Herniated disc injuries from driving accidents can range from mild to severe, with settlements varying just as much — from a few thousand dollars to six-figure payouts.
Every case is different, but we’ll help you assess the outlook of your case by covering average settlement amounts, factors that may affect your claim, and how a personal injury lawyer can improve the settlement result.
If you want tailored advice for your unique case, you can reach out to No Bull Law for a free case evaluation. Our dedicated team of personal injury attorneys is ready to fight for justice in your settlement.
A disc herniation can occur in a car accident when the shock causes a rupture in the rubbery casing of one or more of the cartilage discs between the vertebrae in your spine.
Depending on the extent of the rupture and how much it interferes with your spinal column, symptoms can be mild and intermittent or severe and debilitating.
So, what does this mean for average settlement amounts?
In court, juries award an average of $350,000 for a herniated disc injury. However, the median is around $75,000, meaning half of cases settle for $75,000 or less.
Insurance settlements are typically confidential, so estimating an average is more complicated. If you need surgery, the case will likely settle for more than $50,000.
So, herniated disc injuries tend to settle for more than the average car accident settlement — around $25,000.
However, the average settlement amount may not provide the best idea of what you can receive. Your settlement amount depends on your medical bills, pain and suffering, and other factors.
Claimable Damages For a Herniated Disc In a Car Accident
To start with, in any car accident case, there are three types of general damages for which you can claim compensation:
- Economic damages: These are financial costs with a dollar value, such as medical bills, legal fees, loss of income or earning capacity, and property damage.
- Non-economic damages: These are consequences of the accident that have no inherent dollar value but can be quantified based on severity. Examples include pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of quality of life.
- Punitive damages: You can be awarded additional damages in court if the driver broke the law, showing gross negligence or malice (e.g., a drunk driving accident.)
Adding up these costs forms the foundation of your settlement amount. However, for herniated disc car accident injuries, many other factors can also increase or decrease your claim’s value. Let’s look at a few.
Understanding these eight key factors will help you see how insurers and attorneys evaluate herniated disc accident claims:
1. Medical Expenses and Surgeries
Herniated discs often require long-term care. Ongoing treatments, like steroid injections, pain management medication, or physical therapy, can be costly and increase settlements.
Injuries requiring surgery settle for even higher amounts, as surgeries are expensive and invasive.
On the other hand, you may not need much medical care at all if your injury doesn’t interfere very much with your daily life. In this case, your back or neck injury settlement may be worth less. But it’s important to remember and account for the fact that herniated discs can also worsen and require more care later.
2. Loss of Income and Earning Capacity
While experiencing acute symptoms from a disc herniation, it’s not advised (and can be impossible) to work. You can lose out on income or even lose your job while recovering from your back injury.
Additionally, this injury can impact your ability to work or progress in your career for years to come.
Through your settlement, you’re entitled to compensation for any loss of income you experience in the short and long term.
3. Liability
Texas uses a comparative negligence system, which allows insurance companies and courts to assign liability to each party and adjust settlements accordingly.
For example, say you were in a rear end collision while switching lanes without indicating, but the other driver was speeding and distracted. The insurance adjuster may assign you 30% liability and decrease your settlement by 30%.
Insurance companies may try to blame you and lower your settlement unfairly. That’s why it helps to have a personal injury lawyer to argue a case for your innocence.
4. Legal Representation
According to a study by the Insurance Research Council, cases that an experienced personal injury attorney handles settle for 3-3.5x higher on average. Lawyers play an indispensable role in proving liability, fairly estimating damages, and fighting for maximum compensation. We’ll unpack more about what a personal injury lawyer can do for you later on.
5. Insurance Coverage
Texas is an at-fault state, which means you can claim compensation from the at-fault party’s insurance company. However, insurance policies have limits that cap the amount insurance companies must pay.
In Texas, the minimum car insurance coverage drivers are required to carry is $25,000 for property damage, $30,000 per person, and $60,000 per accident.
So, for example, if the at-fault driver’s insurance covers $30,000 per person, you can’t get more than $30,000 from an insurance settlement even if your damages far exceed this amount.
There are other ways to recover your damages if an insurance settlement can’t fully compensate you. A lawyer can clarify these for you.
6. Crash Severity
A low-speed crash may cause slight property damage, less severe injury, and less long-term pain and suffering. These settle for lower amounts.
