delta Epsilon Sigma (National Scholastic Honor Society).
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