If you are injured in a car accident, the insurance company will likely offer a settlement that covers the basics: property damage and medical expenses. If you were great at negotiating, you may have also fought for compensation for missed work, lost wages, or other expenses. However, most insurance companies are hoping that you will think only of the immediate issues you face after an accident, not the long-term financial consequences or the possibility of chronic pain.
Not every car accident leads to chronic pain, but a large number do. Chronic pain will have serious implications on your life and finances because if it’s root cause cannot be solved, pain in some form will always be with you. In that situation, you need an experienced attorney who will make sure you have a settlement that is enough to handle potential complications down the road.
Acute pain can be severe, but if it is an uncomplicated injury, it typically responds to treatment. Whether you address the root cause of the pain or treat the symptoms, you can typically get a handle on the pain. Many who suffer from acute pain after an accident find relief from therapy or medication. It’s similar to a low battery alarm on a smoke detector. It’s irritating, but when you change the batteries (take medication or do therapy), the noise stops.
Chronic pain is different. The noise is always there, no matter what, and patients with chronic pain have to learn to live with it, whether it is just a small irritation or whether it is much more severe, or something in between. Chronic pain is a long-standing pain that can last from weeks to years – and may even be permanent. For most doctors, chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts longer than six months, even after the injury has healed. Because of inflammation in the nerves, the pain signals can remain active in the nervous system. After an accident, particularly a car accident, chronic pain can be common, especially in the neck, back, and shoulders where the impact was absorbed by muscles, ligaments, and other soft tissue structures. Any injury to the spine can increase the risk of developing chronic pain. Severely broken bones may also cause chronic pain especially with factures involving a joint. Joint fractures are susceptible to arthritis formation, which begins to form within weeks or months of the trauma. When arthritis forms in a joint, that will interfere with the normal function of the joint or it will compress the nerves that innervate the area or the soft tissues that run close to the joint.
Because chronic pain doesn’t respond to treatment in the same way as acute pain does, it can disrupt nearly every aspect of someone’s life. Beyond physical suffering, chronic pain can impede the ability to work, participate in social activities, and can even damage relationships. Many who suffer from chronic pain find some kinds of work difficult, if not impossible, and this will affect their earning potential. There is a serious emotional impact to dealing with chronic pain, as when you can’t participate in things you enjoy, you can struggle psychologically.
When you are considering your settlement after an accident, you need to think of how the accident has impacted your life overall.
When you are calculating your settlement, you need to consider the future, not just the present. Once you have signed a settlement agreement, you cannot go back and request more compensation, even if your condition worsens. While most insurance companies understand the need to cover direct medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage, they do not automatically account for pain and suffering, and loss of quality of life. With chronic pain being a real concern for accident victims, you need to evaluate your settlement to ensure that these future needs are also considered. Many insurance companies will bring in a medical professional to assure you that you will quickly recover your former lifestyle, but for many accident victims, the road back is much longer. You need an attorney who can counter these stand-by experts, and put a truer value on how the accident has impacted your life.
It can be hard to predict the future. Some people recover quickly from injuries, even severe ones, while others will struggle and need long-term medical treatments and therapies just to function in day-to-day life. After an accident, it’s important to have a medical team who can work with you to take a realistic look at your future. If you had an injury to your back, neck, spinal cord, or bones, you may be looking at potential changes in lifestyle and employment.
Chronic pain and long-term recovery can be complicated to calculate. The insurance company is hoping that you won’t put in the effort and will trust their assessment. Even if you have the foresight to ask about long-term care, pain and suffering, or changes in lifestyle, they are looking to save money and while offering sympathy for your current injuries, paint a picture of a quick recovery if you’ll just sign the initial offer. This is why you need an attorney who is experienced in injury cases and calculating future damages.
Your attorney will work with your healthcare team and other experts to look at your entire situation, and use the total lifestyle approach to calculate future medical costs, changes to your career and earning potential, and emotional costs from the loss of your current lifestyle. If you have been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, we can help you.
Financial coverage for immediate needs is helpful, but it is rarely enough. Comprehensive coverage is needed to help you begin your new life after being injured in a car accident. Contact Arthur Law Firm right away (419) 782-9881 to learn more about your legal options and experienced advice on how to proceed.