Blog

General

• Three Injured in Wichita when Speeding Motorist Runs Red Light and Hits Ambulance

View All

Can The Type Of Injury I Have Sustained Affect The Amount Of The Jury Verdict In My Personal Injury Case?

The Type of Injury You Have Sustained

Soft tissue injuries:

The most common type of injury sustained in auto accidents, soft tissue injuries include muscle and ligament sprains and strains. These strains and sprains typically involve the neck and back, shoulders, and knees but can involve many other parts of the body. These are the subjective injuries that often present the most difficult credibility gap described above.

Generally, insurance companies consider muscle and ligament sprains and strains to be less serious because while often quite painful they are not usually permanent or life impairing. Insurance companies typically offer less and juries typically award less for such subjective injuries because they are hard to prove in that they cannot be seen or objectively verified by x-ray or MRI.

Dislocations, separations, ligament/cartilage tears, etc.:

Injuries such as dislocations, separations, ligament/cartilage tears, and so forth often result in greater pain and a longer period of recovery time than a muscle or ligament strain or sprain. Even when the healing time and the pain and suffering is similar, these injuries are generally considered more serious and result in greater compensation.

Fractures:

Fractures involve a break in a bony structure and can take many forms and vary widely in terms of severity and resulting pain and suffering and other impact on an injury victim. With x-ray evidence of bone fracture, whether minor or not, increases the value of the case because there is now some objective evidence of injury. The type of bone and the type of fracture (e.g., simple/closed, compound/open, complete/incomplete, nondisplaced/displaced, comminuted) and the seriousness of the fracture can affect the case value because the severity of a fracture depends on it location and the damage done to bone and tissue surrounding it. As an example, fractured ribs might allow return to a desk job whereas a fractured arm can sideline construction worker for months. Severe fractures are more likely to result in permanent disability, which in turn increases the value of your case.

Spinal injury (e.g. disc, vertebral):

Herniated and bulging discs of the neck and back due to accident injuries can impact spinal nerves and x-rays, MRI's, myelograms, discograms, and other diagnostic imaging tests can reveal abnormality in a disc or disc space between the vertebrae. Disc injuries can often result in extensive treatment and sometimes surgery when conservative care is unsuccessful in resolving the injury. Moreover, pain and limited mobility can be chronic or recurring with age. The nature and the extent of the injury and treatment of spinal injuries, and the recovery time involved as well as the extent of any permanent injury or disability can significantly impact the value of your case.

In additional to the more common types of injuries, there are a host of additional types of injuries and damages that can affect the value of your case. Continue reading at "What Is The Value Of My Unique Or Catastrophic Injury Case? (A Special Discussion About Wounds, Scars, and Disfigurement; Amputations; Brain Injuries; And Other Catastrophic Injuries; Wrongful Death; Psychological Injuries; Work And Lifestyle Impact)

Just Ask

Free Consumer Guides

Don't Wreck Your Injury Claim

Nursing Home Neglect How to Recognize it and Stop it

The Truth About Medical Malpractice Claims

How to Avoid Becoming a Work Injury Horror Story

The Truth About Lawyer Advertising

KC Biker Bible

Video

What Does A Free Consultation Include?

Filing A Pre-Judgment Interest Claim

Kansas City Personal Injury Lawyer Talks Halloween Safety

The Lawsuit You Didn't Choose

Understanding the Terms Negligent and Negligence

View All

click to enlarge

Testimonials

• I’m highly satisfied, I would call Victor again. I needed his help, and he has been a great attorney. I’m very comfortable recommending victor to other clients. Now that I’m happy with how much he’s helped me, I’m definitely recommending him to anyone that needed his help.
• Heather was very nice and polite and very informative. Heather was very responsive when I asked her questions and very informative. Yes, she was very aggressive with the insurance company. She was very aggressive trying to get a higher amount. Yes she was very nice. She is very informative and knows what she is doing.
• It was great to work with Heather, she kept me informed about everything, the dos and the don’ts and what everything was and kept me on track. she was very professional she told you what was going on, she kept you a breast of everything that was going on, she was an excellent lawyer. Ms Heather and the whole staff at the Accident Injury firm, I would recommend them to anybody across the world, that they are excellent, honest attorneys.

View All

Latest News

• Posted on 5/2/2012Kansas City Highway More Dangerous because of Constant Construction
• Posted on 4/30/2012One Dead and 17 Injured after Storm Blows over Tents Outside St. Louis Busch Stadium

View All

FAQs

General

• Are there any defenses against negligence?

View All