Accidents that lead to unexpected injuries can leave you and your family scrambling to manage your personal and financial affairs. When you are injured through no fault of your own, you are entitled to compensation for the damages you have sustained. To learn whether you have a case and how you can be compensated for the losses and harms you have incurred, reach out to an Easton accident attorney from Drake, Hileman, and Davis, PC, to explore options.
Can I Seek Compensation for My Injuries?
In order to be able to recover compensation for injuries you sustain as a result of the conduct of another, you must prove four (4) elements: Duty, Breach, Causation and Damage. All four elements are necessary in order for you to be compensated for your losses and harms. If you suffer damages but there was no duty breached, you cannot recover. Similarly if a duty was breached but you suffered no loss or harm, you cannot be compensated. As a local Easton accident attorney we can help determine if all four elements of a negligence claim have been met and pursue whatever recovery is possible.
Common causes of at-fault accidents that we help clients recover damages for include:
- Motor Vehicle Accidents: When car accidents are caused by the negligence of the other driver you will be entitled to compensation, which includes instances of drunk driving, distracted driving, drowsy or fatigued driving, speeding and other aggressive driving, equipment malfunctions, and other causes.
- Workplace-Related Injuries: An on-the-job injury, caused by you, a co-employee or your employer, will generally entitle you to workers’ compensation coverage. There are instances where it is unclear whether a co-employee or indpendent subcontractor caused the harm you sustained. Your claim must be reported within the time allowed. Otherwise, you could be left to cover the related costs out of your own pocket.
- Premises Liability: Common premises liability injuries include slip-and-fall, trip-and-fall and dog bites. People can be injured when those responsible to maintain a property or animal fail to guard against risks to invited visitors or customers.
- Pedestrian and Rideshare Accidents: Depending on the circumstances, being hit by any driver while you are walking; or being struck by a rideshare driver while you are driving; or being injured when a passenger in a rideshare vehicle may entitle you to a claim for your related injuries.
It can sometimes be difficult to determine exactly the cause of the accident or incident that led to your injuries. Working with an Easton accident attorney as soon as possible after the accident helps to ensure that valuable evidence is collected in support of your case, which will ead to the most favorable outcome on your behalf.
What’s My Injury Worth?
You might wonder what type of compensation you are able to collect through a claim or a lawsuit, and you are not alone. In fact, this is one of the most common questions we receive from our potential new clients and it is worth a quick explanation to help frame your expectations.
The amount of compensation you receive is contingent on the nature of your damages. The greater the damages sustained the greater the compensation that is necessary to make an injured person “whole again.” From a damages standpoint economic injuries, such as lost wages, medical bills and the cost to hire replacement services are more easily calculable. Non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering are more difficult to value. Some injuries resolve quickly, while others have a longer effect. The nature of the injury affects how the injury is valued in terms of monetary compensation.
- Long-term: This means that your injuries will not resolve themselves within a short period of time and will have a long-term impact on your health and/or ability to work. Long-term injuries affect your ability to engage in activities of daily living (can do as frequently or as long in duration), but do not prevent you from doing so.
- Life-altering: This means injuries that result in serious life-altering changes which prevent you from working or doing the same activities as you were able to enjoy prior to the injury occurring. Life-altering injuries prevent you from actually doing those activities and tasks you did before the accident.
- Death: Death claims typically have two components: A Survival Claim and a Wrongful Death Claim. Both claims have unique recoverable damages and relate to who is able to bring the claim. Survival Claims flow through the estate of the deceased and are subject to inheritance tax. Wrongful Death Claims do not go through the decedent’s estate and instead go to the statutory beneficiaries.
To help frame what types of injuries are long-term and life-altering, consider some of the main injuries with which we assist our personal injury clients in obtaining compensation.
Life-Altering Injuries
While any type of injury may entitle you to damages for the losses and harms you sustained, the following injuries are the most common “life-altering injuries” seen by our Easton accident attorneys:
Traumatic Brain Injury
A traumatic brain injury, often referred to as a TBI, happens when you experience a bump, blow, or jolt to the head. In 2019, there were 223,000 cases of TBI-related hospitalizations and in 2020 TBI-related injuries resulted in the deaths of over 64,000 individuals. A TBI can cause permanent changes to the chemistry of your brain and even a minor TBI, often called a concussion, can result in permanent changes in the victim’s personality and ability to concentrate.
Common causes of traumatic brain injury include:
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Fall-related injuries
Spinal Cord Injury
Injuries to the spinal cord, the information highway through which your brain sends commands throughout your body to control its functions and movement, can result in enormous long-term medical costs. In order to ensure that adequate compensation is recovered to provide for such expenses, a life care plan is essential in mapping out the type of care needed and costs that will be incurred over a client’s lifetime,
Chronic Pain
It has been said that chronic pain can be as debilitating as an amputation. After a fracture or nerve-related injury, the pain that follows once the bone has healed, can often continue to prevent someone from being able to resume all of their activities of daily living again. Many of our clients feel side-lined and become spectators, rather than active participants in family life. They feel as though they are holding others back and become more inclined to stay at home, rather than to go out and “just watch.” Chronic pain has a debilitating life-altering emotional toll.
Connect with an Easton Accident Attorney at DHD to Explore Your Options
Being injured can result in a lengthy recovery process as well as significant costs in terms of medical bills and lost earnings. The best way to measure what your prospective damages are, and to file a successful claim or lawsuit to collect them, is by working with a local Easton accident lawyer. Easton accident lawyer. To learn how we can help, give us a call at 610-258-9493, or visit our site to schedule a consultation.