Following an accident resulting in injury, many people struggle to figure out what to do next. A serious injury can cause long-term complications and substantial suffering. Calculating the compensation you may have the right to recover after a serious accident can prove difficult, especially if you do not take the time to consider how your injury has impacted you. Take a look at these common injuries and their potential impact. Consult with a personal injury attorney for legal help.
Traumatic Brain Injury
Patients suffering from traumatic brain injury may have a number of potential challenges.
Medical Costs
Many patients suffering from a traumatic brain injury can have unexpectedly high medical costs. If a brain injury leads to significant swelling, patients may require surgery to alleviate that swelling. Doctors may also want to perform ongoing scans and tests to observe swelling in the brain and the progression of the patient’s recovery.
Patients may also need to undergo significant occupational therapy following a brain injury resulting in permanent damage and suffering. Some patients may discover that they need to relearn how to do things they did before the accident with no problem or that they need help learning how to cope with the common limitations that often accompany their injuries. For example, an occupational therapist may help patients cope with memory or ongoing focus difficulties.
Lost Income
Missing out on income during the recovery period can prove particularly traumatic for many brain injury patients, who may struggle with their inability to get back to work and start generating income again after the accident. In many cases, patients with traumatic brain injury will have difficulty focusing on their usual work tasks, making it very difficult for them to get back on the job.
Traumatic brain injury can also interfere with emotional regulation, which means that patients suffering from traumatic brain injury may have difficulty interacting with coworkers or dealing with customer service requests.
Suffering
In many cases, traumatic brain injury can cause substantial suffering. Patients know what they could accomplish before their accident but may no longer have that capability. Traumatic brain injury can also have a significant influence on many relationships. Some patients may even suffer from personality changes that make interacting with friends and loved ones difficult.
For some patients, the symptoms accompanying a traumatic brain injury will linger for weeks or months after the accident. For others, those losses may continue for years or even prove permanent. An attorney can help traumatic brain injury patients determine what right they might have to compensation after an accident involving traumatic brain injury.
Spinal Cord Injuries
A spinal cord injury may permanently change a victim’s mobility. Often, spinal cord injury victims note many potential challenges.
Ongoing Medical Bills
Patients who suffer from a spinal cord injury will likely have medical bills that continue for the rest of their lives. Patients may not only need a wheelchair to get around, but they may also need help from durable medical equipment to help with breathing, toileting, or other tasks of daily living.
Spinal cord injury victims may have a higher risk of infections. Furthermore, they may need ongoing help from physical or occupational therapists to help maintain muscle tone and build overall capability. At the same time, they learn how to cope with life from a wheelchair.
Income Challenges
A spinal cord injury can quickly prevent many patients from performing work-related tasks. For example, some patients will find they can no longer work in a warehouse or construction site due to their injuries. Getting back to work after a spinal cord injury may take a long time since patients often have a long road to recovery.
During that recovery period, spinal cord injury patients may miss out on substantial income. For some patients, especially those with paralysis that impacts the upper limbs and the legs, getting back to work after the accident may prove impossible. Patients who permanently lose their ability to work, or to work in their previous industry, may have the right to claim compensation for lost earning potential after the accident.
Suffering
Many spinal cord injury patients face considerable suffering as they try to cope with the aftermath of their injuries. They may suffer from a permanent loss of independence that has a long-term impact on their self-esteem, or they may have a hard time dealing with the loss of the activities they took for granted before the accident. Like other severe injuries, spinal cord injuries can also considerably impact relationships with loved ones.
The losses associated with a spinal cord injury typically prove permanent. While patients with incomplete spinal cord injuries may regain some mobility after the accident, patients with complete spinal cord injuries will often recover with no further mobility. A lawyer can help spinal cord injury victims evaluate the losses they have faced and pursue compensation.
Back And Neck Injuries
Back and neck injuries, from whiplash to a herniated disc, can cause immense suffering for many patients. Unfortunately, the force of many accidents, from vehicle collisions to fall accidents, can cause severe back and neck injuries which can, in many cases, have a long-term impact on the victim’s overall health and wellness.
Medical Costs
The medical costs associated with a back or neck injury often grow higher than the patient anticipates, especially if the patient suffers from ongoing pain and continues to seek treatment. Pain medications, visits to pain clinics, or surgical procedures designed to treat serious back and neck injuries can add substantially. Physical therapy may also help patients with back and neck injuries improve mobility but may prove more expensive than initially anticipated.
Imcome Losses
Back and neck pain can keep patients out of work for a long time after the accident. Many patients with back and neck injuries find it difficult to either sit or stand for long periods, making it very difficult to complete job-related tasks. For many patients, that means a long period before they can start generating income again. In some cases, patients with back and neck injuries may find it impossible to return to work, which means they may need compensation for lost earning potential.
