The Impact of Long-Term Disabilities on Personal Injury Claims

Accidents, whether they involve car crashes, truck collisions, slips and falls, defective products, or construction mishaps, can drastically alter lives in a heartbeat. While some injuries, like simple fractures, typically heal over time, others can result in long-term or even permanent disabilities.

Long-term disabilities include traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries including paralysis, third-degree burns, traumatic amputations/loss of limb, organ damage, chronic pain (back, neck, and/or shoulder pain), nerve injuries, hearing loss, vision loss, and other injuries.

Understanding the full scope of your disability

At Larson Law, our skilled Minot personal injury lawyers collaborate closely with your medical team, life planners, and our network of specialists to thoroughly assess your injuries. We aim to understand the full extent of medical care required, the associated costs, and how these injuries impact every aspect of your life. This includes addressing the various complications that often arise from managing long-term disabilities.

Your medical team treats your injuries, while a life care planner works to show the cost of all your treatments, the complications that may arise, and many of the daily living factors that must be considered such as modifying your home and car so you can be safe and function better, the need for home care, and many other daily needs.

What medical providers help personal injury victims with long-term disabilities?

The specific medical professionals who will treat you vary depending on the specific injuries you have. Most accident victims need care from several or most of the following types of healthcare providers:

• Emergency care providers
• General surgeons, neurosurgeons, orthopedists, plastic surgeons, and other surgical specialists
• Family practice doctors
• Therapists include physical, vocational, occupational, and speech therapists
• Psychologists, psychiatrists, mental health counselors, and various types of support groups such as amputee support groups
• Nutritionists and dieticians
• Social workers
• Prosthetic professionals – the people who make the artificial arm, leg, hand and similar devices
• Pharmacists who provide prescriptions to deal with pain and issues with bodily function
• Other health professionals

What compensation do personal injury victims with long-term disabilities deserve?

Compensation for accident victims with long-term or catastrophic injuries includes the following items. This compensation starts from the date of the accident for as long as you need help – even if you need help for every day of your for the rest of your life:

• Medical costs: This includes expenses for medical care, assistive devices, technology, medications, home and vehicle modifications, and management of complications such as infections or emotional trauma.
• Lost income: If you cannot work due to your disability, you’re entitled to compensation for all the money and the value of all the benefits you lose because you can’t earn a living. You’re entitled to compensation for as long as you cannot work. We work with your employers and financial advisers to place a proper value on this part of your claim. We also review with you how your right to Social Security disability, private disability, Medicare, Medicaid, and other disability or governmental benefits affects the compensation you receive.
• Pain and suffering: Every moment of every day is difficult if you have a brain injury, paralysis, burns, or any other type of long-term disability. We demand compensation for all your daily pain and suffering including every twinge of pain, ache, itch, inability to perform a physical task, inability to enjoy life’s pleasures, anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other physical and emotional trauma.
• Loss of bodily function: We demand additional compensation if you cannot use an arm, leg, hand, foot, finger, toe, or any other body part.
• Scarring and disfigurement: Coping with scars and disfigurement such as the loss of a limb is hard for everyone. Many victims with these injuries need psychological help especially if the scars or disfigurement are visible.
• Loss of consortium: We demand compensation because you and your spouse cannot enjoy marital relations as you did before the accident.

We also seek compensation for any additional financial damages, such as the need to seek a new career.

Practical compensation solutions for accident victims with a long-term disability

Any award for personal injuries is not subject to income tax. However, the income for that award is taxable. One common method of managing compensation for anyone who will need medical care and other income for years, decades, or the rest of their lives is to use a structured settlement. A structured settlement is essentially an annuity for the benefit of the accident victim. The advantages of a structured settlement are that the funds earn interest and the funds are used to pay the medical bills and provide income. The most important feature of a structured settlement is that neither the principal or the income is subject to income tax.

Structured settlements are provided by nationally recognized insurance companies that you choose.  We use professional advisors to help select these annuities and choose the best terms to provide monthly payments, annual payments, or a combination of annual and monthly payments.

Larson Law Injury & Accident Lawyers has been fighting for accident victims for 45 years. We’ve helped many victims who have long-term disabilities obtain strong verdicts and settlements. In one case, we obtained a confidential seven-figure settlement for a worker whose foot was amputated while working in a grain elevator. Please call our offices or fill out our contact form to schedule a free consultation in Fargo, Minot, or Bismarck.