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When you’ve suffered injuries in a car accident as a result of another person’s negligent driving behaviors, you will file a claim for your injuries. However, the settlement amounts for car accident claims can vary widely based on whether you have temporary or permanent injuries.
It’s impossible to determine the amount you’ll receive without fully examining all the factors of your case. An auto accident injury lawyer can help you calculate the full extent of your losses as well as explain how your injuries can affect your compensation.
What Is the Difference Between Temporary and Permanent Injuries in a Car Crash?
Some car accidents only cause victims minor injuries that are expected to heal. These will be considered temporary as long as they don’t cause future complications. Conversely, permanent injuries are those that will alter a victim’s life. Read on to learn more about common types of temporary and permanent car accident injuries.
Common Examples of Permanent Car Accident Injuries
A permanent injury typically causes a disability. While many different injuries can arise, here are the most common:
Brain Damage
Permanent brain damage can leave a victim with a loss of cognitive functioning. This means that they may struggle to make decisions or comprehend information, or even be unable to do so at all. Depending on the part of the brain that’s impacted, severe traumatic brain injuries may also cause physical and behavioral disabilities that last a lifetime.
Paralysis
In serious car crashes, the spinal cord may be impacted. A person could suffer from partial or complete paralysis, which would limit their movements. They will need to rely on assistive medical devices and suffer a lower quality of life in the process, often losing out on the things that once brought them joy.
Deafness
After a car accident, the impact could rupture the eardrums or cause permanent hearing damage. Hearing aids will likely be needed, though for certain professions, it may mean that this disability causes them to have to change careers, potentially earning less than before.
Vision Loss
Car crashes can also cause permanent blindness. When someone has the sense of sight and suddenly loses it, they will be limited in their daily activities and functionality. They will need to learn how to adapt to their new normal, and it can impact their emotional and mental well-being as they try to cope with these changes.
There are certainly many other types of permanent injuries one could sustain as a result of a car accident. The common denominator is that they change the way a person lives their life and will affect the rest of their days. If you suffered a permanent injury due to another person’s negligence, you shouldn’t be stuck paying the added costs associated with these sudden changes made to your life.
Common Examples of Temporary Injuries in Car Accidents
Temporary injuries may be upsetting and traumatic to endure, but they will eventually heal with treatment. When you sustain these types of injuries, you can still recover compensation from the at-fault party, though the settlement will be less, as these injuries won’t disrupt your entire future.
Bone Fractures
Broken bones are a common result of auto accidents, and for the most part, they will heal, and you will be able to carry on with your life afterwards. In some instances, such as if the bones are completely crushed, you may wind up with a higher settlement to cover the surgeries and aftercare you’ll need in the healing process.
Sprains and Strains
Sprains and strains are uncomfortable, though they will heal quickly with treatment. You can expect to feel better in a few weeks. However, in some cases, victims may require surgery. It’s important to have your doctor review your condition, and your attorney can use this to leverage a fair sum for your medical expenses.
Whiplash
Whiplash is another common injury that tends to be less serious. Like other injuries, though, it depends on the severity and what the doctor says about expected healing time.
Back Injuries
Back injuries tend to fall in the middle of the spectrum as they can be minor and improve with rest and physical therapy. They also have the potential to cause chronic pain and disability, and may even require surgery.
Understanding How the Extent of an Injury Affects Compensation
Ultimately, any injury has the potential to be serious and can impact your life. Prompt treatment is the key to healing or managing the condition, though even with fast action, you may be left in chronic pain.
You will need to attend all of your doctors’ appointments and see specialists who will determine when you have reached your maximum medical improvement level. The doctors treating you will provide a full report on whether your condition is improving with treatment or if there will be a need for ongoing care.
The doctors will determine if the injury you’ve sustained will cause permanent effects and losses for the rest of your life. Your attorney will then use this evidence to command a proper settlement that sufficiently covers your medical needs as well as the lost income and other damages that have arisen from this incident.
If your injuries are temporary, it should be a tremendous relief. You won’t have to give up the things you love or adapt to a new way of life. You’ll have a ballpark estimate of when you’ll be healed.
Regardless, it’s important to know how severe your injuries are to receive proper compensation from the at-fault party. Often, insurance companies take advantage of victims’ lack of knowledge in these areas. They know you probably aren’t aware of how much it will cost to care for your condition over the years. They know you just want this stress to end, and they know that if they offer you a check, you’ll likely take it.
Before you make a move like that, make sure you speak with a lawyer who represents car accident victims. Once you sign for that settlement check, you can’t go back and ask for more money. You need to be sure it will fully cover the losses that this negligent person caused you to endure.
What if you signed for the settlement and then found out that you would need to have ongoing medical care for the rest of your life? It would be a travesty to accept a check in haste without making sure it’s going to pay for these things, or else you’ll wind up paying for everything out-of-pocket, sinking deeper into debt.
How Non-Economic Damages Also Play a Role in Compensation
Temporary or permanent injuries can also cause victims to suffer non-economic damages, or intangible losses. You may know your medical bills total a certain amount, which is why they’re considered economic damages. Non-economic damages don’t have a fixed dollar amount, though you’re still entitled to seek them to help make your life as whole again as possible.
If you wound up with a minor bruise on your arm and a small dent in the side of your car from a low-speed collision, you’re probably not going to command much for any mental anguish. However, if you’re in a pileup on the highway with a semi-truck and other vehicles and you had to be rushed to the hospital, you’ll be more likely to be awarded compensation for pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and other intangible losses.
Since these losses are harder to prove, you’ll want to work with an attorney who can help you document them effectively. A Missouri car accident lawyer can also get expert witnesses to testify and help prove these damages. When you have permanent damages, your life will never be the same, and your compensation should reflect the depth of suffering you have endured.
Why Do You Need an Attorney After Suffering Injuries in a Car Accident?
A car accident can quickly turn your life upside down in less than one second. Whether you have temporary or permanent injuries, you will have enough stress to contend with as you try to file your claim. Your focus should be on healing and following what the doctors tell you to do, not adding to your stress as you try to complete your injury claim.
Insurance companies will tell you that you don’t need an attorney, though if you’ve suffered injuries, especially serious ones, then you shouldn’t take that chance. They will offer much less than you deserve to care for your injuries, leaving you in the lurch.
You may not have been able to get evidence on the scene, and a lawyer can also help with that. They will investigate and use the evidence to demonstrate why you deserve proper compensation. They will negotiate, and they will be ready to bring your case to trial if necessary, as they advocate for your best interests. If you or someone you love is contending with car accident injuries, talk to an attorney to find out more.
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