No matter how well you might feel in your first moments walking away from your car accident or slip-and-fall, your long-term prognosis could look quite different from what you expect. After all, how can your medical provider guarantee a specific outcome within a certain time frame? You could encounter unexpected complications throughout your recovery.
Indeed, the physical and emotional recovery after a serious injury is hard work. You need to spend your time, effort, and money wisely to get your life back to as ideal a level as possible. You have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit or claim to ensure you get this chance.
Don’t just watch your medical bills pile up. Leave the burden of the phone calls in your personal injury lawyer’s hands, and he or she can give your medical providers a ring to let them know that you are working on a settlement that will help you pay for the amount you owe – even over a long period of time.
For Maximum Compensation to Cover Medical Expenses
The value of all damages – incurred over time – must be calculated in order to maximize your compensation. That’s the only way to ensure that you get a fair sum of money as your personal injury settlement.
Yes, you may be in pain and stressed about your debt now, but it’s possible that your suffering could last much longer than a few months or even years. If the insurance adjusters come calling, offering you a quick sum of money to pay off your medical bills, consult a personal injury attorney first. This way, you can be sure of how much your case is truly worth.
Consider more than just the medical expenses you are facing today. You must also think about the long-term financial impact of regular:
- Doctor’s visits: There may be multiple referrals to go to until you receive the diagnosis you seek – and don’t forget follow-up appointments.
- Psychological care and mental health counseling: The emotional trauma, anxiety, and depression that can come with various personal injuries can be treated with counseling and therapy.
- Rehabilitation: Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy may be necessary to help you regain your abilities.
- Chiropractic treatment: Whiplash is a common problem among car accident victims. Injured individuals should seek regular treatment according to their doctor’s directions or else their condition can degrade rapidly.
- Neurological evaluations: When a traumatic brain injury or even minor concussion is suspected, a neurologist may need to perform an evaluation of your cognitive condition and keep tabs on your progress during treatment.
- Assisted living or in-home nursing care: Some individuals require assistance from medical professionals or with daily activities like cooking, cleaning, or dressing – either while recovering or for the rest of their lives.
- Assistive devices and home renovations for accessibility: Renovations or assistance devices may be required for you to get around more easily.
- Medication: The cost of your prescribed medications may go beyond what your health insurance can cover.
- Surgery: In Massachusetts as of late, most surgeries cost thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars.
- Hospital bills: Both inpatient and outpatient services should be considered when adding up your medical expenses.
- Diagnostic testing: Blood tests, CT scans, MRIs, and X-rays all add up quickly.
Lost wages are not something to forget, either. You can see that, without considering the long-term effects, a quick settlement that gives you just enough compensation for now, but it may not be sufficient to address your ongoing medical needs or loss of earning capacity. The sum of your economic damages could skyrocket over the next few years.
In general, you have 3 years to file your injury case in Massachusetts, so there is time to estimate what your case may be worth. Talk to a local personal injury attorney about how to determine a fair amount of money for you.
For Justice as to the Effect on Your Quality of Life
Some injuries may require ongoing care – medical treatment, rehabilitation, or therapy – to restore or improve your quality of life. A skilled personal injury lawyer knows this and will probably advise you to hold off on settling your claim with the insurance company until he or she goes to bat for you.
Rather, we should seek a larger sum of money allowing for long-term recovery that aims to facilitate the best possible outcome for you. Your emotional, physical, and psychological well-being should all be considered.
What to do to maximize your long-term recovery
In order to ensure these factors are taken into account, your personal injury lawyer may advise you to take these steps:
- Keep a journal documenting your emotional and physical pain and how this all affects your daily life and activities
- Document your therapy sessions and the psychological impact of the accident on your mental health
- Keep records of any lifestyle changes or limitations that are due to your accident
- Gather statements from friends, family, or workmates who have observed how the accident has caused you pain and suffering
What you could get for your long-term recovery
Keeping records on how your accident has affected you, including the information listed above, will ensure you can be properly compensated for non-economic damages. Non-economic damages are not as easily calculated as economic losses such as medical bills, but that’s why the impact of the harm caused you must be considered.
With a strong case for intangible losses, you could receive non-economic damages such as:
- Pain and suffering: These damages compensate for the physical pain and discomfort experienced as a result of the injury, encompassing both the immediate pain following the incident and any ongoing or chronic pain that the plaintiff may endure. Pain and suffering damages aim to acknowledge the distress and hardship caused by the injury.
