What is the Average Settlement for Whiplash and Concussion?
There are an average of 17,000 car accidents every day in the U.S., causing thousands of whiplash and concussion injuries. While these injuries are not typically life threatening, they can cause debilitating symptoms including neck pain, dizziness, difficulty focusing, headaches, and disorientation.
What is a whiplash injury?
A whiplash injury is an injury that affects the neck. It is caused by the force of the collision that pushes the neck backward and then forward, most commonly in a rear-end or T-bone accident. This violent motion injures the muscles and nerves and/or the tendons and discs in the neck. A whiplash injury car accident lawyer can discuss your legal rights.
What is a concussion?
Traumatic brain injuries such as concussions are fairly common in collisions. These injuries may occur when the head smacks into the steering wheel or from the sheer force of the brain being violently thrown forward, causing the brain to slam into the skull. A concussion can cause disorientation, dizziness, headaches, nausea, and more. A traumatic brain injury car accident lawyer can discuss your legal rights.
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Car Accident Settlements for Post-Concussion Syndrome
Traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, are a common injury caused by motor vehicle accidents. While most concussion symptoms improve within a week or two and resolve completely within a month, some patients end up dealing with Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS). PCS is a complex health condition that affects 30 percent to 80 percent of patients with mild to moderate brain injury. If the following symptoms persist after a month or two, it could be a sign that you are experiencing PCS: headaches, dizziness, ringing in the ears, insomnia, loss of concentration and memory, and irritability. Women and older adults as well as those who have had previous concussions are at greater risk of developing PCS.
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How Pregnancy Affects Car Accident Settlements
Getting injured in a car accident is always a scary and unsettling experience but it is even scarier for pregnant women who are protecting a fetus in their womb. A serious accident while pregnant can cause medical complications for both the mother and unborn child, including premature labor. When you factor in the additional potential for damages – injuries and expenses related to the accident and resulting injuries – it is reasonable to ask: how much can pregnant women get from a car accident settlement?
In this article, we will discuss the risks to a pregnant mother and her fetus from a car accident and car accident claims for pregnant women.
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Determining Fault in Accidents Caused by a Medical Emergency
It can be tricky to determine fault in any motor vehicle accident but when the driver who caused a crash was experiencing a medical emergency, it adds to the confusion. Insurance companies are just as interested in determining fault in accidents caused by a medical emergency as they are in any other accident.
If you or a loved one was injured in an accident with a driver who experienced a medical emergency, it is in the injured party’s interest to seek help from a local car accident lawyer to help fight for the settlement you deserve.
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Will I Automatically Get a Car Accident Settlement?
People injured in car accidents because of the negligence of another driver have the legal right to file a claim that seeks compensation for their losses. This right should not be conflated with a guarantee; people injured in car accidents will not automatically get a car accident settlement and, in fact, not all insurance claims for car accidents result in settlements. At-fault insurance companies will do just about anything they can to weasel out of paying a fair settlement – or any settlement at all – if they can get away with it. They will use the lack of damage to your vehicle or your prior medical history to claim that you could not have been injured by their driver. This is why it is so important to seek the help of an experienced car accident lawyer who knows all the insurance industry tricks.
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What To Do If You are Hit by an Unlicensed Driver
Because of the risks involved with driving, all drivers in the United States, including Washington State, are required to have a driver’s license to operate a vehicle. Unfortunately, there is always a percentage of people who don’t comply. At any given time, there are people driving on U.S. roads without a valid license; most often because their license was suspended or revoked. This selfish choice puts other drivers on the road with them at risk of being hit by an unlicensed driver.
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What to Do If You are in a Hit and Run Accident
A hit and run accident makes the stress and trauma of a car accident even worse, especially when someone is seriously injured or killed in the collision. When the person who may be responsible for the crash flees the scene without exchanging information with the other driver, there is a legitimate fear that the driver may not be held responsible for the accident and injuries they caused.
As car accident lawyers, we have seen an increase in hit and run accidents in the last 24 months. According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), overall traffic crashes and injuries were down in 2020 but fatal crashes and fatalities increased and deaths in hit-and-run crashes jumped by 26 percent.
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What Not to Say After a Car Accident
Anyone who has been in a car accident knows the amount of adrenaline that starts pumping through your body. It’s a very stressful situation that can make us drop our guard right at the time we need to keep our cool. It’s safe to assume that anything said to the other driver or a responding police officer after a collision will be used against you, making it more difficult to file a claim and get fair compensation for your losses. Read on to learn what not to say after a car accident so you can protect yourself.
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Falling Asleep at the Wheel: 6 Signs You’re Too Tired to Drive
There are a variety of reasons that a person may cause a car accident: drowsy driving or falling asleep at the wheel is one of them. Tragically, drowsy driving crashes result in more than 1,550 fatal car accidents and 71,000 injuries annually.
If you or a loved one was injured because of a driver falling asleep at the wheel, call a local car accident lawyer as soon as possible. The injury attorney can discuss your legal rights and determine next steps.
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Read MoreTop 5 Reasons Insurance Companies Lowball Insurance Settlement Offers
If there is one thing you need to know about insurance companies it’s that they aren’t in business to pay out fair settlements. Their priority is their bottom line, not their clients and certainly not the person injured by one of their clients. If you were injured because of the negligence of another such as in a car accident, you likely received a call from the at-fault insurer shortly after the accident claim, to ask questions that will benefit them and/or to make a lowball settlement offer. It is important to seek legal guidance from a personal injury lawyer before speaking to an insurance adjuster and definitely before accepting an insurance settlement offer.