This settlement of $27,800 was for a client with soft tissue injuries caused by a car accident in Fort Worth, TX.
Our client was driving eastbound in Fort Worth, TX. A motorist traveling northbound failed to stop at a stop sign and T-Boned her. She was evaluated by paramedics at the scene of the collision but was not transported to the hospital. She later began experiencing pain and discomfort in her left shoulder, low back, and neck.
Remember: Many times you will start to experience pain and discomfort in the days following a car wreck more so than the day of the accident. Often times this is because your adrenaline is pumping and masks your pain right after a collision. We often have clients who are forced to seek emergency medical treatment 2-3 days after they have been involved in a motor vehicle collision.
The client ended up requiring physical therapy due to the pain and discomfort she felt. Her treating therapist ordered multiple MRIs to make sure she did not have significant injuries. In addition, she was evaluated by an orthopedic and neurologist out of an abundance of caution. The therapy our client received allowed her to essentially make a full recovery except for intermittent low back pain with prolonged standing and bending.
This client had health insurance but did not believe her health insurer should have to pay for injuries caused by a negligent motorist. She also didn’t want to get stuck owing co-pays and multiple deductibles. She believed the at-fault driver’s automobile insurer should be responsible for those bills. We were able to assist her in finding medical professionals who were willing to treat her for her injuries and delay billing her until the conclusion of her injury case.
Comment from Attorney Joseph Morrison: The nature of a client’s injuries is obviously the single biggest factor in what a personal injury claim may ultimately settle for or what a jury might award. A broken arm or a torn rotator cuff is an injury that a jury can usually grasp fairly easily because it’s objective, an X-Ray shows the break or an MRI shows the tear in the muscle.
Soft tissue injuries are more difficult to convey to a jury but remain real injuries that cause substantial pain and discomfort. It bothers me when adjusters try to lowball clients because they “only” had a back sprain or strain. Some soft tissue injuries can take months of physical therapy to fully heal from, cause substantial disruption in a person’s daily life, and limit the activities they can participate in. I argued that this particular client was still entitled to fair compensation for her pain, suffering, impairment, and mental anguish.
The settlement for this case involving soft tissue injuries as a result of a car wreck in Fort Worth, TX was $27,800. Attorney fees were $7,247.58. Case expenses were $563.58. After paying medical providers and liens, the client’s net recovery was $7,000. This is an outstanding settlement for non-objective injuries.