An attorney will work with medical experts and economists to determine how much your back injury is worth in a lawsuit. No lawyer can assign an accurate figure to your injury before reviewing your medical exams and considering other factors specific to your situation. Without the help of a capable personal injury lawyer, you may struggle to value and seek fair compensation for your back injury.
Types of Back Injuries You Can File a Lawsuit For
Back injuries can produce severe, life-altering symptoms. These symptoms may require substantial medical intervention to fix, and some may never heal.
When you refer to your “back,” you may be referring to a complex, interconnected network of muscles, bones, tendons, and nerves. You may only realize what specific back feature suffers an injury once you receive a thorough medical examination.
Some types of common back injuries include:
- Fractures: Your spine is composed of 33 bones, known as vertebrae. These bones can break and crack when you experience physical trauma.
- Disc injuries: Discs in your back provide cushioning between your vertebrae. When a disc ruptures or is out of place, you may experience immense pain and suffer other health complications because your spine is dysfunctional.
- Muscle sprains and strains: These injuries happen when your muscles tear or stretch beyond their healthy capacity. A sprain or strain may be painful and contribute to secondary health problems.
- Muscle spasms: Spasms can develop due to a muscle strain or sprain. These spasms are a body’s natural response to an injured muscle, but they have an inflaming effect and can cause stiffness and limited motion in your back.
- Nerve injuries: Certain spinal cord injuries can cause temporary or permanent nerve injuries, including those that result in paralysis.
Any back injury requires immediate and extensive medical attention. If you have yet to receive imaging, diagnoses, and a treatment plan for a back injury, seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Types of Accidents That Can Cause Back Injuries
Accidents that commonly cause back injuries and lead to insurance claims and lawsuits include:
- Car accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Falls, which can result from construction accidents, trips, slips, and other circumstances
- Surgical errors
- Physical assaults
- Sports accidents
- Untreated infections
- Animal attacks
If you or a loved one suffered a back injury and someone else caused the onset or worsening of the injury, speak with a personal injury lawyer. They may find that you deserve compensation for medical care and other damages, and they will pursue the money you deserve.
Symptoms of Back Injuries That May Be Especially Costly
Back injuries produce different symptoms, but some are common in most back injuries. Such symptoms tend to have a substantial negative impact on quality of life and may include:
Pain
Back injuries can cause acute and chronic pain, which may worsen when someone moves or occupies certain postures (like standing or sitting).
This pain may worsen with time and may prevent the person with the back injury from:
- Doing physical work
- Exercising
- Conducting everyday tasks (even those as simple as getting water for themselves or meeting someone at the door)
- Living a full life
When someone cannot move freely because of pain, virtually everything about their life worsens. Medical journals have found that chronic pain increases one’s risk of suicide, which speaks to how impactful a severe back injury can be.
Immobility
Stiffness from a back injury may significantly limit one’s range of motion. Pain may also contribute to such immobility.
Immobility may make it difficult to sleep or remain in good physical shape, which can have life-threatening health consequences. You may also have to rely on others to complete tasks requiring even minimal movement.
Loss of Sensation
Certain back injuries can affect your sensation, causing:
- Tingling at the site of injury and/or in your extremities
- Numbness in extremities or other areas of your body
- Complete loss of sensation due to severe nerve damage
Such changes in sensation may come with nerve pain and other symptoms. These symptoms may be immensely dangerous, as you may be more susceptible to burn injuries, circulatory problems, and other health conditions because you cannot feel your body or objects around you as you used to.
Paralysis
Spinal cord injuries can result in paralysis, typically when an accident severs or damages nerves in the spine.
After paralysis, you may:
- Never again move the affected body parts
- Have to alter every aspect of your daily routine, professional life, and personal life because of the paralyzing injury
- Suffer intense and long-lasting emotional and psychological distress
- Rely on loved ones and professional caregivers daily
- Suffer millions of dollars in lifetime expenses related specifically to your spinal cord injury
One cannot truly understand the toll of paralysis unless they have experienced or watched a loved one suffer such a permanent injury.
How Do I Determine the Cost of a Back Injury?
It may be challenging for you to determine the cost of a back injury on your own. Even if you speak with a doctor or somebody who has suffered an injury similar to yours, they may have a limited ability to project the cost of your injury.
Many people who suffer a back injury turn to attorneys to calculate the cost of their injury. Attorneys must value their clients’ injuries to pursue a fair financial recovery, so they will know who to turn to (including medical professionals, mental health professionals, and economists) when valuing your damages.
As they work to value your back injury, your attorney will consider:
- Your specific injury: No two back injuries are exactly alike, and the details of your injury will be relevant when calculating its monetary cost. As one example, an injury that results in complete paralysis may be more costly than a slipped disc.
- Your unique symptoms: The nature and severity of your symptoms will also be relevant to the value of your settlement. For instance, if you have debilitating pain, your lawyer will account for the suffering that such pain causes you.
