Vocal Cord Paralysis Settlement Value

On this page, we will examine vocal cord paralysis, an injury that can result from medical malpractice and sometimes from auto accidents. We will also examine how this type of injury can occur and what the average settlement value for vocal cord paralysis might be in a personal injury lawsuit.

What is Vocal Cord Paralysis?

Vocal cord paralysis (also known as vocal fold paralysis) is a type of injury that occurs when a person’s vocal fold cannot open or close normally. The vocal folds are a pair of muscle flaps located right above the trachea inside the larynx. The vocal flaps enable people to talk by vibrating as air from the lungs passes through them. When someone has vocal cord paralysis, one (or sometimes both) of these muscle flaps is not responsive. This can obviously impair a person’s speech. It can also have other health implications. The paralyzed vocal fold will often stay open and allow food or liquid into the trachea.

The most obvious symptom of vocal cord paralysis is changes in a person’s voice. Loss of speech or raspy, labored speech is very common. Vocal cord paralysis can also make breathing difficult and uncomfortable. Difficulties with eating and drinking are another significant symptom of vocal cord paralysis as the non-functioning vocal flap may allow things into the windpipe.

What Causes Vocal Cord Paralysis?

Vocal cord paralysis is a type of nerve injury. It is caused when something blocks or impairs the nerve impulses that enable the brain to control the vocal fold muscles. This impairment of the nerve impulses can be caused by head & neck injuries (including whiplash in a car accident), nerve damage during a surgical procedure, and certain types of cancers. The best-known causes of vocal paralysis include:

• Nerve Damage During Surgery: One of the most common causes of vocal cord paralysis is inadvertent damage to the voice box nerves that occurs during surgical procedures involving the neck or upper chest. If the surgeon is not extremely careful he or she may easily damage the vocal nerves during these operations. The types of surgeries that most frequently result in vocal cord paralysis include procedures involving the thyroid, esophagus, neck, and chest. If a surgeon damages the vocal cord nerves during an operation, this constitutes surgical error malpractice.
• Neck or Chest Trauma: Physical trauma to the neck or the chest can also damage the nerves that serve the voice box and result in vocal cord paralysis. This can sometimes occur from neck or chest injuries suffered in an auto accident.
• Cancer: Vocal cord paralysis can result from cancer when the tumor is located near the voice box and damages the nerves as it grows.
• Infections: A number of viral and bacterial infections are known to cause inflammation that can directly damage nerves in the voice box. These include Lyme disease, Epstein-Barr virus, and herpes.

How is Vocal Cord Paralysis Treated?

The method of treatment for vocal cord paralysis will vary depending on the severity of the condition and the cause of the nerve damage. There are basically three levels of treatment for vocal cord paralysis:

1. Voice Therapy: This is basically physical therapy for the voice box. The aim is to alleviate abnormal tension in the paralyzed voice flap muscle. In a small percentage of cases, voice therapy is the only treatment required.
2. Bulk Injections: Vocal cord paralysis causes the immobilized vocal flap muscle to become very thin and weakened. Bulk injections involve injecting collagen, body fat, or a synthetic substance into the vocal cord to add mass or bulk to the paralyzed flap. This brings the immobile flap closer to the other, functioning flap.
3. Surgery: Surgery is required for effective treatment in a high percentage of vocal cord paralysis cases. There are several different types of surgical procedures used. The most common involves the insertion of structural implants into the paralyzed flap. Another option involves surgical repositioning of the vocal cord, in which the surgeon moves tissue from the outside of the voice box into the middle. The 3rd surgical option is nerve grafting, which attempts to regenerate and repair the nerve damage.

Living with Vocal Cord Paralysis: Legal and Medical Realities

Living with vocal cord paralysis is a constant struggle that goes far beyond hoarseness or voice changes. It affects your breathing, your ability to eat and drink comfortably, and your ability to be heard. It is not just a medical issue. It is a quality-of-life issue. Treatments like voice therapy, bulk injections, or surgery may offer some relief, but they are not always successful. For many people, the symptoms never fully resolve. You live with the frustration every day.

When vocal cord paralysis is caused by an accident, such as a rear-end collision or blunt force trauma to the neck, the legal path is usually more straightforward. You still need a qualified medical expert, preferably a treating physician, to link the injury to the trauma and explain how the defendant’s negligence caused the damage. But juries understand these cases. The mechanism of injury is easier to prove, and the connection between the accident and the paralysis is more intuitive.

Medical malpractice cases are a different story. These cases are tough. Very tough. We see a high number of vocal cord paralysis cases involving alleged surgical errors, especially after thyroid or parathyroid procedures. But the truth is that most of those claims do not make it past our intake process. We turn down multiple vocal cord paralysis malpractice claims every single week. That does not mean there are no viable cases. There absolutely are. When a surgeon damages the laryngeal nerve during a routine procedure, and the injury was avoidable with proper technique or monitoring, that is malpractice. But proving it requires strong expert support, clear evidence of a deviation from the standard of care, and a meaningful long-term injury. Even then, success is never guaranteed. The legal and factual hurdles are steep in these cases.  This is not the news you may want to hear but our lawyers want to tell it to you like we think it is.

So if you are wondering whether you can sue for vocal cord paralysis, the answer depends entirely on how the injury occurred. It is not enough to simply have the diagnosis. The challenge is proving causation, negligence, and damages in a way that will stand up in court.

