Suffering a herniated disk injury can be extremely painful and debilitating. If you suffered disc herniation due to someone else’s negligence in the Temecula area, the experienced personal injury attorneys at Zucker Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers are ready to help.
At the Zucker Personal Injury law firm, we offer aggressive and compassionate legal representation to victims suffering from herniated disk injuries. In the last 25 years, we’ve helped numerous Californians obtain maximum compensation after getting injured by others’ negligence. For a free consultation, call Zucker Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers at (951) 699-2100 today.
What Is a Herniated Disk Injury?
The human spine is composed of stacked bones called vertebrae, and cushioning between these bones are soft, jelly-like spinal disks. A herniated disk, also sometimes called a slipped or ruptured disk, occurs when one of the spinal disks tears or ruptures, forcing out its soft, gelatinous core. This can pinch or put pressure on spinal nerves, causing symptoms like:
- Severe pain in the back or extremities
- Numbness or tingling
- Muscle weakness
- Loss of reflexes
- Loss of coordination.
Herniated disks are very common spinal injuries, especially among victims of car accidents, slip-and-falls, workplace accidents, and other traumatic events. They can occur in any area of the spine but are most frequently seen in the lumbar (lower) and cervical (neck) regions.
While some herniated disks heal on their own over time, many require extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation. Severe herniated disk injuries often require surgery to remove the damaged disk material and relieve pressure on the nerves.
How Herniated Disk Injuries Occur
There are a few potential causes of a herniated spinal disk:
- Traumatic injury – Car crashes, falls, sports collisions, and other accidents can cause the vertebrae to jolt or twist abnormally, placing intense strain on the disks. This can lead them to rupture or tear. Whiplash injuries from auto collisions commonly cause disk damage in the neck.
- Wear and tear – As we age, the disks lose flexibility and shock absorption. Years of strain from heavy-lifting, bending, twisting, or vibration can cause disks to deteriorate and eventually tear.
- Weakness – Some people are simply born with thinner, weaker spinal disks that are prone to injury. Genetics are a factor.
If someone else’s negligent behavior directly resulted in your herniated disk, you may have grounds for a personal injury claim.
The Impact of Herniated Disk Injuries
Chronic back pain and immobility from a spinal disk injury can negatively impact nearly every aspect of a person’s life. Financial, emotional, and practical hardships often result, such as:
- Lost income – Being unable to work for an extended period can present major financial challenges. Surgery and recovery times for spinal injuries are often measured in months.
- Medical bills – Just the initial emergency treatment, diagnostic imaging, surgery, hospital stay, and medications can easily total tens of thousands of dollars or more. Long term pain management and physical therapy also rack up costs.
- Mobility restrictions – Simple everyday tasks like sitting, standing, walking, driving, and bathing can become extremely difficult with a bad back injury. Help around the home is often necessary.
- Emotional distress – Chronic severe pain, disability, inability to work, financial problems, reliance on others, and an uncertain future frequently lead to struggles with anxiety, depression, anger, insomnia, and more.
- Strain on relationships – Spouses and family members often take on caretaker roles. Money problems cause stress. The daily pain and suffering can diminish intimacy and the ability to participate in activities together. This can create tension within previously harmonious relationships.
The experienced injury lawyers at Zucker Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers account for all of these damages when fighting for maximum compensation for our spine injury clients.
What Compensation Is Available for Herniated Disc Injuries?
Medical expenses
This covers all reasonable and necessary medical costs related to treating the herniated disc injury, including doctor visits, physical therapy, medications, surgery, and any assistive devices or home healthcare needs. These expenses can add up over time, especially if multiple surgeries or ongoing treatment is required.
Lost wages
If the injury prevents you from working during recovery and treatment, you can claim lost income. This is typically calculated based on your weekly earnings prior to the accident. The more wages you lose from being unable to work, the higher this part of the settlement may be.
Loss of future earning capacity
If the injury causes permanent damage or disability that reduces your ability to work in the future, you can claim compensation for this loss of earning potential. The exact amount will depend on factors like your age, occupation, and severity of ongoing disability.
Pain and suffering
This covers compensation for physical pain and emotional distress resulting from the herniated disc injury. Though these do not have a concrete dollar amount, the law recognizes that they should be monetarily compensated for. The more severe and debilitating the injury, generally the higher this part of the settlement will be.
Loss of consortium
If the injury affects your ability to maintain relationships, engage in activities with your spouse, or fulfill marital duties, your spouse can make a loss of consortium claim as part of the settlement.
Why Choose Us for Your Herniated Disk Injury Claim?
