What Is a Post-Concussion Syndrome Car Accident Settlement?

Whenever you drive or ride in a motor vehicle, you always have some risk of being in a car accident. If you hit your head in a crash, you may develop a traumatic brain injury. The same may occur if your brain smashes into your skull during rapid vehicle deceleration. A post-concussion syndrome car accident settlement is money the responsible party or his or her insurer pays to you to avoid litigation. You can use settlement funds to pay for medical expenses or anything else.

Have you sustained a traumatic brain injury in a car accident? Are you looking to explore your legal options? Call us today or complete the online contact form below to talk with an experienced personal injury attorney in your area.

Identify Post-Concussion Syndrome

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a concussion is a TBI that occurs after a blow to the head or rapid head movement. Post-concussion syndrome is the collective name for a variety of symptoms you may develop after suffering a concussion.

Because of your body’s stress response, you may not realize you have a concussion until hours or days after a crash. If you have post-concussion syndrome, you may have one or more of the following symptoms:

• Headaches
• Dizziness, confusion or inability to concentrate
• Fatigue or insomnia
• Irritability, anxiety or personality changes
• Blurred vision or sensitivity to light
• Ringing in the ears

While it is known that women and older individuals tend to be more vulnerable to post-concussion syndrome than others, medical science is not certain what causes it. Some researchers think the syndrome is due to a disruption of brain tissue. Others trace the root to psychological factors.

Either way, if you have any of the above symptoms, you should see a doctor immediately.

Treat Post-Concussion Syndrome

If you develop post-concussion syndrome after a car accident, you may experience a variety of work, lifestyle and other complications. Fortunately, doctors have a variety of methods for treating the injury.

For headaches, doctors may advise you to take pain medication or participate in therapy. If you have vision problems after sustaining an injury, doctors may prescribe special glasses to help correct the problem. They may also refer you to a visual therapist who may help you repair visual damage.

Treating memory, concentration and personality problems is often more difficult. If you have neurological symptoms, your doctor may ask you to meet with a cognitive therapist. This therapist can give you tools to help you cope with your new way of life.

While post-concussion syndrome may improve over time, it may never go away completely. Therefore, when exploring your legal options, it is important to think about your future. If you are going to have to deal with post-concussion syndrome forever, you may be eligible for a greater settlement.

Negotiate an Insurance Settlement

If the driver who caused the car accident that left you with post-concussion syndrome has insurance, you may be able to negotiate a settlement. Before talking to the insurance company, though, you should consider speaking with a personal injury lawyer.

Your attorney may help you determine the appropriate post-concussion syndrome settlement value. The value of your award could depend on the following:

• Your prognosis and recovery prospects
• The effect the condition has had on your life
• Your medical bills, lost wages, and other damages
• Your future medical costs and related expenses

In addition to estimating the value of your potential settlement, your attorney may investigate whether the insurance company is likely to offer an acceptable deal. The following factors may determine your odds of receiving a fair settlement for your post-concussion syndrome:

• The insured party’s responsibility for the crash
• The seriousness of the accident
• The insured party’s policy limits
• The insurance company’s willingness to settle the matter

If you work with a personal injury attorney in your area, he or she may be familiar with the insurance company and its settlement history. Your insurer may also know how much others with post-concussion syndrome typically receive from insurers in your city or state.

File a Personal Injury Case

While trying to settle with the insurance company is usually a good idea, settlement offers are not always forthcoming. If an insurer refuses to settle or offers a low-ball offer, you may be able to file a personal injury claim.

Personal injury law is state-specific, so you must understand the laws of the place where the accident occurred. Nevertheless, if you want to file a lawsuit, you may need to prove the other driver acted negligently.

Negligence typically has the following four elements:

• Duty
• Breach
• Causation
• Harm

All drivers have a legal duty to drive reasonably. If a driver fails to do so, he or she may cause an accident. For a negligence claim to proceed, the driver’s actions must be both the legal cause and the factual cause of your injuries.

Furthermore, if you want to collect damages from a negligent driver, you must be able to show you have sustained harm. Harm includes the physical injuries and other damage you sustained in the crash. If you have post-concussion syndrome, the syndrome may be a legally compensable type of harm.

You may be able to negotiate a settlement with an insurance company even after you file a personal injury case. However, litigation usually occurs after settlement negotiations fail.

Work With an Experienced Local Lawyer

If you have post-concussion syndrome, you may experience limitations at work, home or school. You may also have difficulty participating in everyday life. This makes it important to work diligently to receive the compensation you deserve.

An experienced local attorney may investigate your accident, evaluate your injury symptoms and recommend a legal course of action. Your attorney may also engage in settlement discussions with the insurance company.

If filing a personal injury case is necessary, your attorney can also help you through all phases of the matter. Consequently, consider hiring an attorney who has extensive experience with the laws where the accident happened.

Submit a request online or call us today at (866) 345-6784 to get in touch with an attorney in your area!

About the Author

Aaron is a professional legal writer with a B.S. in English Education from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale. He has written, published, and edited thousands of legal articles for RequestLegalHelp, which has connected over 5 million people to legal help in the United States.

With over five years of experience writing thousands of legal articles for law firms across the U.S. and Canada, Aaron specializes in covering federal, state, and city-level legal issues ranging from auto accidents to wrongful terminations.