Average Settlement For A Concussion After A Car Accident

Brain Concussion

When you experience a concussion in an accident, the last thing you want to deal with is added complications created in the aftermath of your injury. The victims of an accident are often charged with proving that other parties acted negligently while trying to make a full recovery. The financial stressors associated with the accident could make things worse. 

Concussions and Car Accidents

A concussion is a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Concussions are caused by bumps, blows, or jolts to the head or body, causing the skull and brain to whip violently back and forth. These sudden movements cause the brain to bounce around in your skull, and this can chemically alter, stretch, or damage your brain cells. 

Concussions are unlike other injuries, such as broken bones, because they present themselves in different ways. Some concussion symptoms may not appear until hours, days, or weeks after the accident occurred. 

Concussions are usually categorized as a mild injury by most medical professionals. However, the complicated effects of a TBI could lead to more serious life-threatening conditions. If you are worried about how you’ll afford to pay the medical costs after you’ve suffered a traumatic brain injury in your car accident, contact Pinnacle Legal Funding for a free consultation today. 

Signs and Symptoms of a Concussion

You don’t need to be hit in the head to suffer a concussion, and often the forceful movement of the upper body is enough to lead to a brain injury. If you notice any of the following mild symptoms in yourself or your loved one after an accident, then there may be a concussion requiring special medical attention:

  • Appears dazed or stunned
  • Displays mood, behavior, or personality changes.
  • Forgets simple instructions and gets confused about where they are and what they’re doing
  • In and out of consciousness, even if only for a moment
  • Moves clumsily
  • Responds to questions slowly
  • Unable to recall the events that led up to or proceeded the accident

These are some of the early signals of a concussion, and noticing them could help the victim get the medical attention they require to make a proper recovery. Victims that report feeling nauseous, having headaches, experiencing difficulties with lights and noises, or just not feeling well after the accident could also be experiencing a mild concussion. 

More than 80% of concussion cases are considered mild according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information. However, multiple concussions or serious brain injuries could have a lasting impact. 

Dangerous Signals of TBI

Repeat concussions can be very dangerous, especially when your brain injury leads to a hematoma forming in your brain after the accident. Other dangerous signs of a severe concussion include:

  • Drowsiness and being unable to get up from bed
  • Multiple instances of convulsions, seizures, shaking, twitching, or vomiting and nausea
  • One pupil is larger than the other
  • Passing out, fainting, or loss of consciousness (even briefly)
  • Slurred speech, weakness, numbness, or decreased coordination.
  • Unusual and weird behavior leading to increased confusion, restlessness, or agitation
  • Worsening and reoccurring headaches

Long-Term Effects of Severe Brain Injuries

A severe brain injury could affect all aspects of people’s lives. TBIs can alter the quality of your relationships with family and friends, and can have an effect on your ability to work or remain employed, complete household tasks, operate a motor vehicle again, and do all of your other normal daily activities. 

An individual with a concussion will need to be hospitalized, and this TBI could have long-term problems with their memory, perceptions, ability to learn, balance and coordination, speaking, hearing, vision, as well as their mood and emotional control.  

The choices that you make after your concussion could drastically affect your quality of life moving forward. There are steps that personal injury law experts recommend you take after your TBI to get maximum compensation and also expedite your recovery. 

Steps for Maximum Recovery from A Concussion

If the individual responsible for your accident attempts to escape liability, then it will be up to you and your legal team to prove that they’re legally responsible for your TBIs. Executing the following steps after your accident could help protect your legal rights, lead to a speedier recovery, and reduce the stress that comes along with your car accident: 

Check Yourself and Others for Injuries

The first thing you’ll want to do after a car accident is to ensure that everyone is safe and free of immediate danger. Make sure that you don’t have severe injuries before you start moving around. This is a great way to prevent them from getting worse. 

If you feel that you’re okay enough, then you can check on the passengers in your vehicle to make sure they’re okay. If you find that you or your passengers are in need of immediate medical care, then call the first responders. 

Seek Emergency Assistance, Call 911

Seeking emergency assistance can be beneficial to your claim in multiple ways. Seeking medical care after your accident could reduce the chances of experiencing the lingering effects of your injuries. Having medical professionals assess the injuries early on could prevent them from complicating even more. 

Also, the legal accident report that will be made by the police can be used in court to help establish how serious the accident was and who may have broken the law or acted negligibly. 

In addition to helping you get a report in order, the police can also help keep everyone safe by redirecting traffic. 

Gather Evidence

If the injuries that you suffered don’t require immediate medical attention, then it’s important to gather as much data that you can at the scene of the accident. Gathering all the contact information of those involved, including their license and car details, as well as other details from the scene, could be helpful to your claim. 

It can also be essential to gather witness testimony after your car accident because this data may come in handy when you’re experiencing concussion symptoms and forget the details of the accident. The information you gather from the scene could help your legal team build your claim. 

