About 10% of people injured in car accidents will have permanent impairment. These injuries vary in severity, but they have one thing in common – they will last forever. Even someone with relatively minor injuries may have lasting harm.
All victims deserve fair car accident permanent injury settlements.
Our car accident lawyer explains permanent injury settlements for a crash and what you need to know.
Permanent Injury Settlement for a Car Accident
- When a car accident results in a permanent injury, the permanent nature of the injury is a type of loss.
- A victim may deserve fair compensation for the injury.
- The settlement may compensate for visible disfigurement, loss of use, and other ways that the victim is impacted by the permanent injury.
- Just like permanent injuries vary from person to person, compensation amounts vary.
- There are things a victim must do to receive the settlement that they deserve.
- A lawyer can represent you. Bobby Jones Law handles car accident claims involving permanent injury.
Too often, insurance companies don’t do the right thing. It may seem like their representatives are friendly, but they may be trying to settle your case for less.
They may hope that you don’t know that you can receive compensation for a permanent injury.
They hope that you don’t know what your case is worth. With the help of a lawyer from Bobby Jones Law, you can pursue the permanent injury settlement that reflects the way your life has been impacted.
Types of Car Accident Permanent Injuries
Permanent car accident injuries take many forms. Some are visible scars. Others are disfiguring, like broken bones. Permanent injury may impact the body’s function, including movement, sensation, and involuntary processes.
Examples of car accident permanent injuries are:
Brain injury
Brain injury may occur in a crash because of shaking of the brain, damaged brain tissue, and blunt force trauma. The effects disrupt brain function. Trauma may affect voluntary movement, breathing, involuntary bodily functions, sensations, emotional regulation, and communication.
Broken bones
Broken bones may occur throughout the body including the skull, arms, legs, pelvis, and ribs. Even with surgery, a patient may not fully regain strength and mobility. The result may be permanent injury.
Facial trauma
Facial trauma includes broken bones, damage to the eyes, cuts, disfigurement, damage to vision or hearing. Because facial injuries are always visible, they are especially damaging as a permanent injury.
Paralysis, spinal cord damage, sensory impairment
Spinal cord injury and paralysis is a profound and permanent injury that may result from a car accident. A person may experience nervous system disruption that impairs sensation. The victim may suffer secondary effects of their injury from immobility. They may need help with mobility and personal care.
Bodily function disruption
Car accident injury may permanently impair the respiratory system, the excretory system, and sexual function. Even if these injuries are not outwardly visible, they may profoundly impact the victim’s quality of life.
Amputation
Amputation is the permanent loss of an extremity, affecting the arms, legs, hands, or feet. The victim may need a prosthesis, and other mobility assistance.
Disfigurement
Scars and burns can be visibly disfiguring. Broken bones may be apparent from a person’s stature. Disfigurement may or may not be accompanied by pain or mobility impairment. It is a permanent car accident injury deserving of fair compensation.
How to Protect Your Rights With Permanent Injuries from a Car Accident
Continue your treatment
You don’t want the defense to claim that you didn’t do all you could to heal from your injuries. Continue your medical care. This treatment is evidence that your injury is permanent, despite your best efforts to heal.
Document the permanent nature of your injuries
To receive compensation for permanent injury, you must show that the injury is permanent. Medical evidence and experts can document that your injuries are unlikely to heal. Once you establish permanency, you can make your case for the appropriate compensation.
Explain your prognosis
Once you identify permanent injuries, you must explain how these injuries are likely to impact your life. You may show that you are unable to walk, for example, or that you have bodily systems that no longer function normally. The ways your permanent injuries limit you form the basis for your compensation.
Identify your losses and damages
At the heart of your permanent injury compensation are your personal losses and suffering. Your settlement may account for your future medical bills, career developments and advancements that may no longer happen, and changed quality of life. Visible disfigurement and emotional anguish are also ways that your life has changed because of permanent injuries.
Make sure your legal pleadings are complete
There are procedural aspects for how to pursue a car accident claim with permanent injuries. Your pleadings must be complete and accurate, following court rules. You must follow service of process requirements, and other legal processes as your case moves forward. Even if you hope to reach a settlement, the right procedural steps are important to make a strong case and put you in a position to receive justice.
Know the options for a settlement
One concern with permanent injuries from a car accident is making the funds last in the future. An option might be to structure the settlement into regular payments. There are reasons that it may be appropriate to structure your settlement for permanent car accident injury, and there may be reasons that it isn’t right for your case. Lawyer Bobby Jones can give you advice that is personalized for your situation.
Contact Our Car Accident Lawyer
When you have permanent car accident injuries, experienced legal representation is key to getting the settlement that you deserve. Your lawyer can work on your behalf to gather evidence of permanent injuries and their prognosis. They can evaluate what compensation is appropriate based on the law and factors that may impact the claim. Finally, they can pursue your case through the courts and settlement negotiations.
Bobby Jones Law is proud to represent people in car accident permanent injury settlement claims. To start your case today, contact us.
