Fort Worth Back Injury Attorney
If you’ve been injured in a car accident, you may need to speak to a Fort Worth back injury attorney to help you obtain compensation for your injuries. Receiving a back injury from a car accident is a fairly common occurrence. In some cases, a back injury could be minor, resolving itself in a few weeks or months. In other cases, a back injury could be much more serious, causing problems and pain for months, years, or forever. Whether your back injury was the result of a car accident, another type of auto accident, a slip and fall, the result of medical malpractice, or the result of a dangerous or defective product, it is normal to feel overwhelmed following your accident.
You could have serious injuries and be unable to return to work after your accident. You may be dealing not only with your injuries and medical expenses but also with an inability to pay your normal monthly expenses. It can also be frightening to think you may not fully recover from your back injury and could be partially or fully disabled. During such a difficult time, having a strong legal advocate in your corner—a Fort Worth back injury attorney from Noteboom—The Law Firm—could be the choice you can make after your accident. We will help you get the medical treatments you need, then allow you the time to heal while we pursue compensation on your behalf.
Why Does My Back Hurt After an Accident?
The impact of an automobile accident, construction accident, work accident, or a slip and fall accident can injure your back in ways you may not even be immediately aware of. When you are in a car crash, the force of a car accident equals about six tons (depending on the speed of both vehicles). This tremendous force often results in back and neck injuries.
When you fall on a hard surface or fall from a height, you may also experience a significant level of force on your neck and back. A back injury from a car accident can initially be masked by the adrenaline your body experiences, and then later, you may feel pain, tingling, or numbness in your back. It’s important that you never ignore the signs of a back injury. A relatively minor back injury that is not diagnosed and treated in a timely manner can progress into a chronic or degenerative spinal condition.
How Do Back Injuries Typically Occur?
Automobile accidents are one of the most common causes of back injuries, along with slip and fall and construction accidents. A car accident can “jolt” your body so severely that back injuries can result. Truck accidents typically cause severe or catastrophic injuries to those in the smaller vehicle, including back injuries. Those on motorcycles or bicycles or pedestrians who are hit by a vehicle are likely to sustain serious injuries. Often the biker or pedestrian is thrown through the air when hit by a vehicle, landing with significant force. Whether your back pain is from an automobile accident, a construction or work accident, or a slip and fall accident, you could experience one or more of the following back injuries:
- Whiplash is more common during a rear-end accident but can occur in any type of accident that snaps the head forward and then back with significant force. While whiplash is a neck injury, it can cause pain in the upper back and shoulders as well.
- A spinal fracture may be associated with an auto accident in an area where the seat belt fails to hold the body in place adequately. While the lower half of the body may remain stationary by virtue of the seat belt, the torso can be jostled around with force, resulting in a spinal fracture. One type of spinal fracture is known as a compression fracture. This occurs when the vertebrae have a small crack that causes significant pain that may increase when you walk, sit, or even breathe.
- The discs in your back can shift from the force of an accident, compressing the nerves and resulting in numbness and pain. This injury may be known as a ruptured disc, a slipped disc, or a bulging disc.
- Spondylolisthesis occurs when a stress fracture forces vertebrae out of place, compressing the nerves and causing difficulty walking, along with pain, weakness, and numbness. Physical therapy may be sufficient to treat spondylolisthesis, while more serious cases will require surgery.
- Spinal stenosis, while not typically caused by an auto accident or another type of accident, can be triggered by any type of forceful accident. Spinal stenosis usually occurs in older individuals, causing the spinal canal to narrow, and an accident can cause the symptoms of spinal stenosis to accelerate significantly.
- Spinal cord injuries can occur even in a low-speed car accident that damages the spinal cord. When the spinal cord is severed or severely lacerated, permanent paralysis can result. Where the injury is will determine whether the paralysis is partial or full.
A Fort Worth back injury attorney from Noteboom—The Law Firm, can help you get the medical treatments you need for your back injury while also ensuring you receive a full financial settlement for your damages.
What is the Average Settlement for a Back Injury from a Car Accident?
Your back injury settlement will depend on many different things, including the following:
- Whether liability for the accident is clear
- How severe are your injuries
- Whether you have a case that is strong
- The insurance limits of the at-fault driver
- How much do your medical bills amount to, and whether you will require more in the future
- Whether you have had to miss a significant amount of work as a result of your injuries
- If future lost wages or earnings are a part of your settlement
- The skill of your Fort Worth back injury attorney
Back injury settlements vary depending on many factors. Generally speaking, from less severe back injuries – like sprains and strains – to more severe back injuries that require you to undergo back surgery following your accident, your settlement could range from tens of thousands to millions of dollars. Hiring an inexperienced injury attorney could prevent you from maximizing your settlement. It is important that you discuss this issue with a Fort Worth back injury attorney from Noteboom—The Law Firm. We will pursue both economic damages (medical expenses, lost wages, and lost future wages) and non-economic damages (pain and suffering, both actual physical pain and emotional pain and trauma).
What Should You Do After a Back Injury from a Car Accident?
If you’ve received a back injury from a car accident, the first thing you need to do is seek medical attention for your injuries. It’s never a good idea to wait until it’s more convenient to have yourself medically checked out after a car accident, and it could potentially harm your body and your damage claim down the road. After you’ve received medical attention for your injuries, take the time to write down every single detail you can remember about your accident. No detail is too small—and it could be the exact piece of information your Fort Worth back injury attorney needs to build a solid case on your behalf.
If you can physically move at the scene of the accident, safely take photographs with your cell phone, and obtain contact information from any witnesses. You will contact your own insurance company once you are home, and you should then contact an experienced personal injury attorney from Noteboom—The Law Firm. This last task might well be the most important thing you do following your back injury from a car accident—other than seeking medical attention. The Noteboom legal team will zealously represent you, thoroughly reviewing the evidence, proving liability, and accurately calculating your damages, then fighting to achieve a full settlement.
Why Should You Contact a Fort Worth Back Injury Attorney Near You?
At Noteboom—The Law Firm, we have been helping injured people in situations like yours since 1982. We always go the extra mile for our clients, comprehensively preparing each case as though it will go to court. We are always 100 percent prepared for any eventuality and always fight aggressively for our clients. Your future and your health are important to us, as you will clearly see once you speak to a Noteboom attorney. We have an impeccable reputation in the industry—so much so that we tell prospective clients, “If you can find a better law firm—hire them.” Contact Noteboom—The Law Firm today.