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Keith Lapeze • March 6, 2020

How Much Is My Spinal Injury Worth After a Car Accident?

A personal injury claim can help you receive compensation for the injuries you suffered in a car accident. One of the most common types of damages suffered by victims in a car crash is a back or spinal injury – especially in rear-end collisions.

Because back and spinal injuries can vary widely, from strains and sprains to spinal cord injuries or even paralysis, the settlement value of any given claim is unique to each case.

Thankfully, the reliable Houston car accident attorneys of Lapeze & Johns, PLLC , can be your stepping stone in assessing the value of your claim. Allow our team to help you better understand not only which factors will impact the value of your case, but also which are pivotal to developing the foundation of your claim.

Understanding Economic and Non-economic Damages

When trying to determine how much your back or spinal injury is worth, the answer is not as easy to find as it would seem. The type of injury, the severity of your injury, and fault all play important parts in the calculation of your settlement.

Insurance companies will look at the costs associated with your accident, including economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages are those which can essentially be computed on a balance sheet, or in other words, have a real-world value.

Non-economic damages, on the other hand, are not so easily calculated as they affect the personal aspects of your life. Non-economic damages apply differently to every individual’s situation because everyone’s injuries affect them differently, in terms of mental and emotional health.

Specific Economic Damages

These are costs that can be applied to any case, including:

Medical bills : Medical bills are known to pile up fast when dealing with a serious injury. Medical expenses can include doctor visits, costs of medications, injections, physical therapy, surgeries, and chiropractic treatment, as well as future/ongoing medical care.
Property damages: If you have suffered a car accident, you are likely not only dealing with physical pain but property damages as well (e.g. car damages). You should recover compensation for the total amount of damages your property suffered as the result of another driver’s negligence.
Lost wages : Missing out on a day’s work can leave an undeniable effect on your finances. Missing multiple days can hurt your pockets even more. Lost wages may help you take care of lost income from the time of your injury to the time that you’re officially able to get back to work.
Home modifications : Spinal cord injuries can lead to paralysis. When this happens, you may require special medical equipment, such as a wheelchair to help you get around. This will likely mean you will need to make modifications to your home, like ramps, lifts, and other modifications.

Specific Non-Economic Damages

These damages cannot be generalized. These include, but are not limited to:

Pain and suffering : While economic damages help you afford treatment for your physical injuries, emotional trauma is calculated as a non-economic damage. These costs typically involve continued pain and mental health problems (i.e. depression, anxiety, or PTSD caused by your incident).
Loss of enjoyment : Your personal injury claim will look into your previous activities and whether your injury has negatively affected your happiness and quality of living.
Loss of consortium : This is mainly to compensate spouses and children for their pain and suffering related to your injuries. If the injury occurs to a husband or wife, the loss of that partner’s ability to help manage the household, look after the children, and help with income stirs up a physical and emotional burden. All the losses the victim and the family have gone through are reimbursable.
If appropriate, additional (punitive) damages This is in the rare case that the at-fault party acted with gross negligence or willful intent.

Skilled Houston Car Accident Attorneys

A back injury can truly be life-changing. You deserve to have the peace of mind knowing that you’ll have the financial means to cover your injuries. Do not avoid treatment out of the fear of expenses.

If you suffered a back or spinal injury in a car accident because of the negligence of another driver, the Houston car accident attorneys of Lapeze & Johns are ready to fight for you.