You might be entitled to significant financial compensation if someone else’s negligence was the cause of your whiplash injuries. Contact the Walton Telken Injury Attorneys in St. Louis to learn more about your legal rights and the potential to receive a settlement check for whiplash.
Symptoms of Whiplash: Immediate and Delayed
Whiplash is a car accident injury that may not be apparent at the scene. You may feel neck and back pain right after the accident that you have been treated for, either at the scene or in the hospital. Other people may believe that they are perfectly fine at the scene, only to begin to experience symptoms in the days and weeks after the accident. It can take some time for whiplash symptoms to appear.
Here are some things that you may experience with whiplash:
- Continuous pain in your neck and back
- Reduced range of motion in your neck
- The potential for a traumatic brain injury if your brain strikes the base of your skull
- Muscle weakness and numbness
- Dizziness or vertigo
- Burning or tingling in the arms
These symptoms can last for months or years. For some, they may last for a lifetime.
Treatment for Whiplash Injuries
Whiplash injuries can be difficult to treat. Some people may never be the same again after their injuries. Some people may recover after a few weeks of rest alone. Others may need physical therapy and rehabilitation. More serious cases may require surgery.
If your whiplash caused a traumatic brain injury, the treatment will be more complex. You will also need physical and occupational therapy in the hopes of regaining some of the function that you lost. However, most traumatic brain injuries are permanent, and you may be unable to recover fully.
Depending on the extent of your injuries, your medical care can be very costly. You do not want to settle a case for less than it is worth only to find out that you do not have money left after paying your medical expenses.
How Much Is a Settlement for Whiplash Injuries?
Your settlement check depends on two things:
- The scope and extent of your whiplash injuries
- The settlement that you can negotiate for your injuries
In any car accident case, you are legally entitled to be paid for the full extent of all the injuries that you have suffered. You should not be as concerned about the average settlement for whiplash injury as you are about your own specific situation.
Your settlement check should fully compensate you for the following:
- Medical costs related to your injuries
- Lost wages for the time that you have missed from work
- Pain and suffering for the experience that you have gone through and will endure
- Permanent disfigurement and injuries
- Embarrassment and humiliation
Whiplash can be a far more serious injury than you think. Many people who suffer whiplash are never the same again after their injury, and you should be paid for that. Your settlement should seek to maximize your financial compensation for your injuries.
The insurance company will do everything that it can to minimize and dispute your injuries. Even if liability for the accident is clear, you will need to fight the insurance company still to get the money that you deserve.
Do You Need an Attorney in St. Louis to Claim Whiplash Compensation?
Although there is no requirement to hire a whiplash lawyer to file a claim, you are always better off when you have legal representation in a claim. The insurance company has a number of tricks that they will use to try to deny you financial compensation or reduce the size of the check that you can get, including:
- Trying to take advantage of the common misconception that whiplash is a “minor” injury to offer you less in compensation
- Attempting to deny that your injuries came from your car accident
- Making low settlement offers to try to wear you down and get you to accept less in compensation
- Taking your own subjective experience out of the equation and trying to impose an objective formula on the calculation of your damages that pays you less
Your attorney will know how much your case is worth, and they will fight for you to receive every dollar. A lawyer will deal with the insurance company on your behalf and keep them from taking advantage of you.
Hiring an attorney can result in more money for you, even after paying the lawyer’s fee. Otherwise, the insurance company will save money at your expense, underpaying your claim and denying you the money that you deserve.
Contact a St. Louis Personal Injury Attorney Today
You should never simply trust the insurance company to do the right thing, especially when you have a claim like whiplash. Scores of car accident victims settle their claims for too little because they believe that the insurance company will do right by them. The attorneys at Walton Telken Injury Lawyers will handle your whiplash injury claim diligently while fighting for your legal rights. You can schedule your free initial consultation by calling us today at 844-307-7349 or by sending us a message online.
Car Accident Whiplash FAQs
Who is at fault for a rear-end car accident?
The driver of the rear car that struck the front car is presumed to be at fault unless they can show that the front car driver did something to cause the accident.
How long will it take to settle my whiplash injury case?
You should never rush a settlement just to get a check in hand. You may need to fight for a year or more to get the money that you deserve.
Should I accept the first settlement offer?
Most likely not — the insurance company is trying to lowball your offer to get you to take less.