If you are suffering from a herniated disk that resulted from someone else’s negligent behavior, the award-winning injury attorneys at Zucker Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers are here to help. With over two decades of proven success securing justice and compensation for injury victims, we have earned the trust of clients and the legal community:
- A record of results – Founding attorney Andrew Zucker has over 25 years’ legal experience and has personally tried over 40 jury trials. He has handled some of the largest injury verdicts and settlements in Southern California.
- Compassionate client service – We know you’re going through a tough time, and we care about easing your stress. When you work with us, we’ll communicate with you every step of the way, so you thoroughly understand how your case is going.
- Aggressive pursuit of maximum compensation – We leave no stone unturned in our investigation, and fight tenaciously to account for every last penny our clients are owed due to the negligence of others.
- Resources to go the distance – We have the experience, knowledge, and financial resources to take on insurance companies and negligent parties. We can pursue a jury trial if that’s what it takes to get you justice.
We have helped numerous spinal injury victims secure compensation for medical costs, lost income, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and much more. Every case is different, but you can trust our proven track record of success.
How We Build Herniated Disk Injury Cases
When you work with the Zucker Personal Injury law firm, our skilled personal injury attorneys and staff will get straight to work investigating your herniated disk accident case. We take numerous key steps to build a strong claim, such as:
- Obtaining medical documentation – We collect physician notes, imaging study results, hospital records, surgical reports, physical therapy plans, and any other files necessary to substantiate the extent of your spine injury and required treatment.
- Consulting medical experts – If warranted, we bring in specialists like orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, biomechanical engineers, vocational rehabilitation counselors, life care planners, and others to evaluate your case.
- Gathering evidence – To help us establish negligence, we gather police reports, incident reports, photographic evidence, video footage, eyewitness statements, product liability data, unsafe property documentation, and more.
- Proving liability – Your injury must be directly attributable to another party’s reckless, careless, or intentional actions. We thoroughly investigate liability.
- Calculating damages – To seek maximum financial damages, we document every medical expense, lost wage, and impact on your personal and professional life.
- Negotiating aggressively – We fight tirelessly to secure fair compensation from insurance carriers. Majority of our cases settle out of court.
- Taking cases to trial – If a satisfactory settlement can’t be reached through negotiation, we aren’t afraid to take your case before a jury. We are trial-tested and ready.
With diligent preparation, rock solid evidence, and relentless determination, we build the strongest possible claim to fight for your financial future.
Frequently Asked Questions About Herniated Disk Injury Cases
If you’re in the Temecula area and got your disk herniated through someone else’s negligence, you likely still have many questions about the claims process and your legal options. Here, we address some of the most common queries we receive from new spinal cord injury clients:
How much is my herniated disk accident case worth?
There is no universal settlement value for herniated disk injuries. Every case is different based on severity of injury, required treatment, liability factors, lost income, and more. Recent comparable cases have resulted in verdicts and settlements ranging from $75k to $1M+. We seek maximum compensation.
How long do I have to file a herniated disk injury claim?
In California, you have two years from the date of your accident to file a personal injury lawsuit such as for a herniated disk. However it is wise to contact an attorney right away to avoid running out of time. There are exceptions that can shorten the time limit in some cases.
Will filing a claim increase my insurance rates?
No. Because another party was negligent for your injuries, your own auto or health insurance rates cannot legally be affected by pursuing third-party compensation.
What if I was partially at fault for the accident?
California operates under “comparative fault”, meaning you can still recover damages even if partially responsible. Your compensation would be reduced by your percentage of fault.
What if the insurer denies my herniated disk claim?
Don’t panic. Insurance companies often deny or dispute valid injury claims. We know how to challenge these actions and fight for your rights. A denial is just the start of a negotiation.
Do I have to go to court for my herniated disk injury case?
The vast majority of our cases reach satisfactory settlements before reaching trial. However, if the insurance company refuses to negotiate fairly, we won’t hesitate to take your case to court to compel the best possible recovery.
Have more questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out to Zucker Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers today at (951) 699-2100 for a free consultation with an experienced Temecula herniated disk attorney. Time is often of the essence in these cases, so call now.
To Claim for a California Herniated Disk Injury, Get the Help of Zucker Personal Injury Lawyers
For over two decades, the accident attorneys at Zucker Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers have helped Southern California injury victims recover damages from negligent parties. If you are suffering due to another’s reckless or careless actions, we have the experience, resources and determination to help you secure the compensation you deserve.
To learn more about how we can assist in your herniated disk accident case, call us at (951) 699-2100 today to schedule a free consultation. We are standing by to answer your questions and discuss your legal options. Reach out now and take the first step toward the financial recovery you need and rightfully deserve.