What is the Average Settlement Value for Vocal Cord Paralysis?

The average settlement value for vocal cord paralysis in a personal injury lawsuit ranges between $175,000 and $275,000. This estimate reflects only successful claims—cases where liability is clear, the injury is well-documented, and there is enough expert support to move forward. It does not include the thousands of potential claims that never make it past a lawyer’s desk. In fact, many vocal cord paralysis cases, particularly those involving possible medical malpractice, are turned down during the intake process because the evidence does not support a strong case or the injuries do not justify the risk and cost of litigation.

For those cases that do move forward and result in compensation, several factors influence the value. Milder cases that respond to voice therapy or injections tend to fall on the lower end of the range. More severe cases, where the injury is permanent, requires multiple surgeries, or significantly impacts the plaintiff’s ability to speak or breathe, will often settle or result in verdicts well above the average, sometimes two to three times higher, particularly when medical malpractice is not involved and liability is clearly established.

Ultimately, vocal cord paralysis claims are only valuable if they are viable. That means strong causation, documented damages, and a clear theory of negligence. Without those, even a devastating injury will not result in compensation. For those with a legitimate case, however, the potential for meaningful recovery is real.

What Impacts the Settlement Compensation Payout of a Vocal Cord Paralysis Lawsuit?

Vocal cord paralysis is a fairly serious injury. Treatment usually involves surgery and a long, uncomfortable recovery process. So anytime you have a personal injury lawsuit involving this injury it is going to have a pretty large settlement value. There are certain factors that tend to drive the potential value of vocal cord paralysis cases up or down. The first is how the vocal cord paralysis occurred. If a car accident causes damage to the vocal cord nerves, the case will have a much higher value than it would if the vocal cord paralysis results from medical malpractice. Why?  Because, again, the malpractice case is much harder to prove.

The other factor that will have a major impact on the potential value of a vocal cord paralysis lawsuit is the severity of the nerve injury and the corresponding treatment level. A mild vocal cord paralysis injury that only requires voice therapy (and maybe bulk injections) will be on the lower end of the potential settlement value range. A more severe injury (such as those caused by surgical malpractice) will almost always require surgery to repair and will be at the higher end of the settlement value range.

Vocal Cord Paralysis Settlements & Verdicts

• $500,000 Verdict (2025 Washington DC): The plaintiff, a 42-year-old construction worker, was working at a jobsite when an employee of a subcontractor got into an altercation with several other men at the site. The employee went to his car to retrieve a gun and then shot the plaintiff, who suffered gunshot wounds to his abdomen, neck, and cheek, a laceration and blood clot to his right internal jugular vein, a fracture to his left mandible, an intramuscular cheek hematoma, and vocal fold paralysis. The lawsuit alleged that the subcontractor was negligent in failing to do a background check on the shooter before hiring him.
• $787,500 Verdict (2024 New York): The plaintiff was injured during a botched throat surgery. She suffered paralysis of her right true vocal cord and right laryngeal nerve damage, resulting in the inability to properly speak, the inability to speak loudly, hoarseness of her voice, and the inability to speak for more than a short period.
• $1,600,000 Verdict (2024 New York): The plaintiff, 54-years-old, was a pedestrian, walking along a road with her sister when she was struck from behind by a hit-and-run driver, leaving her with a left retroperitoneal hematoma, pelvic fractures, rib fractures, pulmonary contusions, flail chest, flail chest syndrome, and kidney polar ischemia.
• $1,750,000 Settlement (2019 California): A 54-year-old female plaintiff was rear-ended by a truck on the highway exit ramp. The plaintiff suffered a herniated disc in an accident and underwent spinal fusion surgery to treat it. The surgery caused vocal cord paralysis.
• $325,000 Verdict (2019 New York): Plaintiff underwent thyroidectomy surgery after which she suffered post-operative fistula, pneumonia, and pulmonary collapse, which led to vocal cord paralysis. She sued the doctors alleging that the surgery was improperly performed and that they were negligent in failing to prevent the post-operative complications.
• $750,000 Settlement (New York 2018): During surgery to remove parathyroid glands, the surgeon negligently failed to locate the glands and cut into the plaintiff’s laryngeal nerve, causing vocal cord paralysis. Surgery to repair the vocal cord was not successful, leaving the plaintiff with permanent left vocal cord paralysis.
• $355,000 Verdict (Florida 2016): Left turn accident at intersection. Female plaintiff, mid-50s, claimed mild head injury, spinal cord compression, and vocal cord paralysis resulting from the accident. Jury awarded $75,000 for pain and suffering and $280,000 for medical expenses.
• $85,000 Settlement (Michigan 2015): Plaintiff was rear-ended at moderate speed on the highway. He suffered neck injuries, which allegedly caused vocal cord paralysis. The defendant contested the causation between the accident and vocal cord damage.
• $900,000 Settlement (Indiana 2014): Negligent intubation of a patient at the hospital caused vocal cord paralysis on both sides and required surgery to correct. The plaintiff was left with a permanent impairment of voice.

Vocal Cord Paralysis Lawyers

If you suffered vocal cord paralysis as a result of medical malpractice or in an auto accident, contact the vocal cord paralysis attorneys at Miller & Zois for a free consultation.