Back and Neck Pain Injuries

A back or neck injury can affect every part of your life and may even make it impossible to do your job. These injuries can happen because of a one-time accident or event, or they can come on progressively over time. A lot of neck and back injuries happen because of various types of work, particularly work that involves heavy lifting or dealing with heavy objects.

If your back or neck injury occurred at work or as the result of another party’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical expenses and other losses. Unfortunately, recovering compensation for these losses can be very difficult. The goal of insurance companies is to pay as little as possible to injury claimants, and they often take particular advantage of claimants who do not have legal representation.

At Bailey, Javins & Carter, L.C., we have been standing up for injury victims in West Virginia for over five decades. Our firm is focused exclusively on personal injury claims, and we fight hard to recover maximum compensation for each client we serve. We have a proven track record of success with even the most complex cases, and we have secured hundreds of millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements on behalf of our clients.

If you injured your back or neck or suffered any other type of injury in West Virginia, we offer a free initial consultation to discuss your case. We have offices in Charleston, Logan and Summersville.

On-the-Job Injuries

Workers in the coal mining, foresting, and fracking industries work in dangerous environments that can easily result in a disabling back or neck injury. These injuries are quite common in a number of other occupations as well, such as construction, landscaping, power line/utility work, and many others.

If you have suffered a neck or back injury while on the job, your first legal recourse is usually to file a workers’ compensation claim. Workers’ comp provides benefits for injuries that are job-related. These benefits include:

• Reasonable and necessary medical costs.
• Wage replacement benefits for as long as you are unable to work or can only work part-time.

Workers’ compensation is a no-fault program that provides benefits to employees who suffer work-related injuries or illnesses, regardless of the cause (with a few exceptions). But although injured employees can get benefits without having to prove negligence, the workers’ comp claims process is complicated and confusing, and workers are sometimes denied benefits because of technicalities.

There is another significant drawback to workers’ compensation – the benefits available through the program are limited only to direct monetary losses such as medical bills and lost earnings. This is better than nothing, but the workers’ comp system does nothing to address the intangible losses that an injured worker sustains, such as the physical pain and suffering and emotional distress that the injury causes. Recovering damages for noneconomic losses like these can only happen through a personal injury claim.

At Bailey, Javins & Carter, L.C., we look beyond workers’ comp to explore other potential legal avenues that may allow our client to recover full and fair compensation for their injuries. In a surprisingly large number of cases, there might be other avenues available that would allow an injured worker to file a personal injury claim. Here are some examples:

• Deliberate Intent Claim Against the Employer: If your injury was caused by your employer’s deliberate actions, you may be able to file a personal injury claim against them under West Virginia’s deliberate intent laws. These types of claims are very difficult to win, however, and you will need clear and convincing evidence showing that your employer is liable. If you decide to go this route, you will definitely need experienced attorneys in your corner who know what it takes to secure a favorable outcome.

• Product Liability Claim Against a Faulty Product Maker: A lot of workplace injuries happen because of dangerous or defective machinery, tools, or equipment. When this is the case, it may be possible to file a product liability claim against the designer, manufacturer, distributor, or any other party within the faulty product’s supply chain.

• Premises Liability Claim Against a Negligent Property Owner/Caretaker: If you injured your back or neck when you were on the property of a party other than your employer, you might be able to file a premises liability claim against the owner or caretaker. However, you would only have a viable claim if your injury happened because of a hazard on the property that the owner or caretaker knew about (or should have known about) and failed to properly address. One possible example is if you were making a delivery to another company and you fell and hurt your back because of a slippery substance that was on their floor.

• Personal Injury Claim Against another Outside Party: There are numerous other situations in which a party other than your employer or a coworker may have caused or contributed to your injury. For example, on a construction site, there are typically several third-party subcontractors that work regularly alongside construction company employees. If one of those subcontractors causes a back or neck injury, you may be able to sue them directly. Another example is if you were driving somewhere on company time and another vehicle crashes into you, in which case you can file an accident injury claim against the at fault driver.

Accident Injuries

Car wrecks, falls and other types of accidents that happen outside of work can result in neck and back injuries. When these injuries are caused by the negligence or reckless actions of another party, you are entitled to recover compensation for all of your damages, including medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

In West Virginia, you can still recover compensation even if you are partially at fault under the state’s modified comparative negligence laws – as long as you are determined to be less than 50% liable. However, any damage award you receive would be reduced in proportion with the percentage of fault you share. For example, if you sustained a total of $100,000 in damages and you are found to be 20% at fault, your damages would be reduced by $20,000 down to a total of $80,000.

Free Initial Consultation with an Experienced Back and Neck Injury Lawyer in West Virginia

Neck and back injuries can be a major disruption in a person’s life. If this has happened to you and someone else was at fault, you deserve to be compensated. Before too much time passes, contact us to discuss your case with our legal team. To schedule your free consultation and case assessment, message us online or call our office today at (800) 497-0234 or (800) 296-6979.

We work on a contingency basis. We don’t get paid unless you do.