Head injuries can be very damaging, affecting numerous parts of your life and preventing you from partaking in necessary activities. A particularly severe head injury can have long-term effects and cause additional health problems down the line. Many head injuries are compounded with concussions, which can be classified as mild traumatic brain injuries or severe traumatic brain injuries. It is not difficult to sustain a concussion; many occur from blunt force trauma to the head, but there does not need to be excessive force executed for one to happen. A small fall from a couch can be enough to cause a concussion if you hit your head hard enough. You may find yourself in a situation where you receive a concussion, whether in an accident or mishap, and have the option to sue for compensation. At Normandie Law Firm, our top team of skilled attorneys with experience in concussion cases is available to help you seek your legal restitution for any concussion you may have sustained. Our clients call us with questions about their injuries and the legal process, and we do our best to answer them. Examples of these questions include:
- How much compensation do you get for a concussion?
- What is the average settlement value of a concussion case?
- What is the value of a severe concussion lawsuit?
- How much is a concussion injury case worth?
Concussion Information
A concussion is a type of brain injury that occurs from blunt force trauma, resulting in the brain rattling around inside the skull, even if just for a moment. A concussion has numerous types of effects attached to it; for instance, after sustaining one concussion, it becomes much more likely to sustain another from another similar blow. It is the same effect as having a dislocated shoulder – once it happens, the surrounding area is weaker and more susceptible to a repeat injury. With concussions, the brain needs time to adequately heal. Recovery time may increase with each subsequent concussion, and the damages will stack on top of one another.
Some symptoms of a concussion include:
- Difficulty thinking, concentrating, or remembering
- Headache and dizziness
- Increase sensitivity to light and sound
- Blurry vision
- Nausea
- Fatigue
- Mood swings
- Sleep troubles
Repeated concussions can result in chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. This is a deterioration of the brain, leading to intense mood swings, instability, dementia, depression, and more. CTE is most common in athletes in full contact sports, such as boxers and football players. However, those who hold more streamlined jobs may develop the condition as well. Post-concussion syndrome can also rise up; victims of this condition suffer the symptoms of a concussion weeks or months after the injury. If you need to be recommended to a doctor for your concussion symptoms, contact our expert attorneys with experience handling concussion claims.
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Common Causes of Concussions
Although those in sports may suffer concussions at an increased rate, there are many other chances for them to happen.
Most commonly, concussions happen as a result of an accident, whether it be an auto accident or car accident, motorcycle accident, or pedestrian incident. When you suffer a head injury in a car accident, you run the risk of high damage. Cars are safe in some senses, but in reality, you are traveling in a very large object in which you are confined. A seat belt and an airbag may help you not receive heavy brain damage, but you can still hit your head on the window, headrest, steering wheel, airbag itself, or windshield.
You may receive a concussion as a result of someone else’s negligence or due to an occupational hazard. It is very possible to slip and fall (or trip and fall) and receive a head injury, especially if you were on slippery or icy pavement or wet floor. These accidents happen at places of business on a regular basis, but you may also sustain an injury while at your job. A workplace injury can entitle you to workers compensation benefits – and in the state of California, it does not matter if your injury were the fault of yourself or another person. So long as you sustained a work injury while on the clock, you are able to file for compensation.
Other times, you may already be receiving treatment for a concussion or similar head injury. This can come in the form of medical treatment or surgery performed by nurses and doctors. If a doctor gives you orders to perform an action that results in you falling and hurting yourself more, or if he botches a treatment or surgery, you may be able to sue the hospital for medical malpractice or surgical malpractice. An accomplished attorney with expertise in concussion injury lawsuits can help you start the legal process.
Determining the Value of a Concussion Lawsuit
In these three types of situations, three different types of lawsuits can be filed with differing types of compensation. A settlement value for one may be entirely different from the payout of another. All of them can pay out the costs of medical expenses, for instance, but a personal injury claim based on negligence in a car accident may allow you to receive pain and suffering damages and punitive damages as well. Worker’s compensation, on the other hand, does not cover pain and suffering. A medical malpractice suit may not get you as much money as the other two, as many hospitals and healthcare facilities have caps on the amount of compensation that can be given out.
It is not uncommon to be asked, “What is my case worth?”
