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How Medical Issues Following an Auto Accident Can Change Your Life

Statistically speaking, if you or a loved one has been involved in a car accident, there’s a good chance there were injuries sustained, whether minor or severe. At least one out of every three motor vehicle accident causes a relatively serious injury, meaning that out of the over six million car accidents in the United States each year, two million will result in over three million men, women and children sustaining injuries.

While some of these injuries will be minor cuts, scrapes and bruises, many more will render injuries which will be life changing, and sometimes life-ending. Many soft-tissue injuries are virtually undetectable at the time of the accident, however may manifest themselves days or weeks down the line. For this reason, if you are ever involved in an accident, it’s important to be thoroughly checked out at the hospital, even if you believe you are completely all right.

How “Hidden” Injuries Can Come Back to Haunt You

Following a car accident, some injuries will be readily apparent. If you are bleeding, scraped or obviously bruised, or if it is clear you have a broken bone, then whether you will likely be whisked off to the hospital to have your injuries taken care of. However, many other types of injuries are not so visible and clear-cut.  Parts of your body were likely put under stress or strain from the impact of the collision between vehicles, or your vehicle and an immovable object.

This type of injury typically takes longer to manifest than blunt trauma injuries. It could be weeks, or even months after the accident when you begin to have headaches, neck or back pain, dizziness, or may even begin to have trouble remembering thing due to head trauma. Additionally, these types of injuries are harder to diagnose with traditional diagnostic equipment such as x-rays, MRIs and CAT scans. Although your pain is very real, these machines often fail to register soft tissue damage, leaving you frustrated and hurting.

Whiplash and Concussion

The two most common forms of injury which are severe enough to change your life, yet may be elusive enough that your doctor is unable to offer a definitive diagnosis are whiplash and concussion. Whiplash in particular is often taken lightly or even dismissed, however it is a serious injury which requires appropriate treatment for a full recovery. When the neck is suddenly distorted due to the impact of a car into your own, you can end up with mild to severe chronic headaches, shooting pains in your back and neck, minimization of your range of motion, swelling and muscle spasms, to name a few. Treatment for whiplash can range from self-care to professional medical treatments including rehabilitation exercises, chiropractic treatments and even surgery in severe cases.

Concussions are essentially a physical injury to the brain which disrupts the normal brain functions. In the early stages of a concussion, there may only be headache, dizziness or minor confusion. In later stages, the effects of a concussion can be much more significant, and can include a complete inability to concentrate on the task at hand, growing fatigued quickly and chronic irritability, anxiety and depression. In short, a more serious concussion can bring long-term effects, and can completely change not only your life, but the lives of those who love you as well.

After the Accident

If you’ve been involved in a car accident, it is necessary for you to commit to the medical rehabilitation as designed by your doctor. Many times people fail to take their injuries from a car accident seriously enough until the symptoms have grown to an unmanageable level. If you were injured as the direct result of another’s negligence, a personal injury attorney can help you determine whether or not you have a valid claim, and can help you navigate both your medical treatments as well as your insurance claim.

Call and speak with an experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyer from Barrett Law, PLLC.  Be sure to visit our web blog for more helpful information about your case or call us for a free consultation to answer your important questions.

The attorneys at Barrett Law, PLLC serve people throughout Mississippi including: North Mississippi, Jackson, Hattiesburg, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

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Calculating the Cost of Injuries Following an Auto Accident in Mississippi

If you’ve recently been injured in an automobile accident which caused a significant amount of damage to your vehicle and yourself, you may wonder how an insurance company would value your claim were you to file one. Insurance carriers typically will investigate the types and amounts of damages suffered, then figure a percentage of fault. A Mississippi personal injury attorney will better be able to help you determine the amount your injuries and damages are worth, and figure the potential success of your lawsuit.

What are the Types of Damages You May Recover?

Medical expenses are generally the primary expenses you will be subject to following your auto accident. Depending on the severity of your injuries, you could have any or all of the following expenses: emergency room treatment expenses, bills for doctor visits, hospital expenses, chiropractic care bills, physical therapy fees, medical device fees for crutches or braces, and prescription medicine costs.

Any of these costs which were incurred as a direct result of your accident can be considered recoverable, however if you have a medical exam done specifically for the purpose of your lawsuit, you will generally not be reimbursed for it. Medical expenses are often used as a baseline for determining how reasonable your claim truly is. If your injuries are to the extent that you will be required to continue medical treatments in the future, then these medical expenses will also be a factor in your overall settlement.

Lost Wages of Loss of Earning Capacity

Any money you would have earned between the time of your accident and the final settlement is considered recoverable. Even if you were not employed at the time of the accident, you may still be able to collect on lost wages if you can prove you would have employed. If your ability to earn money in the future has been impaired as a direct result of the accident, then you may also be able to collect for loss of future earnings. To determine this particular figure, your past earnings will be used in the calculations, and the jury will focus on what might have been earned if the accident had not occurred.