- Emotional distress: This includes compensation for the emotional trauma, psychological anguish, and mental anguish resulting from the injury. It may encompass symptoms such as anxiety, depression, fear, anger, or loss of enjoyment of life. Emotional distress damages recognize the psychological impact of the injury on the plaintiff’s well-being.
- Loss of enjoyment of life: This may involve the loss of ability to participate in activities, hobbies, or interests that the plaintiff enjoyed prior to the injury. These damages should acknowledge the diminished quality of life and restrictions on the plaintiff’s ability to engage in meaningful or pleasurable activities due to their condition.
For Your Own Well-Being and Peace of Mind
You should also consider just how severe your condition is and how it is already affecting you. Do you require surgery? Can you take care of yourself? What if another condition manifests itself later? What could be the long-term outcome if your recovery continues to be especially difficult?
For instance, consider the following common severe injuries, some of which may be classified “catastrophic” in certain situations:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI): Severe head trauma can result in cognitive impairments, motor deficits, and emotional changes
- Spinal cord injury (SCI): Damage to the spinal cord can cause paralysis or loss of sensation and function below the site of injury
- Amputations: Loss of a limb due to trauma, surgical intervention, or medical conditions is certainly catastrophic and traumatic
- Severe burns: Extensive burns can damage skin, tissue, and potentially organs, leading to pain, scarring, and temporary or permanent disability
- Severe orthopedic injuries: Fractures, dislocations, and other injuries to bones, joints, and connective tissues may require extensive treatment and rehabilitation
- Severe soft-tissue injuries: Damage to muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues can result in chronic pain and limited mobility
- Organ damage: Injury to internal organs such as the liver, kidneys, lungs, or heart leads to impaired function and potential long-term health complications
- Severe internal injuries: Damage to internal structures such as blood vessels or organs will often require surgical intervention and intensive medical care
- Severe vision or hearing loss: Significant impairment or loss of vision or hearing is also considered to be a catastrophic loss
- Psychological trauma: Severe emotional and psychological distress, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression, may result from even seemingly minor injuries
Such life-changing injuries can have profound effects on individuals and require extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation. Support services may be required to promote physical and cognitive recovery – and improve quality of life for prime emotional health as well.
Don’t leave your health to chance! If you are unsure how severely your personal injury is affecting you, seek a doctor’s opinion – or even a second opinion – right away. Get input from an experienced personal injury attorney as well, who can advise you on the right time to file and settle your claim.
Addressing long-term recovery may involve ongoing medical monitoring or treatment to prevent further complications or secondary injuries. Nevertheless, you can take proactive measures early on to mitigate future health problems and improve the overall outcome of your health condition.
To Achieve Justice for Yourself and Others
As already discussed, when your injury is due to someone else’s actions, it wouldn’t be fair to cover all your medical bills, lost wages, and everything else yourself. Your mental health condition and the emotional effects of your accident should also be addressed. However, what about when all that isn’t enough?
Punitive damages, also known as exemplary damages, are awarded to punish the liable party for gross negligence or particularly egregious or reckless actions – and to discourage others from making similar wrong decisions.
Punitive damages, true to their name, are awarded in exemplary cases. Nonetheless, it could be that the circumstances of your accident, and perhaps the severity of your injuries, entitle you to punitive damages. A personal injury lawyer can advise you on this.
Either way, your long-term recovery should be considered, as the full extent of the harm caused by the injury must be acknowledged. This ensures that you will be fairly treated, receive just compensation, achieve maximum physical recovery, and have peace of mind along with a sense of resolution.
Even if your case does not allow for punitive damages, your personal injury lawyer may be able to offer you other avenues of achieving the justice you want. When we take on your case, you will find the legal team at Kiley Law Group to be passionate about holding responsible parties accountable for the consequences of their actions.
Why Your Long-Term Recovery Matters to an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney
We at Kiley Law Group want to see you get your life back. As much as possible, you should be able to regain a quality of life that restores your emotional and physical health so you can enjoy your favorite activities and have peace of mind.
So why not bring your personal injury case to us? Your initial consultation with our legal team is free. What’s more, our experienced lawyers know exactly how to maximize your compensation so you can protect your health.
We can consult medical professionals we trust who can testify as to the long-term treatment you require and how much time recovery may take. This way, we can estimate a fair amount of compensation that can cover both your economic and non-economic damages that accumulate over time.
Find out more about what your personal injury case might be worth by calling us at (978) 965-3228. Feel free to call any day or night of the week – our representatives are always standing by.
