Workers' Comp Settlements for Neck Injuries in Raleigh, NC

There’s no “average” workers’ comp settlement for a neck injury because each case is based on the injured worker’s wages and their specific injury and potential future medical treatment or future weekly compensation. Some factors that go into calculating the value of your neck injury settlement include:

• Medical expenses – Your settlement should cover the cost of all reasonably necessary past treatment for your workplace injury. Evaluating future treatment is more difficult as no one has a crystal ball to accurately foresee what treatment you will need and how much that treatment may cost. Your attorney and the insurance carrier use the medical records created during the treatment you have had thus far to try to predict the cost of future treatment.
• Average weekly wage – The amount you receive for partial wage replacement will depend on what you earned on that job in the 52 weeks before the neck injury.
• Recovery time – The longer it takes for you to return to work, the more wage replacement benefits you will be owed.
• Ability to work – If you can return to work in a lesser capacity and earn less than before because of your injury, your settlement should account for the difference in your wages.
• Ongoing needs – You must ensure that any settlement you receive also considers any future prescriptions, travel, or attended care to name a few potential needs.
• Permanent disability – If you suffered a permanent partial impairment (PPI) to your neck from the accident, your doctor’s disability rating will determine how much money you can claim (C.G.S. § 97-31) for the PPI portion of the claim. If the doctor gives you a rating while you are still unable to work, each week of compensation you receive will be deducted from that PPI rating. Don’t let that worry you. If you are still receiving compensation because you are physically unable to work, the value of the future compensation and medical bills is likely much more than the value of a PPI rating. Inexperienced lawyers tend to put too much weight on PPI rating money.

Even after all the calculations are finished, you’ll need to negotiate with the insurer for your neck injury workers’ comp settlement, as it will often try to pay as little as it can get away with. Your workers’ comp attorney can determine a fair value for your claim, advise you on the best settlement arrangement for your situation, and negotiate for maximum compensation that approximates as much as possible the full impact your neck injury has on your life – both now and in the future.

If you and the insurance company cannot agree on a value for your claim, there is no place to go to get a court order to force them to pay what you believe is fair. The primary leverage you have to encourage them to pay more is to leave your case open and make them pay for your compensation and medical care week after week, month after month, year after year. Some lawyers will inappropriately pressure their clients to settle for whatever the insurance company will pay. At Younce, Vtipil, Baznik and Banks, our attorneys are patient in pressuring insurance carriers and do not strong arm our clients into settling for an unwise amount.