Hire a Personal Injury Car Accident Attorney

A crash victim who suffers a concussion has the right to take legal action for damages against anyone whose unreasonably negligent actions caused their car crash. Victims can hire a car accident injury lawyer to file a lawsuit against these legally liable parties on their behalf.

Fund Your Concussion Recovery

Personal injury loans, also known as lawsuit cash advances or pre-settlement funding, help victims to get cash, pre-settlement when they expect to win a settlement. These loans are beneficial when bills are due to the hospital or if you’re out of work, but the case is still being tried, and no money has been awarded yet. 

However, these loans differ from other types of loans because the interest rate on a lawsuit settlement advance will not be based on your credit. Instead, it’s based on how likely you are to win your suit and receive money in the settlement. There are several kinds of claims that are eligible for a personal injury lawsuit loan.

To qualify for a car accident loan, you need to meet three criteria:

  • Be at least 18 years old or older
  • Have hired a personal injury attorney on a contingency basis
  • You must have a physical personal injury claim against the insurance company or other entity capable of paying your damages

Recovering Your Damages

Every lawsuit is unique, but generally, personal injury lawsuit victims can seek the recovery of damages from the legally liable parties and their insurance companies for:

  • Lost income, both past, and future, that the victim did not or will not earn because of the concussion, such as when the victim has to miss work or reduce work hours because of concussion symptoms
  • Medical expenses related to the treatment of the victim’s car accident concussion, including emergency care, hospitalizations, long-term therapy, doctor visits, medication, and medical equipment
  • Non-medical expenses the car accident concussion victim incurred as a result of the concussion, such as the cost of hiring someone to help out around the house or with transportation while the victim recovers
  • Pain, suffering, and diminished quality of life and relationships caused by the concussion symptoms; and
  • Punitive damages are awarded in some cases, but not all, and they punish the party at fault for intentionally reckless or dangerous conduct.

Car Accident Concussion Lawsuit Settlements

Car accidents are the leading cause of TBI-related deaths of children and young adults between the ages of 5-24. After filing a lawsuit or taking some other legal action on a car accident concussion victim’s behalf to seek damages, your attorney can negotiate to seek a settlement. 

A settlement is an agreement between a car accident concussion victim and the party deemed legal liability for the victim’s damages. Typically in a car accident settlement agreement, the victim could agree to release the party from liability in exchange for an agreed amount of money. 

Most car accident concussion cases feature settlement negotiations, but it can be hard to predict how those negotiations will occur or will turn out. Seasoned car accident injury lawyers use that experience to differentiate when to settle and when to go to a trial. 

To get the maximum return, your car accident attorney needs to negotiate from a position of strength and convince the other side to pay as much money as possible. They are also responsible for advising the concussion victim on whether or not they feel the amount that has been offered represents a fair deal.

Factors Affecting Car Accident Concussion Settlement Amounts

The lawyer’s assessment of what constitutes a fair and reasonable settlement will depend on numerous factors and considerations. The specific factors that influence the lawyer’s recommendation could vary from case to case, but they often include:

The Strength of Your Case

If everyone agrees on who caused the accident, how much damages the victim deserves, and where the money will come from to pay the victim, then settling these types of cases could be easy. However, most cases present some challenges. 

Concussion Severity

The more severe and long-lasting the concussion symptoms are, and the estimated impact on the victim’s life, will garner more compensation for a victim, but concussions can be hard to evaluate. 

The At-Fault Party’s Resources

The amount of money a car accident concussion victim has the right to receive and the amount they can realistically expect to receive from those responsible may differ. A car accident concussion could cause a victim $10 million in damages, but a realistic settlement amount might max out at $1,000,000 because that is the limit of their liability insurance coverage.

If the legally liable party does not have any other assets with which to pay a judgment, experienced lawyers for car accident concussion victims can do their best to identify as many parties with legal liability as possible because the more potentially liable parties that the lawyer can identify and pursue for payment, the better the client’s chances of receiving full compensation for an injury.

How Much Is the Average Settlement for a Concussion Stemming from a Car Accident?

The total amount of your settlement will vary depending on the variables of your case. Settlement awards have ranged from $20,000 to more than $100,000. Having a reliable attorney and the funding to get you through this hardship could help you maximize your concussion settlement returns.  

Trying to secure fair compensation when you’re dealing with a concussion is next to impossible. Still, you cannot afford to wait too long and risk the defendant not being held liable. Seek the assistance of professional counsel as soon as possible and get the compensation you deserve. Don’t be afraid to use pre-settlement funding or speak with an expert today about your options. 

Why Choose Pinnacle Legal Funding

The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma reports that the estimated annual cost of the five+million individuals living with a TBI disability in the US is around $37.8 billion. They also estimate the annual cost to be about $518 billion globally. These costs could be potentially devastating, but you don’t have to deal with these costs alone. 

Speak with the pre-settlement loan experts at Pinnacle Legal Funding for assistance with your accident costs. Let Pinnacle Legal Funding handle your personal injury lawsuit loan so you can begin paying off some of your important debts and bills. Give us a call today to find out more.


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