Skilled Attorneys Representing Georgia Victims
Neck pain is common and has many different causes. A neck injury may involve mild whiplash during a minor accident, such as being rear-ended on a neighborhood street. However, neck pain may also be a result of a broken neck bone or spinal cord damage after a serious accident, such as a truck accident, a motorcycle accident, a fall, or a car accident at high speeds on the highway.
Neck Injury
There are different types of neck injuries. These include herniated discs, pinched nerves, breaks, sprains, and strains. A neck injury may make it difficult to turn your neck. It may involve headaches, muscle spasms, or weakness. It is important to seek medical care as soon as you realize that you may have suffered a neck injury in an accident. When a neck injury is serious, such as complicated fractures that are extensive, treatment may be expensive. It may involve surgeries and time off from work.
Liability for Neck Injuries
If your neck injuries happened in an accident that you believe someone else caused, it may be appropriate to pursue damages in a personal injury lawsuit. Most personal injury lawsuits are pursued under a theory of negligence. To prove negligence, you will need to show that it is more likely than not that the defendant owed you a duty of care, the defendant breached a duty of care that was owed, the breach caused your neck injury, and damages resulted. The duty of care owed depends on the circumstances. For instance, drivers must use reasonable care to avoid injuries to others on the road. A property owner must use reasonable care to seek out and repair dangerous conditions, or issue warnings to certain classes of visitors.
Comparative Fault
The amount of damages that a neck injury attorney in Atlanta can obtain on your behalf will be affected by your role in an accident. The jury will determine your damages, and it will look at whether you were negligent. Your damages may be reduced by an amount proportionate to your fault. Georgia courts follow the rule of modified comparative negligence; you can be barred from recovering damages if you were 50% or more responsible for the accident. Accordingly, there is an incentive for a defendant’s insurer to scrutinize your actions and try to obtain an admission of fault from you. It is critical not to speak to the defendant’s insurance adjuster before consulting an attorney.
Damages
The more serious your neck injury, the greater that your damages are likely to be, whether in the form of a settlement or a verdict. In most cases, you are more likely to obtain significant damages based on fractures or other injuries that can be clearly and easily seen in imaging studies, as opposed to soft tissue injuries, such as whiplash. Neck injuries that are so severe that they require surgical intervention are likely to be expensive to treat; damages may be correspondingly higher.
An Atlanta neck injury attorney may be able to help you recover damages for both economic and non-economic losses. Economic losses for neck injuries may include medical bills, lost wages, replacement services, rehabilitation, and therapy. You can recover both past and future losses. Non-economic losses are intangible. They can vary dramatically depending on the composition of the jury and the personal characteristics of the plaintiff, as well as your attorney’s presentation of your case. They may include mental anguish, lost earning capacity, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, and pain and suffering. Each case is different, so it is important to consult an attorney with experience in these types of claims.
Retain a Knowledgeable Personal Injury Attorney
If you sustained a neck injury due to another party’s negligence or misconduct, you should consult the seasoned personal injury attorneys at Van Sant Law. We are committed to seeking justice for accident victims.
