According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Tennessee had more than 1,100 car accident deaths in 2018. Of the many accidents every year, whiplash develops in a large number of them. Whiplash is a condition that can develop after a serious head or neck trauma. The muscles in your neck are injured, making it difficult to move. In the most severe cases, surgery may be needed to repair the damage.
Whiplash can develop over several days after an accident. This makes it difficult to diagnose and often requires follow-up care to address. If you developed whiplash after your accident, you might be able to take legal action with the assistance of a Memphis whiplash injury lawyer. Call Ben Crump Law, PLLC at (844) 730-0233 for a free consultation about this case.
Understanding Whiplash
Whiplash develops after head and neck trauma. The sudden change of direction in a car accident puts a lot of stress on your neck as it tries to keep your head in an upright position. This stress can damage the muscles and ligaments in your neck. The damage, if not too severe, can heal over time.
Some cases are so mild that you do not need medical intervention to recover. In more severe cases, you may require the use of a neck brace for a period of time. The neck brace keeps your head still so that your neck muscles can start to heal. Surgery and other serious treatment options are only reserved for the most severe cases where the damage cannot heal on its own.
No matter how severe your case is, you will likely need physical therapy afterward. Physical therapy is designed to help you strengthen damaged muscles. It can be expensive, but it may be some victims’ only option for recovery.
For a free legal consultation with a whiplash injury lawyer serving Memphis, call (844) 730-0233
Determining Liability
Liability is an important part of your case. You can only file a lawsuit against a party that is considered to be liable for your expenses. In most accident cases, this is the person that caused your accident. This is who your lawyer will file the lawsuit against.
There are some situations where liability becomes more complicated, depending on who the other party is in your accident. If the other party is a work vehicle, liability may extend to the company that owns and operates the vehicle as well. Government agencies can also be held liable in whiplash accidents if the accident was caused by a defective roadway that the government was responsible for maintaining. At the beginning of the process of building your case, your Memphis whiplash injury lawyer examines all of the possibilities and determines the best way to move forward based on liability.
Memphis Whiplash Injury Lawyer Near Me (844) 730-0233
Statute of Limitations
Car accidents can leave victims with a lot of expenses and injuries to deal with. Right after an accident, most victims focus on their physical recovery and forget that they have the option to file a lawsuit against the other party to help with their finances. By the time most victims realize that they could take legal action, the time that they have to do so might be near running out. Do not miss your opportunity to take legal action by waiting too long.
In Tennessee, there is a statute of limitations (legal time limit) for how long you have to take legal action after an accident. It is designed to motivate victims to take action sooner rather than later.
According to the Tennessee General Assembly, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is two years after the date of the accident. While your lawyer will try to file these claims in the same lawsuit, it is possible to file them separately if a personal injury statute of limitations has already expired.
Click to contact our Memphis Car Accident Lawyers today
Lost Wages and Other Expenses
The reason why accident victims file civil lawsuits is so that they can collect financial compensation to help pay for the expenses of the recovery. Few people have enough savings to cover these expenses, and the other party should be held liable for any damages that they caused. To claim compensation, you file specific claims in your lawsuit. Some of the things that you can claim include:
- Medical expenses: Any expense that you have related to your physical recovery can be claimed in the lawsuit. Emergency medical care, ongoing medical care, and mental health care services are all viable claims.
- Property damage: Any damage to personal property can be claimed in the lawsuit. This includes your car, cell phone, clothes, or any other personal items involved in the accident. Make sure that everything that is damaged is documented in the police report so that you have evidence that you can use later to show that your property was damaged.
- Lost wages: You may have to be out of work for an extended period of time after your accident, which can impact your income. You can claim that lost income if you are not paid while you are out of work.
- Pain-and-suffering: You may be awarded pain and suffering compensation because of the ongoing physical and mental stress that you face while trying to recover from whiplash. Pain and suffering is reserved for addressing non-monetary problems caused by the accident and can substantially increase the amount of compensation that you receive at the end of your lawsuit.
There are other types of expenses that you can claim that are not covered on this list. Work with your lawyer to identify as many potential claims as possible. The closer you are to identifying the exact amount of compensation that you need, the better your financial outcomes will be once your lawsuit is settled.
Complete a Free Case Evaluation form now
Hire a Lawyer to Help with Your Case
If you are having difficulty making a decision about taking legal action, it may be in your best interest to discuss your case with the office of a Memphis whiplash injury lawyer to see what your legal options are. This can give you clarity about what steps you should take next. Call Ben Crump Law, PLLC at (844) 730-0233 for a free consultation about your case.
Call or text (844) 730-0233 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