On the other hand, a severe crash can cause significant property damage, severe injury with costly long-term health complications, and much more pain and suffering. Severe cases settle for much higher amounts, often upwards of $75,000.
If the at-fault driver broke the law (e.g., speeding or DUI accidents), you may also be entitled to additional punitive damages in court.
7. Health and Age
When a herniated disc case goes to court, juries tend to award higher amounts to victims who are young, active in the workforce, and were provably healthy prior to their car accident injuries.
Insurance companies also take jury verdict trends into account when crafting settlement offers. They may offer you more if you are young and fit, knowing that a jury might act in your favor if you went to court.
On the other hand, people who are older or have pre-existing back conditions may find it harder to prove that their injuries resulted from the accident. In this case, a personal injury lawyer is your best bet for a worthy back or neck injury settlement.
8. Supporting Evidence
Accident claims tend to settle for more when they are supported by evidence. This can include:
- Photos and videos of the accident scene and injuries
- Witness statements
- Expert medical testimony
- Documentation of medical treatments you require presently or in the future
You may wonder how the settlement process will play out and how all these elements will factor in. We’ll break it down step by step.
Settlement Procedure for Herniated Disc Car Accident Claims
This breakdown of seven key stages of a settlement procedure will help you understand what to expect and how to prepare for each step:
- Document Your Injuries: Keep detailed evidence and records of your injury and medical expenses.
- Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer: A personal injury lawyer can help you with every step of the settlement process, ensuring you don’t make any mistakes that could jeopardize your herniated disc claim. So, it’s best to reach out as soon as possible after your motor vehicle accident.
- Consult with Your Insurance Companies: Report the accident and your injuries to your insurance companies, along with supporting evidence, to get advice on the next steps. Understanding what your policies cover will help you and your legal team make an accurate insurance claim.
- File a Claim with the At-Fault Party’s Insurance Company: Work with your lawyer to file a well-supported insurance claim within the required time frame.
- Await the First Settlement Offer: The insurance adjuster will investigate your case, review the evidence provided, and internally calculate your damages. Insurance adjusters often use a multiplier method to calculate damage. For example, they might multiply your economic damages by three to quantify your non-economic damages. But here’s the thing: Insurance companies are financially motivated to undervalue your injury settlement, so the first offer will almost always be too low.
- Negotiate for a Fair Settlement: Your personal injury attorney can demand and negotiate for a higher offer, and advise you when an offer is good enough to accept.
- Explore Other Compensation Options: If you can’t reach a fair settlement through insurance, your lawyer can explain your other options for fair compensation. These can include filing a lawsuit against the at-fault party, suing a third party (like a government entity, medical provider, or vehicle manufacturer), or claiming from your own insurance policies (E.g., Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage — UI/UIM). If you decide to take your herniated disc case to court, your lawyer can represent you, armed in the fight for justice with an in-depth knowledge of your case from the start.
If you’ve never worked with a lawyer before, you might think they’re only helpful in a court setting, but this is a misconception. A personal injury lawyer is a valuable asset from the start to the end of your case. Let’s take a closer look.
Dealing with a herniated disc settlement can be very stressful, especially when you’re also managing pain and recovery.
A personal injury lawyer can provide indispensable support and aid to make the process easier and get you the best possible injury settlement. Here’s how they help:
- Calculating Damages and Compiling Evidence: A lawyer calculates all your costs, including long-term care and future losses, and gathers the evidence needed to prove your herniated disc claim.
- Handling Communication with the Insurance Adjuster: Your lawyer handles all communication with the insurance company, making sure deadlines are met and mistakes are avoided. This gives you the time and peace of mind to focus on recovery.
- Assessing and Negotiating Settlement Offers: A lawyer evaluates settlement offers to ensure they accurately reflect your settlement value, considering both immediate and future needs. They’ll negotiate aggressively with the insurance company to secure a fair payout.
- Clarifying Your Options for Getting Full Compensation: Your attorney can break things down in straightforward terms so you can make informed decisions about your case. They ensure you understand every aspect of the process, from settlement offers to lawsuits and beyond.
- Representing You in Court: If needed, they’ll represent you in court, presenting your case to fight for the full compensation you deserve.
Choosing a Texas law firm that specializes in personal injury cases, like No Bull Law, ensures you have an expert fighting for your rights. Plus, personal injury lawyers only charge you when you win, so you don’t need to worry about up-front costs.
