Back Injury Lawyer in Honolulu, HI
It’s easy to underestimate the value of a healthy back — until it’s been injured in a car accident. The sudden impact of a crash may cause serious back trauma that disrupts your entire life, making it difficult to work, complete everyday tasks and enjoy time with family and friends.
Back injuries can range from mild to catastrophic. Not only are these injuries expensive to treat, they can also take a long time to heal. For some, a full recovery may be impossible. But we can help.
The auto accident attorney in Honolulu at Recovery Law Center knows that life after a back or spine injury may never be the same. If you were harmed in an Oahu crash due to someone else’s recklessness, our experienced attorneys will stand up and fight for the compensation that you deserve. Our mission is to help you and your loved ones secure a strong financial future and restore your sense of well being.
Whether you are a resident on the island, tourist, business traveler or military service-member, Recovery Law Center is here to support you during this stressful time.
Please contact us now for a free consultation.
How a Car Accident Causes Back Injuries
The complex connection of bones, muscles, nerves and tissues in the back make it possible for us to move and feel in extraordinary ways. But when those intricate spinal connections are damaged in a car accident, there can be serious consequences.
Although the spine is designed to give us some flexibility, it is not elastic enough to withstand being hit by an unexpected force like another car. The sudden jolt shifts the entire body from one to direction to another in a split second. Unfortunately, that’s still enough time to damage the back.
In addition, the small space of a car’s interior is full of possible obstructions — such as the steering wheel, dashboard and even the airbags — that can stop the momentum, but also cause a back injury. This is true even in low-speed car accidents.
Back injuries are not always apparent in the immediate aftermath of a crash. If you begin experiencing back pain after a Honolulu or Honolulu County car accident, seek medical attention immediately so that the injury doesn’t become worse and limit your life any further.
Once your medical care is underway, contact Recovery Law Center to discuss your legal rights. It may not be clear how much medical treatment you will need in the long term, but compensation can be awarded for both current and anticipated future medical costs related to your accident. This money can provide tremendous relief to you and your family moving forward, no matter how long your path to healing may take.
Types of Back and Spine Injuries
Car accidents can cause wide variety of back and spine injuries. While some injuries are relatively mild, a serious crash may result in life-changing trauma.
Common types of back and spine injuries include:
- Sprains and strains: A back strain occurs when muscles or tendons attached to the spine or pulled, twisted or torn. A sprain happens when ligaments that connect bones together are stretched or ripped. Whiplash is a common neck injury following a car accident that can also cause back problems.
- Herniated discs: Also called “slipped” or “ruptured” discs, a herniated disc may occur due to a forceful blow to the spine. Serious disc injuries may require surgery to repair.
- Fractured vertebrae: Due to their proximity to vital motor and sensory structures, spinal fractures are serious business. Chipped fragments could cause damage that compresses or even tears the spinal cord.
- Dislocations: Ligaments that get dislodged from the bones can cause the spine to slip out of alignment. This can happen from unexpected trauma to the spine, such as from the snap of a seat belt during a crash. Dislocations often occur alongside vertebral fractures.
- Spinal cord injury: The most catastrophic of all back injuries, spinal cord damage can result in partial or permanent disability, paralysis, quadriplegia and paraplegia.
Compensation for Back Injuries in Hawaii
Some car accidents are clearly someone else’s fault. Other times, it’s not so clear who is to blame. That’s why it’s so important to contact Recovery Law Center. Our legal team knows how to investigate car accidents so that the responsible party(s) are held accountable for their negligence.
There are two main types of compensation available to accident victims in Hawaii.
- Economic damages: Monetary awards for losses that can be calculated, such as past, current and future medical bills, lost income and lost earning capacity.
- Noneconomic damages: Compensation for harm that has no fixed dollar amount, such as pain and suffering. In Hawaii, there is a limit (or cap) on noneconomic damages at $375,000.
A critical factor in determining how much money that you will be able to receive is whether bear any responsibility for the accident.
Hawaii follows the comparative fault — 51 percent rule. This means that you can still recover compensation as long as you are found to be less than 51 percent at fault for your accident. However, if your portion of the fault is greater than 51 percent, you will be unable to receive any compensation.
For this reason, it’s critical to talk to our back injury lawyer in Honolulu, HI as soon as possible. We can ensure that you are not assigned an unfair portion of fault for the accident that injured you.
Contact Our Dedicated Back Injury Attorneys in Honolulu Today
If you or a loved one is suffering from a back injury after an accident in Hawaii, a personal injury lawyer in Honolulu at Recovery Law Center wants to hear your story. Our compassionate personal injury lawyers in Honolulu are also tough litigators who will fight for the compensation that you need and deserve.
Contact us to schedule a free consultation or call (808) 597-8886. We’re standing by to help.