How much your settlement will depend on many factors, such as the extent of your concussion, other injuries you sustained (if any), the effect your injury has on your life and ability to work, and more. There is no automated concussion compensation calculator that gives precise results – it’s not like you can plug in a bunch of variables and get a precise estimate. Settlement amounts are determined by courts, judges, juries, attorneys, and insurance agents; as a result, no two cases are presided over by the same set of people. Further, no two cases are exactly the same, and should not be treated as such.
The average settlement for a concussion lawsuit is quite high, but that is primarily due to the outliers located on both ends of the spectrum. The median value is much lower than the average. However, that should not discourage you from seeking legal assistance – there is great potential to have all of your expenses covered and then some. A qualified attorney who has experience in concussion injury cases will be able to give you some kind of number.
A concussion lawsuit can be worth over $100,000 if you are out of work for some time or if the injury leads to other problems, such as a high sensitivity to light and sound and memory troubles. A concussion that leads to brain damage an result in a lawsuit worth well over $500,000 if the damages are permanent and the result of another party’s negligent action, such as a driver or a property manager. Some concussions do not have lasting effects, though, and as such, a lawsuit may not be valued at more than $35,000.
Below are some examples of head injury concussion settlements that we have seen. You may use this as reference points for your own case to see what other people in similar situations have earned.
- $525,000: A man suffered a permanent moderate cognitive deficit, headaches, memory issues, and more after being struck by another vehicle that ran a red light. The man’s symptoms were delayed.
- $600,000 Verdict: A taco truck owner received a concussion after being involved in an accident. Another car slammed into him, ignoring the right of way. As a result of the accident, the plaintiff suffers cognitive damage and can no longer run his business.
- $800,000 Settlement: Settled by a North Carolina woman following a car accident. Her injuries included mild TBI, and she suffered from short-term memory loss, depression, mood changes, fatigue, and partial complex seizures.
- $5,000,000 Settlement: A woman slipped upon entering a supermarket. She struck her entire left side and later reported a head injury and concussion.
- $1,300,000 Settlement: A man received a concussion as well as numerous back injuries and cognitive impairments following an accident. He was struck from the rear by a drunk driver while driving a limousine.
- $500,000 Settlement: A man was struck by an out of control truck when it crashed into a convenience store. He suffered a concussion and a back injury.
The average concussion lawsuit settlement may vastly differ from these cases, and you should speak to an experienced attorney at our top-rated law firm to learn more about what you have the potential to earn in your case.
How else can a concussion lawsuit be valued differently? Through the lens of different insurance companies. Insurance companies like AAA Insurance, Progressive Insurance, Geico Insurance, Mercury Insurance, CHUBB Insurance, Farmers Insurance, State Farm Insurance, and AllState Insurance all have different values for injuries. For example, AAA insurance might value a concussion head lawsuit differently from Mercury Insurance. If you interview a progressive insurance agent and ask them about the settlement value of a head concussion lawsuit and if you do the same for State Farm and Allstate insurance regarding the case worth of concussion injury lawsuits, you will get widely different answers. It depends on the company and sometimes even on the insurance adjuster with whom you’re speaking. An insurance adjuster from the same company may award different settlement amounts than his coworkers.
Free Second Opinion
A lot of people searching for the value of their cases already have attorneys; they may be having doubts about their current attorneys and do not know if they are being misrepresented or lowballed. Many times, lawyers will rush cases through the negotiation process, aiming to get as quick a settlement as possible, regardless of its size. They are primarily concerned with getting paid themselves, and the more cases they can litigate, the more they get paid. This is drastically unfair to their clients: they are robbing them of basic covered expenses and potentially making life that much more difficult.
FREE CONSULTATION AVAILABLE TO YOU: If you have questions about your current attorney or case, contact our experienced lawyers to receive a free second opinion. We will inform you as to whether or not we believe your lawyer is acting in bad faith and I you should pursue a different course of action or another law firm.
If you select us, you are given a free legal consultation where you can ask any questions you want and receive information about your case, injury, and potential compensation. Our goal to bring you the maximum settlement, not just the average value or average recovery. The average is too low for our standards, and we want to bring each client the fairest compensation possible.
We offer you a zero fee guarantee on all claims we take on. This means that you pay no out of pocket expenses for our legal representation; we are only paid if and when we win your case, and our fees come out of the settlement itself. In the event we lose, you owe us nothing at all.
Contact our law firm today to find out how much your concussion case can be worth. Normandie Law Firm and a lawyer with experience in concussion cases will be glad to assist you.
Further Information on Concussions and Other Head Injuries
Average Settlement Value of a Head Injury Case
