How Much Can a Lawyer Help Me Recover for a Back Injury?

Back injuries are common—far more common than most people realize. While many people assume that their back pain is “normal,” in many cases, it is a sign of trauma that requires treatment in order to heal.

Of course, this treatment can be expensive. Healthcare is expensive in general, but it can be especially expensive when you need treatment and ongoing care for a back injury from a vehicle collision, fall or other accident. Fortunately, accident victims can recover just compensation for their medical bills (and other costs) in many cases.

Understanding the Financial Costs of a Serious Back Injury

But how much can you recover for a back injury? The answer to this question depends on your individual circumstances. Just like your injury, the costs of your injury are unique to you, and determining how much you are entitled to recover requires a careful assessment of your immediate and long-term costs.

Let’s say you were involved in a car accident in Bethlehem, PA. You got rear-ended, and you felt back pain immediately. In the days after the accident, your pain has gotten worse, and now you are wondering how you can make sure you get the treatment you need without going into debt.

In the vast majority of cases, when you get rear-ended, the other driver is at fault. So, there is a good chance that you are entitled to just compensation for your accident-related costs under Pennsylvania law. This means that an experienced back injury lawyer in Bethlehem may be able to help you recover just compensation for your:

• Immediate Medical Needs – If you have a claim for your back injury, you are entitled to coverage for the full cost of your immediate medical needs. This includes your diagnosis and any surgical procedures or other necessary forms of treatment. To help ensure that your medical costs will be covered without issue, you should see a doctor as soon as possible (if you haven’t seen one already).
• Prescriptions and Medical Supplies – Your claim will also cover your prescriptions and any medical supplies you may need—from heading pads and wraps to crutches or a wheelchair. When you have a back injury claim, filling your prescriptions is important for your health and your legal rights. Be sure to keep copies of your prescriptions; and, if you can, pay with a check or credit card so that you will have records of your injury-related expenses.
• Ongoing Medical Needs (Including Prescriptions and Medical Supplies) – In addition to your immediate medical needs, you are also entitled to just compensation for the future costs of your back injury. This is true whether you need to schedule a series of follow-up appointments or you will need treatment for the rest of your life. Calculating the costs of your future medical care requires a comprehensive understanding of your diagnosis and prognosis, and you will need to rely on your lawyer to seek an appropriate amount of financial compensation on your behalf.
• Other Out–of–Pocket Costs – Along with medical expenses, a back injury lawyer can also help you seek just compensation for any other out-of-pocket costs you incur as a result of your accident. Depending on how your back injury affects your life, this can include everything from home and vehicle modifications to the cost of hiring cleaners, landscapers and other service providers. Here, too, it is critical to have an accurate understanding of your injury’s effects, and you need a lawyer who can clearly present your total out-of-pocket costs to the insurance companies.
• Loss of Income and Benefits (Current and Future) – Pennsylvania law also allows accident victims to recover just compensation for their loss of income and benefits. Depending on the severity of your back injury, you may need to miss work for weeks or months, or your doctor may tell you that you shouldn’t work for the rest of your life. Alternatively, your doctor may tell you that you need to find a different job that avoids the risks of further injury. In any case, you are entitled to just compensation for your loss of income both now and in the future.

As you can probably imagine, these costs can add up quickly. In cases involving vertebrae fractures and other types of severe spinal trauma, it is not unusual for accident victims’ financial losses to climb into the hundreds of thousands—or even millions—of dollars. If you have a substantial claim for damages, you will need to work with an experienced lawyer who can seek the full compensation you deserve based on your unique individual circumstances.

Understanding the Non-Financial Costs of a Serious Back Injury

When you suffer a serious back injury, the financial losses you incur are not the only impacts your injury has on your life. Even with prompt treatment, you may still suffer from chronic pain, physical limitations and loss of enjoyment of life. Many types of back injuries can cause bowel, bladder, and sexual dysfunction as well—and these can also drastically impact your relationships and day-to-day life.

In Pennsylvania, accident victims can recover just compensation for these “non-financial” costs as well. But, recovering these costs presents some unique challenges, and the insurance companies won’t cover them voluntarily. When you hire an experienced back injury lawyer in Bethlehem to represent you, your lawyer will use his or her experience to calculate an appropriate compensation amount for these costs, and then your lawyer will fight to recover these costs in addition to your immediate and long-term financial damages.

Speak with an Experienced Back Injury Lawyer in Bethlehem, PA

Did you suffer a serious back injury in a vehicle collision, fall or other accident? If so, we strongly encourage you to contact us for more information. With offices in Doylestown, Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and Stroudsburg, we handle serious back injury cases throughout Pennsylvania. To speak with an experienced back injury lawyer about your legal rights in confidence, please call 888-479-9197 or tell us how we can reach you online today.