If you were in a South Carolina car accident, you must understand the long-term effects of car accident injuries. Car accidents often result in severe injuries that can have a lasting impact on your physical, emotional, and financial well-being. Knowing the long-term effects of car accident injuries can help you maximize your compensation. Making sure you don’t miss out on damages you could be entitled to, especially for ongoing pain, reduced mobility, or emotional trauma.
Physical Long-Term Effects of Car Accident Injuries
The physical long-term effects of car accident injuries are the ones people often think of. For example, suppose you sustain a back injury in a rear-end accident. In that case, you may be left with chronic back pain, mobility issues, or, in a worst-case scenario, partial or complete paralysis. A traumatic brain injury, meanwhile, could cause seizures and cognitive disability.
However, not every car accident injury has to be as severe as a spinal cord injury or traumatic brain injury (TBI) to have lasting physical effects. A fractured bone may not heal properly, leading to reduced mobility. Or a soft tissue injury like whiplash could result in chronic headaches or tingling and numbness in the extremities.
Discussing its long-term implications with your doctor is essential, regardless of the injury you sustained. Specific injuries can lead to increased risks of medical complications down the line or may require ongoing treatment, and you want to be able to seek compensation for those future medical costs through your car accident claim.
Maximum medical improvement (MMI) is a term used to describe when further medical treatment is unlikely to result in additional recovery. Typically, waiting to settle an injury case is best until you reach this point, as you are less likely to experience medical complications. However, achieving maximum medical improvement doesn’t mean you have fully recovered.
Let’s say you sustained a back injury that didn’t result in paralysis. Even if you undergo surgery for the injury and reach maximum medical improvement, you may still experience pain for years, decades, or the rest of your life. You may still have trouble standing or sitting for extended periods. And you may have to continue participating in physical therapy to prevent your condition from worsening.
Emotional and Psychological Effects
Some car accident victims suffer from long-term emotional and psychological effects of both the accident itself and their injuries.
For example, after being in a severe car accident, you may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and be unable to drive or ride in a car. This can be a debilitating condition that negatively impacts your life in various ways, including making it difficult to get to work.
Your physical injuries can also lead to emotional and psychological harm, including anxiety and depression. If your injuries prevent you from engaging in activities you once enjoyed, such as being active outdoors or playing with your children, it can severely impact your mental well-being.
Unfortunately, many car accident victims don’t realize that their adverse emotional and psychological conditions are related to the accident that caused their physical injuries. That’s why it’s essential to work with a skilled attorney who can gather evidence connecting these conditions to the accident so you can seek compensation for them.
Financial and Lifestyle Consequences
The more severe your injuries are, the more expensive your medical treatment will be. The cost of your medical treatment directly impacts your car accident injuries on your finances. However, it’s not the only way your injuries can affect your financial situation.
Your injuries may also make it difficult to work, which can lead to lost wages. Whether you are entirely unable to work, you can only work limited hours, or you can only work in a lower-paid position, you may be able to seek compensation for your loss of future earning potential through an auto insurance claim.
Car accident injuries can also impact your lifestyle in the same way they affect your ability to work. For example, if you can’t work because standing or sitting for extended periods is painful, that will also likely impact your personal life. Or, if your injuries make walking long distances difficult, it can make traveling much harder.
Calculating the long-term financial impact of your car accident injuries can be challenging. However, lawyers have plenty of experience estimating the future cost of medical treatments and lost wages based on your past medical expenses and pre-injury wages. And your lawyer may consult with medical professionals or vocational experts to better understand the impact your injuries will have on your finances.
The long-term impact of injuries on your lifestyle is far more subjective. For example, someone who led an active life before their injury may feel the effects of their lifestyle changes more. A compassionate lawyer can help you determine a fair value for these intangible losses.
Why Legal Support Matters for Long-Term Injury Victims
The most important reasons to hire a car accident lawyer to handle your case are that they can assess the long-term effects of your injuries and maximize your compensation.
If you attempt to handle your case independently, it’s unlikely that you will know the actual value of your future losses. How will your injuries impact your life in 10 or 20 years, and what does the value of that impact look like? This is something a lawyer can calculate.
Beyond calculating the value of your future losses, a lawyer can also seek fair compensation. Lawyers have extensive experience dealing with insurance companies and can advise whether the settlements offered are fair or should you hold out for more compensation.
Contact Our South Carolina Car Accident Lawyers
Were you injured in a South Carolina car accident? Contact Goings Law Firm, LLC at (803) 350-9230 for a free consultation with a knowledgeable, experienced legal team member. Our firm is committed to helping car accident victims in South Carolina seek the compensation they need for their injuries, including the long-term impact of those injuries. We are here to help you understand your rights.
Related Post
Do I Need to Hire a Workers’ Compensation Attorney?
Do you Need a Lawyer to Represent You in Your Workers’ Compensation Claim?
