When you’re hurt in a car accident, some of your injuries may be subtle. While some injuries like broken bones are apparent, others may be less visible to others.
After a car accident, you may have lingering pain that you can’t explain. Your pain may be whiplash. It’s likely you will need to work with an experienced Las Vegas car accident attorney to build your claim, especially if you suspect you are suffering from whiplash. Here’s how to calculate whiplash settlement values after a Nevada car accident.
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You Can Receive Compensation for Whiplash
Nevada law allows someone who is the victim of a car accident to recover compensation for their physical injuries. Whiplash is a physical injury. If you suffer from whiplash after a car accident in Las Vegas or elsewhere in Nevada, you can claim compensation for your losses. There are several things to consider when you value a whiplash claim after a Nevada car accident.
What Is Whiplash in an Accident?
Whiplash occurs when your muscles and tendons are pulled quickly and suddenly. If an impact happens while your vehicle is in motion, your head, neck, and torso can be jolted at high speeds. Your body isn’t used to the fast movement, and your muscles, tendons, and ligaments can strain and tear. Injuries to tendons and ligaments can take a long time to heal, causing you significant pain.
What Can I Recover for My Whiplash Injuries After a Nevada Car Accident?
To calculate the value of your whiplash claim, you start by totaling all of your medical bills. Your medical bills include any kind of medical treatment that you have because of the accident including doctor’s visits, physical therapy, and medications. You can ask for compensation for all of your medical bills.
Next, you assign a value to your pain and suffering. If you have whiplash because of an accident, you know that your injuries are very painful. You may be unable to do the things that you used to enjoy. You may live in constant, chronic pain. You assign a value to your level of pain.
The exact value of your pain and suffering award depends on the severity of your injuries. Typically, you assign a multiplier that applies to your economic damages like medical bills. For example, if your medical bills total $5,000 and your whiplash is minor with a quick recovery, you might apply a multiplier of 1.5 for a total recovery of $7,500. On the other hand, if your whiplash is very severe with a prognosis of lifelong pain, you might ask for a multiplier of 5 for a total recovery of $25,000.
There isn’t an exact way to calculate what you’ll recover for your whiplash injuries. It’s a matter of evaluating the severity of the whiplash and gathering the evidence to prove it. In some cases, whiplash can be much more painful and last much longer than it can seem just by looking at a few doctor’s bills. It’s important to educate the jury about the nature of whiplash injuries and the pain that they cause so that the jury can make the right decision in your case.
How to Win Your Whiplash Car Accident Case
To win your case, you must demonstrate that the accident occurred because of someone else’s negligence. That’s just a fancy way of saying that someone else wasn’t as careful as they should have been under the circumstances. You show how their actions led to the accident. Then, you show how you got hurt in the crash and what your losses are. Your losses include both financial losses and emotional suffering.
Expert Testimony: How to Prove Whiplash in a Nevada Accident Case
Showing that you suffered whiplash in an accident can be a challenge. Because whiplash isn’t visible on an x-ray or in a lab test, you have to come up with other ways to show that you have whiplash. The jury depends on this evidence when they decide what value to place on your claim. The insurance company also considers the information when they decide whether to approve a fair settlement without even going to trial.
In a whiplash case, it can be helpful to work with an expert witness. An expert witness is a person with specialized training and qualifications who can help explain technical information to the jury. There are a couple of ways that a medical expert can help the jury understand whiplash in an accident.
First, the expert can explain how the impact of the crash caused your injuries. They can talk about the force of the accident and how it would put unusual strain on your muscles and tendons. That can help the jury understand that your injuries are genuine.
Next, a medical expert can explain to the jury how whiplash is a painful injury. They can explain, based on their expert training and experience, how whiplash occurs and why it’s so painful. They can talk about your long road to recovery. When the jury can understand the injury and why it’s so painful, they’re more likely to award you a full and fair recovery.
What Can I Do to Build My Case?
To build your case after a car accident, it’s important to get medical attention as soon as possible. Your treating medical team can verify that you have symptoms of whiplash and create a record. They can give you things to do to speed your recovery.
Following a medical team’s treatment plan can show the jury that you’re serious about your recovery. Seeking legal advice early in the process can also provide you with the necessary direction to help you preserve the medical evidence in your case and build your claim for trial.
Our Whiplash Attorneys in Las Vegas
If you’re suffering from whiplash after a car accident in Las Vegas, our legal team can help. Let’s talk about how to calculate the value of your whiplash claim.
Our team can look at the facts of your case and give you a realistic idea of the amount of your claim. We invite you to bring your questions as we work together to create a plan to build your case for a fair recovery. If you’re hurt in a Las Vegas car accident, call us today.