Car accidents create incredible loss for victims. Numerous factors impact the specific type of losses that occur, including the rate of speed and amount of force involved. Where your vehicle was, the types of vehicles involved, and the overall actions of drivers at the moment right before impact all play a role in what occurs. The emergent need is to get to a hospital and get care to preserve your life. Yet, there are often long-term effects after a car accident that can create ongoing pain and suffering.
If you are the victim of a car accident, your loss does not end with discharge from a hospital after the accident. Most people in serious accidents have ongoing losses, and you may be able to seek financial recovery for the losses you incurred. Car accidents create physical, emotional, and financial losses. Talk to a Sarasota car accident attorney and a Bradenton car accident lawyer from Shapiro | Delgado | Hofmann today.
Physical injuries are some of the most common outcomes of car accidents. Many people fully recover from their injuries and can get back to life. Other times that does not happen, but there are lasting outcomes. Some examples of injuries that tend to cause ongoing trauma and pain include the following:
In these situations, you may face the need for ongoing care, or you may continue to suffer significant losses. In severe accidents resulting in injuries like these, victims often suffer losses such as:
In these situations, a victim will need more than just medical compensation for the initial accident medical costs. Instead, there may be the need for ongoing medical care and support from the incident. For example, a person who suffers paralysis may not need medical-specific care, but they may need help at home for the rest of their life. In a car accident claim, you must take into account these long-lasting physical limitations.
With the help of an accident attorney, it is possible to put a dollar value on the losses you suffered. Those damages can help you to continue to meet your future needs, medical or not. Those losses can also lead to an inability to work to meet your own financial needs. Your attorney will help you calculate the loss of future earnings in this case.
Serious car accidents also create significant trauma, which should never be overlooked. Emotional and mental health damage can impact the way you live your life day in and day out. Once your health needs are met, meet with a mental health provider to discuss the incident and gain clarity on the types of emotional damage you may have. Some examples of common types of emotional lasting effects from a car accident include:
A person may feel guilt, sudden loss, and ongoing emotional pain from what occurred. That includes changes to thought processes, processing of information, and the ability to regulate emotion. Emotional turmoil like this impacts many aspects of a person’s life:
It is possible to heal from these wounds with proper care and ongoing support. Yet, victims may not realize they need mental health support right after the accident. You may begin to express concerns months later. The long-lasting effects of emotional trauma can continue for the rest of your life. Many victims are never able to live the life they expected due to these emotional challenges brought on by the mistakes of another person.
Understanding your losses is the first step in recovering damages owed to you after such accidents. It is critical to keep in mind that many of these losses are unknown. In other words, there is no sure way to know what it will cost you to maintain medical care for the rest of your life. Your car accident attorney will work to better analyze this information based on other cases like your own as well as evidence related to your case. Some factors considered include:
This process is complex but critical to get right. If you settle your claim for too little, you may suffer for years trying to meet your physical and emotional needs in the future. With the guidance of an attorney, you gain more insight into what your rights are. These values will differ from one person to the next. There is no average amount of car accident recovery because there are so many factors playing a role in the process. The value is always dependent on what happened to you and what that means for your future health, well-being, ability to live a long life, and your overall quality of life.
There is no doubt that any car accident can critically impact a person’s life. Yet, for some people, those losses go much further and impact every factor of their life. This is why it is so critical to work closely with an experienced attorney to guide you. In situations where you have injuries that may not heal fully or losses that cannot get better, you may deserve compensation to help meet those future needs.
