What’s a Good Settlement for a Concussion in NY?
Concussions can happen in many different kinds of accidents. Victims might consider a concussion a somewhat mild injury as concussions might not involve long-term effects. However, especially if you’ve had repeat concussions in the past, this can be a very serious injury. Knowing how much your case could be worth is important.
A “good settlement” for a concussion in New York is one that covers all of your damages. This includes any medical care costs related to the accident and the injury, including the cost of follow-up appointments, neurological exams, and imaging to make sure you do not have a brain bleed. If your injury stopped you from working, your lost time at work should also be reimbursed, as should other economic damages. Damages for non-economic harms like pain and suffering are also essential for a “good” settlement.
For help with your injury case, contact the Brooklyn brain injury lawyers at The Carrion Law Firm today at (718) 841-0083.
Are Concussions Serious Injuries in New York Accident Cases?
One of the first things to understand about a concussion from an accident is that these are serious injuries that you should not take lightly. Any time you hit your head hard in an accident, you could be left with serious injuries that you might not be able to see. You should always go to the hospital and get your injury checked out to make sure that there is no bleeding and to make sure that the injury is not worse than a concussion.
Nonetheless, damages for concussions can be surprisingly high, and you should consider contacting our NY personal injury lawyers for help with your case. We can go over your medical records and the facts of your case as well as evidence about the impact the concussion had on your life. We can also help you determine what claims you should file and how much your specific case should be worth.
Especially if you have a history of past concussions from sports or other accidents, another concussion can be incredibly serious. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) – an injury made famous among football players – is a very serious condition that gets worse over time and can lead to future health complications and further medical care, lost wages, and pain and suffering for yourself and your family.
How Much is a Concussion from an Accident Worth in NY?
Determining the specific value of any injury case is impossible without examining the facts of the case. However, any “good” settlement for an accident will cover the cost of the following damages in full:
Medical Bills
As mentioned, you should always get a medical professional to examine you if you suspect you have a concussion. This means you could face medical bills for MRIs or CAT scans as well as the trip to the hospital, potential follow-up appointments, and maybe even a hospital stay overnight for observation. Most concussions do not need more medical care than this, but this could still cost a few thousand dollars even for routine checks that do not reveal worse conditions.
If your concussion is more severe or involves a brain bleed or more serious “traumatic brain injury,” then you could face at least tens of thousands of dollars in medical expenses.
Lost Wages
Any brain injury is a serious injury, and you may have to take time off work while you heal up. Even if you work a “desk job,” you could face mental and neurological effects that make it harder to focus on your work, result in mood swings, or make it hard to sit upright at your desk all day. If your job involves more physical labor, then you should definitely not return to work until you get cleared by a medical professional. Not only can lifting, bending over, or other physical activity make your symptoms worse, but you are incredibly vulnerable to further injury while recovering from a concussion.
Lost wages can have a huge impact on you and your family’s financial situation, so these should be paid in full for any “good settlement.”
Pain and Suffering
The other major area of damages in most injury cases is pain and suffering. These damages are paid to cover the mental, emotional, and physical effects of an injury – something that you cannot prove by producing bills and records. As such, calculating these damages is more involved and usually requires guidance from an experienced injury lawyer to get an accurate value for your case.
However, you can often estimate your pain and suffering damages for a moderate concussion by multiplying your other damages by around 1.5 or 2, depending on the severity of your injuries. More serious concussions or TBI could result in damages worth 3 or 4 times your other damages or even more.
Knowing When to Accept a Settlement for a Concussion in New York
Not every case should end in a settlement. While most injury cases ultimately do settle, it is important to know when to settle and when to refuse to settle.
Our lawyers can always help you negotiate with insurance companies and defendants to try to get you a better settlement if the initial settlement offer in your case is too low – which is often the case. Homeowners insurance, business insurance, and car insurance companies often refuse to settle at the full value of medical bills and lost wages on the first attempt, and they rarely include fair compensation for pain and suffering in initial settlement offers. But our lawyers can go back and forth and help you fight for a good settlement before we advise you to accept it.
Ultimately, you might choose to refuse a settlement offer that is still too low, in which case we can fight the case in court before a judge and jury instead of relying on the insurance company to settle for a fair value.
Call Our Brain Injury Lawyers in New York Today for a Free Case Evaluation
If you suffered a concussion in an accident, call the Long Island brain injury attorneys at The Carrion Law Firm today at (718) 841-0083 for a free case assessment.