Suffering
Back and neck issues may cause significant physical pain. Often, patients struggle to engage in ordinary activities, including simply getting out of the house to run errands. Back injuries may lead to a considerable loss of independence, which may cause many people to struggle with those losses and limitations. In addition, back and neck injuries can make it very difficult for patients to do the things they love. A lawyer can help determine how much compensation a patient may expect for pain and suffering related to a back or neck injury.
Burns
Burns can occur in several settings and for several reasons, including exposure to heat, cold, and electricity. Friction burns, also known as road rash, can also cause substantial injury and limitations.
Medical Costs
Treatment for burns can end up costing a great deal, especially for patients who suffer severe burns. Many burn victims will need to spend time in a special burn unit, where they will receive care designed to limit the risk of infection. Unfortunately, patients with burns have a high risk of complications, including repeated skin grafts or infection.
Dealing with the medical cost associated with severe burn injuries can leave patients struggling to determine what to do next. Not only can patients need long-term care to help them recover from their burns, but they may also need physical therapy after the accident to help them restore mobility, especially when burns occur around joints.
Income Losses
Patients with burns may need to avoid further heat exposure or friction, which could worsen their injuries or delay healing. Exposure to heat or friction could also cause extreme pain. Patients with severe burns may need to take pain medication to manage that pain, which may prevent them from working. In some cases, burns may prevent patients from returning to their former profession.
Suffering
Burns can cause more pain than many other types of injuries. That suffering alone may entitle patients to significant compensation for pain and suffering, depending on how the burn occurred. Furthermore, burns often leave substantial scars, even with skin grafts or plastic surgery. Many people struggle with the psychological implications of burn injuries, especially if they have visible burns on the face.
Amputations
When an amputation occurs, a patient may permanently lose a limb. Sometimes, amputations involve smaller body parts, like fingers and toes. However, amputations may also mean the patient loses an arm or leg.
Medical Bills
Medical costs following amputation can rise higher than some patients anticipate. In addition to the original procedure to remove the damaged limb, patients will often need to undergo stump revisions designed to decrease pain or improve the fit of a prosthetic device. While prosthetics can help restore some mobility or function, they cannot fully replicate the function of a biological limb.
Furthermore, prosthetics can mean ongoing costs for many patients since those devices require replacement every few years. Amputees often need to go through considerable occupational therapy to help them learn how to cope with their new limitations and the missing limb.
Lost Income
It can take some time for patients to return to work following an amputation. They may first need to learn how to adapt to the prosthetic device, which may take weeks or even months. While some patients can return to work after a limb amputation, such as a worker at a desk job with a leg amputation, others may need to spend more time out of work as they learn how to work around their new limitations. That loss of income can cause significant financial distress in many patients’ lives during this challenging period.
Suffering
Limb amputation can lead to significant physical pain and emotional struggles for many patients. The loss of a limb may make some people feel “less.” They may struggle with the loss of independence that often comes early after limb amputation. In many cases, limb amputation may also impact relationships with others who may not know how to handle that loss. A lawyer can help determine how amputees should calculate pain and suffering related to their claims.
Broken Bones
Many assume that broken bones will not cause the same general limitations as a more serious injury. However, broken bones can still lead to considerable medical costs and other challenges for many victims.
Medical Costs
Broken bones can lead to higher medical costs than many people expect. Some broken bones may require a surgical fix and time spent in a cast. Patients may need crutches or even a wheelchair to get around. Multiple broken bones can further extend the recovery period and the cost of treatment.
Wage Losses
Patients with broken bones often find that their injuries prevent them from returning to work as soon as they would have liked. Sometimes, broken bones can interfere substantially with a patient’s ability to do his job, which may lead to considerable loss of income during recovery.
Pain and Suffering
While the limitations of broken bones may prove fairly temporary, in the meantime, patients may experience considerable suffering. Furthermore, many patients experience pain around the area of the break for the rest of their lives.
A Lawyer Can Help You Learn What Compensation You Deserve
Accident injuries can lead to considerable financial and non-financial losses. By working with an experienced personal injury lawyer, you can get a better idea of the elements of compensation you might deserve. Contact our law firm in New York as soon after your accident as possible to learn more about your rights.
Mr. Finkelstein is the Managing Partner of Finkelstein & Partners, LLP. He has become a noted consumer activist through his representation of injured individuals against corporate wrongdoers and irresponsible parties.
An accomplished litigator, Mr. Finkelstein has represented Plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury cases. He has successfully handled dozens of multi-million dollar cases.