What Is a Herniated Disk Injury Worth?

Jed Dietrich, Esq., Recognized as a Super Lawyer and American Institute of Trial Lawyers Litigator of the Year, is Committed to Defending the Rights of Accident Victims Across Buffalo. If You or a Loved One Has Been Injured in an Erie County Accident That Was Not Your Fault, You Deserve Effective, Aggressive Representation and an Attorney Willing to Fight for Your Rights.

A disk herniation is a serious and potentially permanent injury.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with a herniated disk after an accident, you could be entitled to significant compensation. However, determining the exact value of a herniated disk settlement can be difficult. Under most circumstances, your damages are dependent on a wide range of factors. These factors are unique to your case, but usually involve the relative severity of your injury, the money you have already spent on treatment, and your anticipated care needs moving forward.

The Dietrich Law Firm P.C. has spent decades helping car accident survivors assert their rights to a fair recovery. A recognized U.S. News & World Report Best Law Firm, we havex helped our clients throughout the state secure more than $300 million in damages, money they have used to eliminate medical debt, seek superior care, and begin rebuilding after a life-altering accident.

We could help you, too.

Call Jed Dietrich, Esq., today at 1-716-839-3939 to speak to a car crash lawyer and find out how much your herniated disk settlement could be worth.

Your potential compensation depends partly on the nature of your diagnosis.

Your disks serve as cushions between the vertebral bones that make up your spinal column. Disks are made of a tough layer of cartilage surrounding a softer, jelly-like base of cartilage in the center. Most disk-related problems are caused by aging. Over time, disks can become less and less flexible, leading to chronic pain and discomfort.

Disk aberrations can also be caused by trauma. In a car accident, the force of impact can over-extend the spinal column, possibly displacing or damaging it and its support structures. This can force disks out of place.

Bulging disks and herniated disks share some common features. However, they are typically treated as different conditions, both from a medical and legal standpoint. Bulging disks, for instance, do not always affect the entire disk. Instead, they cause small, superficial cracks that are primarily found on the disk’s outermost and toughest layer of cartilage.

Herniated disks, in contrast, are caused by more prominent cracks in the outer layer of cartilage, allowing some of the softer internal cartilage to protrude from the disk. Herniated disks are sometimes called “ruptured disks” or “slipped disks.” These terms can be somewhat misleading, as a herniation does not necessarily affect the entire disk but, rather, the area immediately around the crack.

Bulging and herniated disks are both serious conditions, but herniated disks are much more likely to trigger significant pain. In some cases, protruding cartilage can strike or irritate nerve roots, trigger inflammation, and cause a constellation of physical and mental health symptoms.

Herniated disk settlements tend to be worth more than awards for bulging disks, though exceptions are not uncommon.

Every personal injury lawsuit is different; so are its outcomes.

The value of your case could be affected by factors, including but not limited to the following:

1. The cost of initial treatment. Treating a herniated disk is usually expensive, often costing tens of thousands of dollars. Even if you have a good insurance plan, you may still be liable for recurring copays and large deductibles.
2. Your overall recovery time. Herniated disks can cause other complications, ranging from chronic pain to irreversible spine damage. Surgical treatment also introduces the risk of infection. In some cases, even when treatment is successful, accident victims may suffer from a severely restricted range of motion along with certain neurological disabilities. Recovery times usually average between several weeks and several months, but if complications occur, a herniated disk could become a lifelong source of pain.
3. Your long-term and anticipated needs. Recovery does not always end with your last trip to the doctor’s office. If a herniated disk leads to disability or keeps you out of the office for a prolonged period of time, you may need financial support that extends beyond the duration of treatment. Depending on the circumstances of your case and the severity of your injury, a longer-term recovery could entitle you to damages for continuing care, physical pain and suffering, emotional pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment.

There is no set formula to determine the exact value of a herniated disk case.

Before providing an estimate, your lawyer will consider how the injury has affected different aspects of your life. Some calculations are fairly straightforward. Your economic damages, for instance, represent the total expenses you have incurred and are expected to incur as a result of an injury. We may use your medical receipts to evaluate your existing expenditures and consult expert medical witnesses to assess what forms of assistance, if any, you will need moving forward.

Non-economic damages, in contrast, are more open to interpretation. In New York, non-economic damages are compensation for different kinds of pain, hardship, suffering, and loss. Most attorneys use standard formulas to calculate damages for non-economic damages like physical pain and suffering and emotional pain and suffering.

Herniated disk settlements can be worth anywhere between $10,000 and $100,000.

In some cases, these amounts may be lower or higher. Your award ultimately depends on the severity of your injury, the extent of your symptoms, and what sort of treatment, if any, you have already received.

If you think you could have a case, do not delay. Under state law, all personal injury claims are subject to stringent statutes of limitations. If you wait too long to take action, the statute of limitations could lapse. Once this happens, your case will most likely be dismissed on a technicality.

Do not take risks with your rights: call Jed Dietrich, Esq., today at 1-716-839-3939 to speak to a herniated disk personal injury lawyer and schedule your 100% free, no-obligation consultation as soon as possible.

Call the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. immediately at 1-716-839-3939 so that our aggressive, tenacious, and hardworking personal injury lawyers can fight to obtain the best result for your personal injury claim in Buffalo, New York. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and there is never a fee unless we win for you!