A car accident on the 99 or any busy Bakersfield roadway can cause chronic, debilitating pain. Among the most frustrating injuries is tinnitus after a car accident. This constant noise in the ears can appear weeks or months after the collision. If you are a Bakersfield resident, the insurance company may dismiss your late-onset tinnitus. They often offer a lowball settlement, claiming the injury is minor or unrelated.
Insurance companies bet you won’t fight for the injury’s true value. Consequently, our firm successfully handled this exact challenge for a client. We secured a significant confidential settlement after they were initially lowballed for their delayed tinnitus. Ultimately, the secret to winning these claims in Kern County is simple: You must demonstrate irrefutable medical and functional evidence.
The Lowball Tactic in Bakersfield Tinnitus Cases
The core of the insurance defense strategy is to break the link of “causation.” They exploit the delay in your symptoms. Therefore, they claim the head or neck trauma from the accident is irrelevant. This trauma can take time to cause lasting auditory system damage. Furthermore, they rely on the fact that you can’t show a judge or jury the ringing.
To defeat this, your Bakersfield personal injury attorney must work closely with specialists. They create a medical file that objectively proves three things: the injury’s existence, its link to the crash, and its profound impact on your life.
Proving the Invisible Injury: The ENT/Audiologist Strategy
A successful tinnitus claim requires two specific, expert medical opinions. These opinions counter the insurer’s doubt:
- The Otolaryngologist (ENT): First, the ENT provides the medical-legal foundation for your claim. They perform a comprehensive examination and officially diagnose the tinnitus. Then, they provide a strong medical opinion linking the condition to the trauma (TBI, whiplash, or acoustic shock) sustained in your Bakersfield car accident. This clinical link is essential for establishing fault.
- The Audiologist: Next, the audiologist translates your subjective experience into quantifiable damages. Specifically, they use specialized hearing tests and functional assessments. These document the severity of the ringing and its measured impact on your concentration, sleep, and emotional state. In essence, this documentation is the evidence your lawyer uses to calculate your compensation for pain and suffering and ongoing treatment costs.
In fact, the detailed documentation from the audiologist in our client’s successful case proved the extreme life interference caused by the tinnitus. Thus, it showed the initial low offer was wildly inadequate.
Authoritative Medical Resources for Your Claim
To ensure your medical documentation is credible in the legal arena, it must align with recognized professional standards. For example, the American Tinnitus Association (ATA) is an excellent starting point for understanding your condition. It shows the proper next steps for finding specialists. Finally, your personal injury attorney will use the Clinical Practice Guideline: Tinnitus from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) to ensure your medical evidence meets the highest standards for diagnostic protocol.
Don’t let the insurance company in Bakersfield dictate the value of your suffering. If you have chronic tinnitus from a crash, you deserve full compensation.
Bakersfield Residents: Do not settle for cheap for your late-onset tinnitus. Contact Howell Justice today for a free case review, and let us prove the true cost of your injury. Visit www.howelljustice.com or call us now at (888) 712-0017.