The full effects of a bad car accident won’t always show themselves right away.
So, you’ve been in a car accident that wasn’t your fault. Whether or not you came out of it feeling okay right away doesn’t really tell the whole story. Some of the lasting effects of a bad car accident are only revealed with time.
Sometimes it’s aches and pains, other times it’s more psychological. But, what if you begin to experience a headache after a car accident? There’s almost nothing that will raise concerns more than a delayed and lasting head injury.
Our brains are fragile, and it can be terrifying when something doesn’t feel right, especially after an accident. In this post, we’re going to talk about what you can do when that headache comes.
You don’t have to accept any injury that results from a car accident, even if it doesn’t happen right away. Learn how to make sure that the ongoing effects of your accident are covered so that you’re not hung out to dry with injuries. Don’t let this car accident take away your livelihood.
Dealing With a Headache After a Car Accident
It’s quite common for a headache to happen as a direct result of a car accident. The reason for this is usually because of whiplash or a concussion. Whiplash causes a variety of painful or uncomfortable symptoms, including stiffness, muscle spasms, fatigue, blurred vision, tinnitus, cognitive impairment, and yes, headaches.
Concussions are a direct result of the impact of the collision. Similar to the effects of whiplash, you might feel fine for a while after the accident. At some point, you might start to get migraine headaches, feel dizziness, confusion, slurred speech, memory loss, and blurred vision.
These symptoms can show themselves within hours and days of the accident and they can last for days, weeks, and months after the accident. Can you imagine living with chronic headaches for months after your car accident? It’s a frightening reality that many people experience.
Because the effects don’t always show themselves right away, someone might be reluctant to associate these symptoms with their accident. They might also be hesitant to put these lasting pains in their settlement claims, but that’s not how it should be.
See a Doctor
When you start to notice symptoms of a headache that doesn’t seem like a normal headache, go see a doctor. It might be hard to distinguish something directly resulting from a car crash from a regular headache, especially if you’re prone to headaches or migraines.
It might be something that’s nagging for a few days or a week or a feeling that you’re not used to. Once you’ve decided that it’s not a normal headache, get yourself checked out and determine if you should attempt to get a settlement.
Be warned, it’s not going to be easy to claim a headache. Insurance companies won’t want to pay out and juries will struggle to figure out the value of these types of injury cases. That’s why you need a good attorney.
Why Is It Important to Claim Your Headache?
You shouldn’t hesitate to claim a headache that you know is the result of your car accident because it can have a huge effect on your quality of life. Chronic migraines, medication-induced headaches, and exacerbation of existing headaches all occur and change people’s lives drastically.
As we stated earlier, it’s not going to be easy to get the insurance claim through for your injury. All of the cases listed above are tough to defend because of the subjectivity of headaches.
Jury Verdict Research found that the average settlement for headache-related injuries is a bit over $33,000. It might sound like a lot of money, but not when you compare it to the average national personal injury award of nearly $800,000.
That means your headache is likely to get you just 5% of the national average for injury settlements. Don’t let this deter you from getting your money, though. These are just the average numbers and some cases will far exceed the average.
Making Your Claim
Getting a big settlement will depend on a few factors. Your age, the nature of your head injury, obvious property damage, and the testimony of a trusted medical professional will all come into play. Juries are more likely to believe the testimony of an older person and thus award them more money.
Specifically, the doctor will need to find that the headaches have been caused by the accident and that you (the plaintiff) won’t be guaranteed to find relief from the headaches at any point in the future.
Sample Verdicts
In 2018, a plaintiff minor in Alabama is riding in the back of a car when the defendant, under the influence of drugs, veered into their lane because he was picking up his dropped cell phone. The plaintiff suffered a mild head injury, but then experience headaches, dizziness and a loss of appetite. This settled for $85,000.
In 2015, a New Jersey male in his 50’s collided with a man that ran a red light. He suffered an immediate concussion, then a pain that required a cervical fusion. The plaintiff’s neurologist testified that he’d suffer from concentration issues and ongoing headaches. This case settled for $525,000 outside of court.
In 2018, an Iowa plaintiff was going through a two-way stop when the defendant ran a stop sign and struck the backside of the plaintiff’s car. The plaintiff alleged headaches and soft-tissue injuries, which the defendant disputes. The plaintiff is awarded $16,000 for medical expenses and $8,000 for pain and suffering.
Don’t Hesitate to Get Your Settlement
You shouldn’t have to live with the effects of your car accident without a settlement. When you’ve got medical expenses associated with a headache after a car accident, you should be compensated for them. But, you should also be compensated for the pain and trauma that result from a bad accident.
Visit Dan Pruitt Injury Law Firm today to talk to someone that has years of experience dealing with the lasting effects of auto accidents.
Get a free consultation on our website and visit our blog to read more about what you should be thinking about after your car accident.