No Bull, Just Results: How No Bull Law Fights for You
At No Bull Law, our team of passionate personal injury lawyers has years of experience handling all kinds of bodily injury and motor vehicle accident cases, no matter how complicated. We’re here to make the process as simple and stress-free as possible.
Here’s how it works:
- Start by contacting us for a free, no-obligation consultation. We’ll discuss your situation and provide some feedback.
- Our team digs into the details of your case, investigating the evidence you provide.
- If we take your case, we take on all the negotiations and legal work to set your mind at ease and win your case.
The best part?
You don’t owe us a cent unless we secure a settlement or verdict for you.
With that, let’s wrap up by covering a few common queries about these settlements.
6 FAQs About Herniated Disc Car Accident Settlements
Herniated disc settlements can be complicated, and it’s natural to have questions about the process. We’ll answer six frequent queries covering the lifespan of a herniated disc settlement, from diagnosis to payout.
1. What Are the Symptoms of a Herniated Disc Injury?
When a disc ruptures, you lose some of the shock absorption between your vertebrae. Additionally, there are lots of nerves around your spine, and the slipped disc can push into these nerves, causing widespread pain and discomfort.
Herniated disc symptoms can include leg, back, arm, neck, and hip pain, numbness, muscle weakness, and spinal stenosis (narrowing of the space in your spinal canal). These can take the form of minor, occasional flare ups or debilitating chronic pain.
A spinal cord injury like a ruptured disc can also indirectly lead to a host of other symptoms, like incontinence, permanent nerve damage, and paralysis.
2. What’s the Difference Between a Herniated Disc and a Bulging Disc?
Some people use these phrases interchangeably, but they are different conditions.
A bulging disc happens when the soft interior of the disc pushes outwards, but the rubbery outer “shell” remains intact without any crack or rupture. Bulging discs can result from driving accidents, but they can also arise from normal wear and tear as you age, poor posture, heavy lifting, and degenerative disc disorder.
Bulging discs often have less severe symptoms, but they can also become herniated.
3. Can You Get Compensation if a Crash Worsened a Pre-existing Herniated Disc Injury?
Yes, this is possible. However, in such cases, it can be challenging to prove that some of your symptoms weren’t present before the accident.
It’s highly advised to hire a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to give you the best chance of obtaining fair compensation.
4. How Long Do Herniated Disc Accident Settlements Take?
In general, car accident settlements can take several months to wrap up and pay out. The average is around eight months if you accept the first offer, or closer to a year if you have a lawyer negotiating for you.
However, the higher the settlement value and the more complicated it is, the longer it takes on average. Since herniated disc settlements often have higher settlement amounts and more complexities than some other car accident settlements, they may take longer.
Every case is different. You can consult with your lawyer to get a tailored estimate of the expected timeline.
5. What Should You Do After A Car Accident if You Suspect a Herniated Disc?
After a car accident, you should always seek immediate medical treatment. Request an MRI if you suspect a spinal cord injury, herniated disc, or bulging disc because this provides more detailed results than X-rays or CT scans.
Follow your doctor’s advice carefully because insurance companies may look for evidence of non-compliance with medical treatment to claim that your bodily injury isn’t that severe or you made it worse.
Additionally, consult with a lawyer to ensure all necessary examinations are conducted and your rights are protected.
The conditions of your disc injury can change over time. For example, a bulging disc can become herniated. Intermittent pain from a herniated disc can turn into chronic pain. It’s almost impossible to revisit a claim after it settles, even if your condition changes.
Texas law also imposes a two-year statute of limitations for lawsuits, and exceptions are extremely rare.
That’s why it’s essential to have an experienced lawyer handle your case from the start. They’ll factor in potential future complications and pursue every option for fair compensation, ensuring you’re protected if your condition worsens later.
Securing Fair Compensation for Your Herniated Disc Starts Here
A herniated disc accident settlement can be complex, with challenges like proving long-term implications and navigating insurance limits.
Without proper representation, you risk accepting less than you deserve. That’s why hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer is critical. They know their way around the legal system, with a keen understanding of how to protect your rights and fight for fair compensation.
At No Bull Law, we’ll take the hassle out of your herniated disc accident settlement. With no fees unless we win, our dedicated team ensures you’re supported every step of the way.
Contact No Bull Law today for a free case evaluation and let us fight for you.
