Are whiplash cases really successful?

Whiplash is defined as “neck and back pain resulting from injuries of the spine and soft tissue”. This occurs following sudden, abnormal force or motion placed on these areas of the body. For instance, in car accidents, whiplash can occur when a person is forced suddenly forward in their seat. Whiplash can be serious and very painful in certain situations. You may even be able to make a personal injury claim out of it. If you are unsure, you can contact an accident lawyer in New York for further explanation.

Cause of the whiplash

In New York law, an accident lawyer will tell you, the cause of your whiplash is very important in deciding on personal injury claims. For instance, you may ride on a rollercoaster and receive whiplash, but this case might not be successful since you are already aware of the sudden, fast movements. However, whiplash in the case of a car accident could be successful if the accident was a result of driver negligence, such as driving too fast, driving too close to another vehicle, not watching the road, etc.

Severity of the whiplash

New York Insurance Law includes a “serious injury threshold”, which defines how serious a whiplash injury must be in order to have a personal injury claim. This defines a serious injury as one that causes death, dismemberment, serious disfigurement, fracture, loss of a fetus, and limitation of a body part’s usage.

In relation to soft tissue, if you have suffered permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system so that there is a permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member then this may count as a serious injury. If you have suffered a significant limitation of use of a body function or system, in that you have further suffered a medically determined injury or impairment of a non-permanent nature, which prevents you from performing your ordinary daily activities for up to ninety days during the one hundred eighty days immediately following the accident this may qualify as a serious injury. In this case it if you will sustain economic loss greater than basic economic loss. This is a complex issue and is based on interpretation by the courts. In order to know whether or not you have a motor vehicle case, be sure to call a New York accident attorney.

New York Insurance Law also states that $50,000 or more in damage, lost income, etc. is enough to qualify a personal injury claim. Furthermore, an accident lawyer in New York will use a “90/180” test to determine if the time needed off from work or any other normal activities is enough to qualify a claim.

Common mistakes in whiplash claims

The actions that you take immediately after the incident can impact on the outcome of the personal injury case. Certain conditions will lower the amount of compensation that you will receive. These include, but are not limited to, you doing an action that contributed to the injury, failing to seek medical help, failing to store documents (medical reports, wage slips, etc.), and failing to research the insurance contracts. If you cannot complete any of these tasks due to injury, because you forget or for any other reason, don’t worry as our team will look after it fro you.

Another mistake is of course not following up on your case with an accident lawyer in New York to find out exactly what your entitlements are. If you have a case then seek legal advice as soon as possible and let us look after your case while you look after your injuries.

Compensation

Personal injury claims, if successful, will result in monetary compensation from the other person, business, insurance company, etc. to help cover your costs. The compensation that you receive will be determined by your pain and suffering after the incident in question. Therapy could also be included in emotional distress. Here, the importance of documenting everything shows, since you will have to prove the need for compensation in these areas of your life. A New York accident lawyer will be able to assist you in this situation and should always be your first port of call if you think there is a case to be made.