Motor vehicle accidents with risks of catastrophic injury happen daily. No matter how careful you are on the road, unexpected circumstances and the negligence of others might result in an accident. When this happens, you either suffer minor injuries or a catastrophic one that could change your life’s course forever.
By definition, a catastrophic injury affects vital body organs like the spinal cord and brain. Injuries to these areas have long-term consequences that go beyond the physical. In this article, our Douglasville auto accident lawyers look at the long-term effects of this injury type. If another person’s negligence caused an accident, our attorneys will help you commence a compensation claim.
What Catastrophic Injuries Can You Sustain in an Auto Accident?
The worst thing that can happen after a high-impact crash is losing your life. However, if you survive, you might sustain one of the life-changing injuries mentioned below.
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Severe Burns
A burn injury is quite painful, with third and fourth-degree burns being one of the most painful injuries in the world. In addition, they can damage the skin, nerves, and bone, and at worse, can be life-threatening. A burn injury also means plastic surgery, skin grafts, and months of therapy and rehabilitation. However, even with the preceding, you might still end up with disfigurement and scarring.
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Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI)
A spinal cord injury damages the spinal cord resulting in a change, either temporary or permanent, in the cord’s motor, sensory, or autonomic function. It affects your ability to move or feel below the injury site, leaving you dependent on a wheelchair or ventilator. A spinal cord injury patient can be a paraplegic or quadriplegic. A person with the former can have limited movements in their upper extremities while the latter has no activity in any of their limbs.
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Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)
When the head takes a forceful hit in a high-impact crash, it would likely affect the brain. Most traumatic brain injuries cause the brain to bleed or swell and can result in significant damage to brain tissue. If you sustain this injury, you can spend months in therapy and rehabilitation. In worst-case scenarios, most TBI victims would have to learn to walk, talk, and perform daily activities again.
What Are the Long-Term Effects of a Catastrophic Injury?
It’s hard to come to terms with the effects of an accident, but it is worse when you suffer a catastrophic injury. This is because you are faced with a lifetime of medical bills and other losses. Below are some of the common long-term effects of this injury type.
Financial Impact
One major setback from a catastrophic injury is financial losses. Because of the injury’s severity and impact, there would be a lot of visits to the hospital and hours of physical therapy. This would, in turn, result in a mountain of medical bills that your insurance coverage might not handle.
Also, if you have to use a wheelchair, it means you’ll have to make modifications to your home. Furthermore, your injury might keep you from working, meaning you’ll have no way to earn money to fund your treatment and other needs. All these create a stressful financial situation as you were unprepared for the longtime consequences.
Lifestyle Changes
A catastrophic injury leads to several lifestyle changes. This is because the damage might reduce your quality of life and prevent you from enjoying everyday activities. In addition, this injury results in chronic pain and suffering that can cause depression. All this means you’ll have to readjust your life to match your condition and learn new ways of doing things.
Career Change
As already mentioned, a catastrophic injury can cause you to stop working due to your physical limitations. On the other hand, if you do not need to stop working altogether, you might need to make a career change. The latter is more common among people whose jobs are physically tasking. Unfortunately, a career change also means reduced income in most cases, which ultimately affects your life standard.
How Can a Douglasville Auto Accident Attorney Help You?
The life-long impacts of a catastrophic injury are so dire that a victim cannot weather the storm without financial support. Thankfully, Georgia law allows a victim to commence a claim against the fault party and get compensation for their injuries. This is where a car accident lawyer at the Law Office of John B. Jackson comes in.
Our attorneys have years of experience handling injury claims and will bring them to bear to win your case. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you don’t have to pay us until we win. Contact us today to schedule a free initial consultation with one of our attorneys.
