Realistic Whiplash Settlements In Charlotte, North Carolina

If you’ve been in a recent car accident in Charlotte, North Carolina, you may have a personal injury claim worth pursuing. Quite often, individuals who have minor injuries in car accidents just ‘tough it out’ with the mindset that their injury claim won’t be worth anything. Most often, this is not true. Unless the accident was your fault, you can almost always reach a settlement for soft tissue injuries or ‘whiplash’ from a car accident. A Charlotte, NC car accident lawyer can help people injured in a crash understand their legal rights and options, including claims involving soft tissue injuries or whiplash.

Establishing Your Injuries

Unlike a fracture or an injury which requires surgery, soft tissue and whiplash injuries can be slightly tougher to establish or prove, when making a demand for compensation from an accident. However, if you follow a few simple steps you will not only restore your health but also establish your injuries in the event you want to pursue a personal injury claim. 

We recommend following the steps, after your accident:

• Get medical help immediately. The sooner you seek the help of a medical professional, the better chance you have of connecting any injuries to the car accident. Typically, the medical records you receive from the emergency room or urgent care will make specific mention that the reason for your visit was the car accident. They will further go on to list your symptoms. These symptoms typically end up being the basis for your injuries to claim. 
• Pay attention to your body. You may not have symptoms immediately after the accident. This is normal in a minor accident because your adrenaline takes over and masks any pain you may have. However, your symptoms may start to present themselves a few days after the accident. If this is the case, be sure to seek treatment at that time, if you have not done so already. 
• Document how you are feeling. While you may not want to think of it as a ‘health journal’, the weeks after you’ve been in an accident are a perfect time to take notes about how you’re feeling. Your notes may not end up as evidence in court, however, each time you go to the doctor, chiropractor or physical therapist, you can communicate those notes to the medical professional treating you. As a result, they will end up in the official medical record that will be provided to your attorney when treatment is complete.
• Follow through on treatment. The easiest way to ‘screw up’ your personal injury claim is to start missing treatment appointments. If your treatment has large gaps in it, it makes it very easy for an insurance adjuster to claim that you weren’t really in significant pain or else you would have made it to your appointments. 

A Note Regarding Special Damages

Even a minor accident derails your life. If your accident caused you to miss a wedding, graduation, or other family event, these types of damages can be part of your personal injury claim. They fall under the heading of Special Damages. You may be entitled to out of pocket expenses if you miss a cruise or other trip you were going to take, and you certainly are entitled to emotional damages for missing important family events. 

Lost Wages

Any work that you miss because of the accident will also be part of your whiplash or soft tissue claim in North Carolina. Keep in mind, most insurance companies will limit the lost wages claim to the dates that a medical professional wrote you out of work in the notes provided to your attorney. So, be sure to have an ongoing conversation with your medical provider about whether you can return to work. 

The Bottom Line

There are many times when we tell a potential client that their case can be settled on their own without an attorney. We are always looking for the path which will put the most money in the client’s pocket. However, with most accidents involving an ER or Urgent Care visit, and any follow up treatment (Chiropractic or Physical Therapy) it almost always makes sense to work with a personal injury attorney. We are happy to discuss your case with you at no charge and give you an honest opinion about it. Contact The Layton Law Firm to discuss your case and learn whether your injuries, lost wages, and other accident related losses may support a personal injury claim.