Back injury settlements are some of the most common injury cases after a car accident and the victim often has many medical appointments, tests, treatments, and in severe cases, surgery, to return to “normal” pre-accident life. In some cases the victim will have permanent injuries and a return to life as they knew it is impossible.
When a car is struck or strikes something else, Newton’s Laws become very relevant: your body stays in motion until something stops it, whether that is a seatbelt, airbag, windshield, or steering wheel. Back injuries may be felt immediately after the accident or it may take hours or days for the full-scale of the injury to become apparent. This is especially true in whiplash cases, where a sudden force strains the neck and spine, which in turn damages bone, muscle, ligaments, and nerves. Back injury settlements vary depending on the type of injury someone sustains.
Your back is made up of nerves, tissues, ligaments, bones, tendons, and muscles and is categorized into three parts: your lumbar vertebrae (lower back), thoracic vertebrae (upper back), and cervical vertebrae (neck). Most common injuries include the following:
1. Soft Tissue Damage
This is a frequent diagnosis. A strain affects the muscles, while a sprain affects the ligaments (the tissues connecting bone to bone). Tears of the muscle, large or small, may also happen.
- Cause: The force of the crash overstretches or tears these tissues.
- Symptoms: Intense tightening of your muscles and a dull, constant ache that spikes when you move. Other symptoms may be muscle spasms and tenderness in the back.
2. Herniated or Protruding Discs
Your spinal discs are shock absorbers. They are like jelly donuts; a hard enough “squeeze” from a car crash can cause the filling to leak out or the exterior to bulge.
- Cause: Sudden compression of the spinal column.
- Symptoms: If the disc material touches a nerve, it causes what’s called radiculopathy, which is pain, weakness, or numbness that “radiates” away from the spine and into your extremities. The lumbar and cervical spine are more common areas for herniated or ruptured discs.
3. Facet Joint Injuries
Facet joints are the hinges that link your vertebrae together. They allow a range of movement, like twisting and bending.
- Cause: Unlike a disc injury, which is about compression, facet injuries often happen during extension/flexion (the back-and-forth snapping motion).
- Symptoms: Pain that is isolated to the spine itself. You might feel fine sitting still, but feel a sharp pain when you try to lean backward or twist to look over your shoulder.
4. Whiplash
This happens when the neck and head jerk back and forth suddenly. This injury is common after a rear-end accident.
- Cause: High-impact collisions, particularly rear-end or head-on crashes where the lower back takes the brunt of the seatbelt’s restrictive force.
- Symptoms: Intense stiffness and difficulty turning the head. It’s common to feel the full effects of whiplash at least one day to days after the accident. The incredible stiffness is often accompanied by pain. Headaches are common and pain may radiate to the upper back, shoulders, and arms.
5. Fractures
These are small cracks in the vertebrae themselves. While more common in older adults with lower bone density, the sheer force of a high-speed accident can cause them in anyone.
- Cause: The torso is thrown forward while the lower body is held in place, “crushing” the front of the vertebrae.
- Symptoms: Pain that gets significantly worse when walking or standing, but often feels better when lying on your back.
6. Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries can be disabling in many cases, and the ability to control extremities after an accident depends on whether the injury was “complete” or “incomplete.” Loss of feeling and control is called paralysis and a complete injury is total paralysis in arms and/or legs whereas limited feeling and control may be an incomplete injury.
- Cause: The massive physical force of a collision, especially high-speed crashes, roll overs, and high-speed rear-end collisions can fracture, dislocate, or compress the spinal cord.
- Symptoms: Reduced mobility or paralysis, extreme pain, loss of bladder and bowel control, respiratory issues, and altered sensations.
Questions that may come up during the investigation of a back injury after a car accident include the following:
- Are the vehicle’s occupants wearing a seatbelt?
- How fast were the vehicles going that were involved in the crash? Was this a high-speed accident or a low-speed collision?
- Did the vehicle have airbags? Did the airbags deploy?
- Where was the vehicle hit? Was the vehicle hit from the rear, the side or the front?
- How was the vehicle’s occupant positioned in the seat? Was the occupant looking straight ahead toward the road or was the occupant turned a different way, positioning their head or body in a different direction?
Factors That Affect Back Injury Settlements
Back injury settlements vary depending on the extent of the injury. Minor injuries see smaller settlements while permanent injuries and disabilities have larger payouts. All settlements should settle damages. There are two types of damages: economic and non-economic. Economic damages leave a paper trail and include lost wages, loss of earning capacity, medical bills, and rehabilitation costs. Non-economic damages are the non-tangible costs such as pain and suffering and loss of consortium and will impact case value.
Policy limits affect the settlement because the limits of the settlement will be the at-fault driver’s policy. If the driver has a limit of $50,000 for Bodily Injury Liability, the victim may only be able to recover $50,000 from the at-fault driver. In this case, it’s possible to sue the at-fault driver for other damages, but that would be a lawsuit directly with them rather than with the insurance company. In addition, the victim’s own policy may help cover medical costs, such as underinsured motorist coverage, but that only applies if the victim opted to add on this option to their policy.
Legal representation makes a big difference. Cases that have an experienced personal injury attorney will settle for higher amounts than cases that are settled without an attorney.
Back injury settlements will always include a Release of Liability, which means that once signed, you will release the at-fault party and insurance company from any further legal action.
What is the average settlement for back injury?
The average settlement for back injury depends on multiple factors mentioned as well as the skill of your attorney. Settlements for minor injuries and limited time off work and treatment may be in the thousands. Injuries that involve physical therapy will often be higher, and injuries that include more invasive treatments like steroid injections continue to increase. Injuries that need surgery will lead to the highest payouts as well as injuries that leave the victim with permanent injury. Here is a range of settlements broken down by severity but each case is unique and could be very different from expected averages.
Soft Tissue Injury Settlement: $3,000-25,000
Pulled muscles or strained ligaments.
Nothing shows up on a scan.
Ice, heat, rest, and a few weeks of “rehab” or adjustments.
Minor Nerve Injury Settlement: $25,000-$75,000
A disc is slightly out of place (bulging) and pinching a nerve.
Specialized “shots” for pain or long-term physical therapy.
Major Nerve Settlement: $80,000 – $150,000
A disc is “popped” (herniated) and causing leg numbness or weakness.
Small surgery to trim the disc or “burn” the nerve endings.
Bone/Stability Settlement: $175,000 – $500,000+
A bone is cracked or the spine is unstable/wobbly.
Large surgery using screws, plates, or rods to hold bones together.
Life-Changing Settlement: $500,000+
Permanent damage to the spinal cord.
Lifetime medical help and modifications to your home/car.
When finalizing your recovery plan, it is important to remember that a back injury settlement is not just about the pain you feel today, but about protecting your physical and financial health for years to come. Every case is unique, and understanding exactly what impacts a back injury settlement is the first step toward securing a fair outcome.