- Whether you’ve suffered permanent disability: Disabling injuries tend to cost the victim much more than non-disabling injuries. You may need lifelong medical care, in-home caregiver services, medical equipment, replacement income, and other disability-specific services, which will come at a cost.
- The event that caused your injury: The event that caused your back injury may have caused damages independent of your back injury. A car accident victim, one example, may need compensation to repair or replace their vehicle.
- Your non-economic damages: One’s response to a back injury is a factor in a lawyer’s calculation of damages. If your back injury leads to significant depression, your lawyer will consider this reality when calculating your damages.
Each accident is different, as is each injury and client. Your attorney will take a personalized approach to evaluating your damages, and this client-centric approach will ensure they calculate your damages accurately.
How Do I Seek Compensation for a Back Injury?
Personal injury lawyers typically use two means to secure compensation for clients with back injuries:
- Negotiating a settlement with an insurance company
- Filing a lawsuit against liable parties
Even if your attorney files a lawsuit (against a motorist who causes an accident, let’s say), they may continue negotiating with an insurance company. However, if settlement negotiations fail, your lawyer may proceed to court in pursuit of a verdict from a jury.
Should I Hire a Lawyer to Fight for My Financial Recovery?
For many with back injuries, the answer to this question is a resounding “yes.”
Hire a personal injury attorney when you suffer a back injury to:
- Avoid the direct cost of a claim or lawsuit: When you hire a personal injury lawyer, the law firm covers the entire cost of completing the claim. Filing expenses, expert fees, and other costs will fall to the law firm, not you.
- Rely on someone who has represented others with back injuries: You should seek a lawyer who has successfully represented others with back injuries. Such experience may give a lawyer insight into the nature of back injuries, the damages associated with those injuries, and the formula for a winning claim.
- Tap into a lawyer’s legal acumen: Attorneys know the laws, legal processes, and other aspects of a claim or lawsuit. Relying on a lawyer’s existing knowledge will prevent you from trying to learn and navigate the legal process for yourself, which puts you at risk of costly mistakes.
- Avoid further injury: Rest may be among your greatest priorities after a back injury. If you fail to rest—because you’re scrambling to complete a claim—you may risk worsening existing injuries or suffering new ailments.
- Protect your mental and emotional health: Those with back injuries may be grappling with high-stress levels. If you attempt to lead your claim, you may take on further stress you’re unprepared to handle.
There are many reasons to lean on a back injury attorney, and you may quickly realize why so many victims of serious injuries turn to personal injury lawyers for help.
Personal Injury Lawyers Don’t Receive a Fee Unless They Win
Most personal injury firms offer a contingency fee structure to make your decision even easier. A contingency fee means that the lawyer’s fee is contingent on them obtaining compensation for the client.
Law firms may offer such a fee structure because:
- Many clients cannot financially pay an upfront fee
- Even if someone with a back injury has money for a lawyer, the cost of their injury might stretch their finances thin
- Law firms generally accept cases they believe they can win, so they are willing to forego an upfront fee and accept a percentage of the client’s financial recovery
Personal injury firms have the financial resources to lead a case without the client’s upfront payment. By requiring no upfront fee, law firms allow anyone with a back injury to hire a personal injury lawyer.
What Does a Lawyer Do for Someone Suffering from a Back Injury?
Back injury attorneys lead their clients’ cases from start to finish, and generally:
- Learn everything about the client’s injury: Your lawyer will work to become an expert on your injuries, including the symptoms and damages that will entitle you to compensation.
- Calculate the cost of damages: Your lawyer will calculate exactly how much compensation you deserve. This calculation will become the monetary target during settlement negotiations.
- Seek evidence of liable parties’ negligence: An attorney must typically prove negligence to win a lawsuit. Evidence, such as witness accounts and video footage, can help your lawyer prove negligence.
- Fight for a fair settlement: Your lawyer will negotiate for you. They will meet with representatives for the insurance company or a liable party (such as the property owner on which a slip and fall accident happened). During these meetings, your lawyer will present evidence and documentation of your damages. They will insist that liable parties extend a fair settlement offer.
- If necessary, take the case to court: If your lawyer exhausts settlement negotiations by securing a fair offer, they may proceed with a lawsuit and trial.
Your lawyer will direct every aspect of your case, ensuring that you can focus on your recovery without concerns about your case.
Possible Recoverable Damages in a Back Injury Case
A back injury can cause a wide range of recoverable losses, which may include:
- Professional damages, including lost income and diminished earning power
- Pain and suffering
- Property expenses
- Medical expenses
No two back injury claims are identical. Your lawyer will work urgently but deliberately to identify and value your damages. They will lead the fight for a fair settlement once they know exactly how much money you are entitled to.
Don’t Wait to Hire a Back Injury Lawyer
Jacob D. Lawrence, Back Injury Attorney in Cape Girardeau
Cape Girardeau Personal injury lawyers often face filing deadlines for back injury lawsuits. Don’t wait to find the right lawyer for your case—hire them and let them fight for you.