Available 24/7Herniated discs in your back can be a life-changing car accident injury. Disc injuries are debilitating, and even surgery may not fully repair them. You could be left in continuous pain and discomfort. You may not be able to do the activities that you did before the accident. While you may face an uncertain future, the one certainty is that you have suffered a fair amount of damages after a car accident has left you with a spinal disc injury.
The Law Office of Taylor S. Brathwaite is here for you when an auto accident has left you with a herniated disc. Contact us today to begin the legal process with an Aiken car accident attorney.
How Car Accidents Injure Your Discs
The discs in your back are fluid-filled sacs that protect your back and spinal cord. Discs are meant to act as shock absorbers, cushioning your spinal cord from impact and blows.
In a car accident, the force of the crash may impact your disc. Your body may jerk or move violently from the crash. For example, if you have been rear-ended by a car, your head and neck may snap forward while the rest of your body remains in place. In this case, you could suffer a herniated disc closer to your neck.
Other forces and impacts can cause serious injuries to your middle and lower back. If you already were suffering from some back pain, you may be prone to a herniated disc.
Symptoms of a Herniated Disc After a Crash
When you have suffered a herniated disc, the pain will not necessarily be limited to your back. It may also impact your legs and buttocks. You could be left in continuous discomfort and have trouble walking.
Here are some symptoms that are associated with a herniated disc:
- Sharp pain on one side of the body
- Pain in the legs or hips
- Pain when moving your neck
- Weakness in the legs
Herniated discs affect your mobility. One of the major problems associated with this injury is that the disc could place pressure on your nerves. In some cases, you may not be able to work.
Even if your job doesn’t require physical labor, it may be difficult for you to sit in one place for an extended period.
Treatment for a Herniated Disc
The right treatment for a herniated disc depends on the severity of the injury. The herniated disc can repair itself over time with rest in mild cases. Until that point, you may miss out on a large part of your life and deal with continuous pain.
More serious herniated disc injuries may require surgery. Herniated disc surgery is far from a minor procedure.
The most common surgery is called a microdiscectomy. In this procedure, the doctor may remove fragments of bone, disc and ligament. Given the disc’s proximity to the spinal cord, this surgery may be a risky procedure. The first surgery may not be successful, and you could need multiple procedures. Even then, you may never completely heal from a herniated disc in your back.
How Your Herniated Disc Car Accident Settlement Is Calculated
The size of your settlement depends on several factors that can include the following:
- The severity of your condition
- The life that you had before the injury and what you are missing out on now
- The individual pain and suffering that you experienced
- Whether you can work and earn the money that you were making before the injury
- The other mental and psychological effects of your injury
Pain and suffering is a major component of your herniated disc settlement. The insurance company uses what they call an “objective multiplier” that they assign to your medical bills to calculate how much you may have suffered. They may assign a multiplier of two to four for a disc injury. However, this multiplier may not accurately reflect your situation. The insurance company may figuratively take you out of the picture to be in favor of their formula which would likely save them money.
Remember that you are the one who must prove your injuries. Then, you must demand the money you deserve and fight for it during settlement negotiations.
Your attorney would need to tell your story to argue why the insurance company is not properly valuing your situation.
Focus on Your Case, Instead of an Average Settlement
The insurance company is never going to make it easy for you to get the money that you deserve. They will minimize your injury, discounting your symptoms and what you are going through to pay you less.
In this case, your lawyer’s job is to keep the insurance company from underpaying for a herniated disc injury. You have suffered a serious injury, and you deserve to be fully compensated for it.
In reality, there is no such thing as an average settlement for a herniated disc, nor should you be focused on it in the personal injury process. You are your unique person, and you are feeling the effects of the injuries. What someone else may have gotten in a different state, and at another time, should have no bearing on you. You cannot afford to leave money on the table. Let your lawyer advise you what your case may be worth, and they will do their job.
Contact an Aiken, SC Car Accident Attorney Today
To learn more about herniated disc car accident settlements, contact TSB Injury Law. We will learn more about you and your situation so we can come up with the right value for your case — more than an insurance company will tell you. The first part of the legal process is to reach out to us, however you can, to schedule a free initial consultation. You can call us today at (803) 220-0000 or message us through our website to speak with an attorney about your case.