Pain and Suffering or Emotional Distress

Many auto accidents leave their victims with chronic pain which never goes away, no matter how much pain medication they take or how much time they spend in rehabilitative therapy. It is expected that this pain will be compensated for, since the overall quality of life has been significantly affected. The injuries from your auto accident could have resulted in daily, chronic pain which may not be expected to go away any time soon. The jury in your case will look at the severity of your pain as well as how long you are likely to be in pain when they determine the specific amount to be awarded.

Emotional distress, also known as mental anguish, encompasses any type of mental or emotional distress which a person suffers as the direct result of their auto accident and subsequent injuries. The person suffering from emotional distress may experience anxiety, nervousness, apprehension, humiliation, grief, shock or even severe embarrassment. If a person has been obviously disfigured, then they may find it embarrassing or humiliating to continue their normal life, therefore pain and suffering expenses could be awarded.

Other Factors

Your attorney may also counsel you to ask for loss of consortium if any of the components of your married life, including affection, comfort, help or sexual relations, were altered or taken away. Property damages can be recovered for the value of any property of yours which was damaged during the auto accident. Juries typically look at how much money you have either spent or lost when they are determining specific amounts for settlement. The medical damages are considered medical special damages, while pain, suffering, emotional damage or other non-monetary losses are considered general damages. Who is at fault will also come into play when determining a settlement; the best way to find out how much you can reasonably expect to recover is to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney.

Call our law firm to discuss you case today!

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Excessive Force by Law Enforcement Can Have Tragic Results

Seattle is in the news this month and not because of some philanthropic effort by Bill Gates. The Department of Justice is looking into the Seattle Police Department for a pattern of excessive use of force and discrimination against minorities.  There have been a few high profile incidents that have spurred this investigation. About a year ago, a Seattle police detective was videotaped kicking a Latino robbery suspect all while telling him that he would beat the “Mexican piss” out of him.  In another case, a police officer was videotaped punching a 17-year-old African American girl who was arguing with him about arresting her friend for jaywalking.  In yet another incident, police shot a Native American woodcarver after he didn’t drop his carving knife.  The Seattle Police Chief says they have nothing to hide and is not at all worried about the investigation.

Police officers are expected to do their job and violence is definitely part of their everyday existence.  However, officers in the line of duty are limited in the amount of force they may use and under what circumstances they may use such force.  Sometimes the lines get blurred, and these boundaries are violated.

Every year there are over 500,000 reports of police abuse filed by victims of police brutality. Settlements and judgements for police misconduct amount to over $100 million each year.  If you have been the victim of police brutality, the Federal Civil Rights Act may provide legal remedies and permit you to file a lawsuit against the government when a law enforcement officer injures you by means of excessive force.

What is Excessive Force?

Excessive force may take different forms and arise out of a great number of situations including the following:

  • Inappropriate use of a firearm
  • Overly aggressive use of force during arrest given all the circumstances
  • Excessive force while a person is detained or in custody
  • Overzealous use of weapons including tasers or batons
  • Assault and battery
  • False imprisonment

By way of example, there was an incident of excessive force being used by campus police against a student on the UCLA campus when police repeatedly stunned the student with a taser gun for not producing his student ID and leaving the library promptly enough.  The student was studying in the library and was asked to produce his ID, which he did not have with him.  The officers then tasered the student repeatedly when he apparently did not leave the library fast enough. Other students with their cell phones captured the incident on video.  The student filed a lawsuit alleging that UCLA and its police department violated his civil rights.

Challenges in Building a Case

It can be very challenging to establish a claim for police brutality.  Many times the witnesses to an incident of excessive force by police will be other officers who may be hesitant to provide information that might be damaging to a fellow law enforcement officer.  Experienced attorneys have investigators with the knowledge and experience to assist you in coping with these obstacles to the discovery of evidence in cases of police brutality.  If you have experienced any form of police brutality, it is important for you to contact an experienced Mississippi personal injury attorney to review your rights and remedies.

Issues Involving Immunity

Another challenge for personal injury lawsuits for injuries caused by excessive force is that the police officers have qualified immunity for acts committed in the course of their duties if the officer is acting within the scope of his discretionary authority.  Even a police officer that shoots or kills someone may be found to have acted with reasonable force.  The defense of qualified immunity is usually supported by having a law enforcement officer testify that the use of force was reasonable and that the officer who is testifying would have used similar force in the same or similar situation.

Protecting Your Rights & Preventing Police Misconduct

While acts of violence against innocent victims are always tragic, unjustified acts of violence committed under the color of law are even more troubling.  Law enforcement officers are authorized to use force, which means they have an even greater obligation to exercise judgement and discretion in using this power.  Most law enforcement officers are conscientious and would not intentionally use excessive force.  However, the Seattle incidents reveal that there are exceptions, which can lead to tragic results when a police officer exercises excessive force.

At Barrett Law, PLLC, our personal injury law firm in Mississippi have been representing those who suffer personal injury or wrongful death in Lexington and throughout the state of Mississippi and have roots that date back 75 years.  If you have suffered serious personal injury or wrongful death as a result of excessive force by a police officer anywhere in Mississippi, call us today to see how we can help at (662) 834-2376.

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