Articles Posted in Car Accidents

This post examines the average settlement amount in back injury car accident claims. I last updated this page on December 14, 2021.

Let’s start with a few statistics.  A verdicts and settlements database found that the median plaintiff’s verdict award for motor vehicle cases that involved back injuries is $212,500.

For all car, truck, and motorcycle accident injury cases in the database that earned a plaintiff’s verdict, the median award is $300,000.

How fast am I driving?

The one thing defendants (and plaintiffs, for that matter) consistently screw up at deposition is time, speed, and distance calculations. They don’t know how fast they are driving and, if they do, they don’t screw it up with their time distance calculation.

Our lawyers represent car accident victims throughout the country in herniated disc injury cases. We have settled or taken to trial hundreds of herniated disc car crash claims. We understand the science of these cases and the settlement amounts victims should receive in disc injury lawsuits.

Herniated Disc Injuries

Herniated disc injuries in car accidents are a common type of injury that can result from the impact of a collision. The spine is a complex structure that supports the body and allows for movement. It is composed of 33 individual vertebrae and numerous intervertebral discs, which act as cushions between the vertebrae. When a car accident occurs, the force of the impact can cause damage to these discs, leading to a herniated disc injury. You will hear people use terms like “slipped disc” or “ruptured disc” is often used to describe this condition. They all mean the same thing.

uber personal injury coverageAfter a night on the town, a taxi is no longer your only option to get back home. Uber, and other “ride-sharing” companies, have given the taxi companies a run for their money by offering cheap(er) and easier transportation. The idea is great: link drivers and those in need of a ride via a smartphone app, allow them to communicate with the tap of a finger, and get rid of on-the-spot payment.

Riders are happy because they can get from A to B cheaper and faster.  Drivers are happy because they can earn a living (or extra money) as a cab driver without dealing with the logistics of a cab company which have been historically some of America’s worst run businesses.  Of course, Uber is happy too because they make so much profit by brokering the transaction that their company may be worth as much as $40 billion.

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This is a sample demand letter in a relatively small case with approximately $18,000 in medical bills.

But this personal injury car accident case settled for a lot more money than any kind of simple multiplier of medical bills.

This “times special damages math” where you try to determine a settlement amount with a formula is dangerous. It often causes plaintiffs’ personal injury lawyers (and victims) to substantially undervalue a claim.

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If you have been in a serious car accident that was not your fault, you find yourself shopping for the best and most successful accident lawyer to take your case. Top-level auto accident attorneys have the skills to aggressively stand behind your case and push as far as necessary to get to the maximum out-of-court settlement, even if that means taking it to trial.

So who is the best and most effective auto accident lawyer near you? The answer to that question often depends on what your specific needs and circumstances are. Below are some of the most effective criteria for evaluating personal injury attorneys, and picking the best car crash lawyer near you.

What to Look for When Selecting the Best Car Accident Lawyer

We buy car insurance hoping we never need to go through the process of submitting a claim. When accidents happen, we hope the claims process is smooth and simple.  Seems like a reasonable expectation because you or the at-fault driver paid your premium every month in a way that made it smooth and simple for the insurance company.  But it does not work that way, right?

There are several reasons that your claim may be denied. This denial can often cause a significant financial strain on you and your family. . If you’ve recently been in a car accident, you may be counting on the money from the insurance claim to pay medical and other bills.

If your claim has been denied, you need to figure out quickly why and what you can do to get the money you deserve.

I like many GEICO adjusters and lawyers.  I like Warren Buffett.  But I don’t like GEICO. This new opinion by a California appellate court in Mazik v. GEICO after a jury slapped GEICO reminds me why.

Mazik v. GEICO Facts

The plaintiff suffered a crushing type of foot fracture of his left calcaneus (heel) in a car crash.  This is a tough injury. We can all agree that the value of an injury like this is more than $100,000, right?  The plaintiff received policy limits of $50,000 from the at-fault driver’s insurer.  The plaintiff sought an additional $50,000 from GEICO for underinsured motorist coverage (his policy was more than the at-fault driver).  The plaintiff accident attorney says he asked GEICO four times to pay the policy limits.  But GEICO refused.

The family of an Ohio woman was awarded nearly $4 million dollars in a wrongful death suit filed against the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).

Awful story here. On December 26, 2008, a husband and wife and their two kids were returning home after visiting with family for the Christmas holiday. Traveling in two separate vehicles, the husband and daughter arrived at home. When his wife and son did not return, he retraced his route only to find his wife’s car off the road, against a fence. A tree had fallen on the car and medics were already on the scene. While the son was taken to a local hospital, the wife was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suit filed against ODOT claimed that they knew that the bank along that stretch of road was eroding, and that trees had been uprooted in the area. The tree that had fallen on the wife’s car had been leaning over the road, creating a hazard. The suit further claimed that ODOT had breached its duty to maintain the road and attend to any potentially dangerous situations.

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