If you or a loved one has suffered a back injury, filing a claim or lawsuit may help you obtain compensation for your losses. You do not have to handle your case alone, either.
A Port St. Lucie back injury lawyer with the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can handle your case. We can answer your questions in a free consultation and explore your legal options.
Seeking Fair Compensation for a Back Injury
Depending on how your back injury affects your life, your damages could include:
- Initial hospitalization and surgery expenses
- Follow-up treatment and ongoing care
- Future medical expenses
- Mental health treatment for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or anxiety disorders
- Long-term home or facility-based care costs
- Durable medical equipment
- Accessibility modifications
- Vocational or occupational therapy
- Lost wages and future diminished earning capacity
- Loss of retirement earnings due to diminished or lost employment
- Wrongful death damages for a fatal injury
- Compensation for a spouse or child’s loss of relationship with the injured person
- Physical pain, mental suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life
You need to understand the value of your case. We can calculate your losses to ensure you seek fair compensation from a liable party. The last thing you want is to suffer further injury-related losses later on.
How Negligence Can Lead to Back Injuries
Back injuries can occur due to Port St. Lucie car accidents, motorcycle accidents, horseback riding accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, defective products, and medical malpractice. As long as negligence caused or contributed to your accident, you may be able to hold the other party liable for your losses.
There are four requirements when proving negligence:
- Establishing the legal duty the other party owed you
- Demonstrating how the other party breached that duty
- Showing how the breach directly caused the accident
- Proving your injuries resulted in losses
We can gather accident details, interview witnesses, consult medical providers, and obtain official reports to build evidence for your case.
Determining Liability
In some cases, liability for a back injury rests with a negligent driver. In others, a property owner who failed to maintain a safe premises causes injuries. You may even be able to hold a manufacturer of fault equipment liable for your losses.
Liability depends on who owed you a duty of care and how they breached it, and we can determine these factors for you. If multiple parties contributed to your accident, we can assess each of their roles and pursue fair compensation from them.
Filing an Insurance Claim for a Back Injury
Depending on who bears liability for your accident and how much insurance coverage they carry, you may recover compensation through a claim. If a driver or property owner caused your injuries, they likely carry a policy, but their insurer may undervalue or deny your claim. We can handle all of the communications with an insurer, so you do not have to worry about making a statement that would undermine your claim.
We can also counter an adjuster’s determination of fault if they claim you were more responsible for the accident. We can provide expert testimony to link the accident with your injuries. Finally, we can negotiate a fair settlement, preventing you from accepting a lowball offer.
Filing a Lawsuit for a Back Injury
If negotiations with insurers fail or the liable party does not carry enough coverage, you can take legal action to pursue a court-awarded offer. We can file your Port St. Lucie personal injurylawsuit or wrongful death lawsuit.
When we do this, we will handle all of the paperwork and communications necessary during the legal process. Additionally, you will not have to pay any court fees up front, as we take our payment out of your winnings if we succeed.
You can focus on spending time with your family and recovering from your injuries. We can take care of everything else.
Deadlines for Legal Action
If you do have to file a lawsuit, you must do so within a certain amount of time. When we discuss your case, we can determine how long you have to take legal action against a liable party. We can negotiate with an eye on this deadline, leaving enough time to file the necessary paperwork if we need to take your case to trial.
Sometimes, cases settle before ever reaching trial, but we are prepared to represent you and protect your rights. To protect your right to legal action, start your case as soon as possible. If you wait too long, you risk losing your right to seek a court-awarded offer.
Back Injuries Can Be Severe and Costly
The tissues that make up our backs and necks are sensitive to a sudden forceful impact. Sprains, strains, herniated discs, and fractured vertebrae are common accident injuries, and lingering pain is often the result. This pain can be debilitating. Trauma to the spinal cord itself can diminish one’s quality of life and lead to permanent impairment.
You may require multiple surgeries, medication, and rehabilitation. While your doctors aim for your maximum medical recovery, we will be aiming for fair compensation for these current and future medical expenses.
Soft-Tissue Injuries
Direct impact to the back can damage the vertebrae, the spinal cord, or both. Muscles, tendons, or ligaments in the lumbar region of the back are common and sometimes called “soft tissue injuries.”
Spinal Cord Injuries
The spinal cord regulates several essential bodily functions. Permanent disability can result from spinal cord injuries, including paraplegia, tetraplegia, and other serious injuries. In some cases, spinal cord injuries can be life-threatening.
Herniated Disc Cases
A herniated disc can cause significant lower back pain and affect the body in other places. In some cases, accident victims suffer disc herniation in more than one part of their spine.
Severe disc herniation can compress nerve roots in the lower spine, resulting in cauda equina syndrome. This condition can cause permanent paralysis, loss of bladder or bowel control, and/or sexual dysfunction. These symptoms can be permanent, according to Mayo Clinic.
Medical Documentation Will Play a Key Role in Your Back Injury Case
You will need medical documentation to support your case for compensation. Do not attempt to assess or treat a back injury by yourself, as you could worsen your condition. You also do not want to give an insurer a reason to undervalue or deny your claim.
A doctor can diagnose your condition, document the link between your accident and injury, and treat it. It is equally important to follow through with your medical intervention plan and make your doctor appointments. This proves that you are doing everything in your power to improve your condition.
Learn About How the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine Can Help
We know that when it comes to personal injury attorneys, you have many choices. During a free consultation, we can discuss how one of our back injury lawyers in Port St. Lucie can help. When we work on your case, we will afford it the personalized attention it deserves.
The sooner you call, the better since deadlines may apply in your case. Call the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine now at 1-800-747-3733.
We Can Help.
