Whiplash, personal injury settlement amount?

I was in an automobile accident in March 06, I was rear-ended taking a left hand turn and the insurance company admitted liability imediately. My car was totaled and was in the er for exrays, ct scan and mri's. and they were talking about a settlement for physical therapy right away so I hired and attorney. My injury mostly has been whiplash, I also have cervical vertigo and am still being treated almost a year later. I have been to PT and vestibular rehabilitation ostepathic manipulation as well. I have been Dizzy for almost a year as well as anxiety and have been following all of my doctors recomendations. I am not trying to make quick cash but I do want to know some sorty of figure to ease the anxiety. My bills are around 10k and was out of work for 2 weeks right after the accident. Does any one have a figure for a sincere personal injury amount and pain and suffering? I haven't gotten an amount from my attorney as of yet. Thanks for your help!

Since you are still treating and still having problems a year later you will end up with more than someone who only treated for 3 or 4 months (like myself). My settlement was $10,000 and ALL of my medical bills were paid in addition to that. In addition to going to Physical Therapy you may want to consider going to a Chiropractor and getting adjusted, especially if you are dizzy. Make sure you tell him this is due from an Auto Accident and then they will be included in the lawsuit and you won't have to pay for him every time you go. They will bill the insurance company and almost always wait til the suit settles to get theyr payments. Your attorney probably has not put an amount on this because he is trying to determine (along with your doc's) if this is going to be a long-term problem that you will be dealing with. The longer you have your problems, the more money he will be able to get for you. Also, you will be reimbursed for the 2 weeks you missed of work. If you are taking any medications that are not covered, make sure you keep a receipt for them (or get the pharmacy to give you a print out of the payments you made for them) because you can be reimbursed for that also. My attorney told me to get a black & white marble composition book and write down EVERY DAY how I was feeling, any problems I had (like not being able to lift a hamper to bring it to the laundry), any dizzy spells, any days I lost work..etc., etc., and keep a running diary of ever day things. Sometimes things happen and unless you have them written down you won't remember them, especially if you end up going to court becuase the other guys insurance doesn't want to settle. Good luck and I hope your dizzy spells go away. My husband has them (from years of Vertigo) so we know what you are going through.

The most straight forward thing is to ask you attorney to file a suit against the person who hit you. In the suit, most attorneys ask for reimbursement of out-of-pocket medical costs, monetary losses from being out of work, attorney fees, and may or may not ask for punitive damages. So, for a suit without punitive damages, all you need to come up with a monetary figure is your medical costs, lost income, and an estimate of your attorney's fees. There's a good chance the defendant would settle out of court if you have solid evidence of lasting injury caused by the accident (i.e. hard evidence that show up on an x-ray or other image). If the only evidence of injury is your word about dizziness or other sensations that can't be verified, the defendant may decide to fight you in court, and its a crap shoot what a jury might decide.

Isn't this what you have an attorney for. They are going to get a huge chunk of your settlement so you better make them earn their money by giving you the advise that you seek.