What You Should Know About Long-Term Permanent Injuries

Content Legally Reviewed By Matt Conner

Key Takeaways

• Long-term permanent injuries from accidents significantly impact lives and require complex claims.
• Legal expertise in permanent injury claims is crucial for fighting for deserved compensation.
• Types of long-term injuries include TBIs, spinal cord damage, amputations, internal injuries, and more, each with unique challenges and costs.
• The value of a permanent injury claim involves economic losses, future costs, and non-economic damages like pain and suffering.

Navigating life after a catastrophic injury requires understanding its profound impacts and the complexities of legal claims for compensation.

The Critical Role of Legal Expertise in Personal Injury Claims

Why is it crucial to pursue a personal injury claim for long-term permanent injuries, and how does having a skilled lawyer benefit the victim?

In the wake of permanent injuries, the path to fair compensation is fraught with complexities.

Beyond immediate medical expenses and lost wages lies a future punctuated by ongoing care costs, lifestyle adjustments, and untold emotional tolls.

This is where the prowess of a seasoned personal injury lawyer becomes indispensable.

Specializing in the intricacies of permanent injury claims, these legal advocates are not just representatives but lifelines—ensuring victims are not only heard but also fully compensated for the profound changes to their lives.

The Journey to Compensation: A Closer Look at Personal Injury Claims for Permanent Injuries

When you or someone you love is involved in a personal injury accident, it can affect every aspect of your life.

Accidents involving severe or catastrophic injuries can impact your life for years to come or even change it permanently. Resolving claims for long-term permanent injuries is also more complicated.

It’s crucial to have a skilled personal injury lawyer in Washington on your side to protect your rights.

You need a legal advocate who is well-versed in permanent injury claims and will fight for the compensation you are entitled to receive.

Pursuing a Personal Injury Claim for Permanent Injuries

Long-term permanent injuries can cost millions of dollars in medical expenses alone, not to mention lost wages, your inability to participate in activities you once loved, and the expenses necessary to modify your home in some cases.

When someone else’s negligence caused your injuries, you have the right to seek reimbursement for your damages.

The experienced team of personal injury attorneys at Brett McCandlis Brown & Conner PLLC understands what a terrifying and stressful time this is for you and your family.

We are here to help and will be by your side every step of the way.

Common Types of Long-Term and Permanent Injuries

There are some injuries that we see more commonly with catastrophic personal injury accidents.

Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) can occur in a variety of ways, including personal injury accidents.

We commonly see brain injuries in everything from car accidents to medical malpractice.

Brain injuries can come from an acute injury like blunt force when your head hits against something, or it can be from a lack of oxygen to the brain.

Brain injuries can range from a concussion with symptoms that last months to permanent damage that results in significant cognitive issues.

Spinal Cord Damage

If you suffer spinal cord damage in an accident, it could result in permanent paralysis.

The level of damage will determine where the paralysis is.

The higher the spinal cord injury is, the more extremities that will be affected.

You could lose the ability to move your lower body, both your arms and lower body, or even as high as your neck.

Amputations

Amputations are common in severe personal injury accidents.

A limb could be crushed in a workplace accident or car accident, which then requires amputation.

Infections and burn injuries are also common causes of amputation.

Internal Injuries

Sometimes severe injuries aren’t the ones you see from the outside.

Internal injuries can result in permanent problems, such as loss of bladder or bowel function, if organs or bodily systems are affected.

Internal injuries can even include reproductive issues that keep you from having a child.

Back Injuries

Back injuries involving the spine can also be debilitating.

Ruptured discs and fractured vertebrae can result in chronic pain and may cause permanent disability.

Sensory Loss

Sensory loss involves the loss of hearing, sight, or your ability to taste or smell.

Some sensory injuries occur in traumatic accidents at the workplace or in a car accident, while others are from medical errors or exposure to toxic chemicals or substances.

Repetitive Motion Injuries

Repetitive motion injuries can result in permanent disability as well.

Something like carpal tunnel syndrome could keep someone, like a court reporter, from working in their trained field.

Toxic Exposure

Exposure to toxic chemicals and substances can cause permanent injuries and be fatal in many cases.

Exposure to asbestos or coal dust can cause deadly diseases like mesothelioma or black lung disease.

Burn Injuries

Third-degree burn injuries destroy skin and muscle and often affect a large portion of a victim’s body.

Burn victims could be left with permanent disfigurement, significant scarring that requires multiple surgeries, and permanent impairment.

Disfigurement

Disfigurement can come from burns, amputations, scarring, etc.

Many victims feel a loss of confidence and struggle to interact in social settings or business environments.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder is commonly referred to as PTSD.

It can be a permanent mental health condition that results from experiencing trauma, such as military combat, rape, serious car accident, etc.

For some victims, PTSD makes it impossible to function normally.

Determining What a Permanent Injury Claim Is Worth

Determining the value of a permanent injury claim tends to be a complicated process.

You have all your economic losses that can be calculated, such as your medical expenses to date and lost wages.

With long-term and permanent injuries, you also have open-ended costs that must be factored in, such as future surgeries, a value for disfigurement, permanent disability, etc.

In addition, coming up with an accurate value for pain and suffering in these cases is challenging. How do you determine what someone’s life would be like if they didn’t get into this accident?

There are physical pain and suffering and emotional aspects that need to be factored in.

Not to mention, what about the effect of the injury on their family?

Certain factors can influence how much compensation a case is worth. Some of these factors include:

• Is there a visible disfigurement? Scarring, especially facial scarring, can make a claim worth more due to the increased emotional distress aspect.

• How disabled is the victim? The cost of lifetime care will vary based on what the victim’s needs are. Do they need round-the-clock care, or can they manage some activities of daily living independently?

• What is the victim’s age? The younger a victim is, the more compensation they might be awarded because the damage will affect them for a longer period of time.

• What is the expected future loss of earnings? Attorneys typically hire experts in these cases to come up with detailed figures, taking into account what the victim would’ve earned throughout their lifetime. Factors like education, skills, profession, how many working years they had left, inflation, and raises are factored in here.

Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer in Washington

If you or someone you love sustained long-term permanent injuries in an accident, retaining the right Washington personal injury law firm is essential.

You need a legal advocate who has the skills and experience to fight for the compensation you deserve.

At Brett McCandlis Brown & Conner PLLC, our team has years of experience dealing with catastrophic personal injury cases.

Let us fight for you and help you get the maximum settlement amount possible. Contact our office today to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation.

About the Author

Matt Conner

Matt Conner has a proven track record of success. Following his graduation from Willamette University with a double major in mathematics and economics, Matt worked as an economist for the Office of Economic Analysis for the State of Oregon before moving onto working in mortgage banking and real estate. Although Matt would move on to law school shortly thereafter, his experience in the financial sector has provided him with valuable experience in how to achieve maximum compensation for his clients.

Learn More About Matt