Being involved in a vehicle accident can change your whole life in a matter of seconds. Once the airbag deploys and the glass shards settle, you may find yourself staring into the eye of a personal injury storm, complete with chronic pain, mentally taxing legal proceedings, and professional setbacks.
If you’ve been a victim of a traffic accident, not only will you need time to heal mentally and physically, but the accident can negatively impact your career potential as well. Having a secure income and fair representation during a personal injury lawsuit can have an undeniably positive impact on your life post-accident.
Though the financial and psychological bumps and bruises of a motor vehicle may leave scars, hiring reliable legal representation, such as car accident lawyers like these, will improve your chances of acquiring the compensation you deserve.
Once you’ve partnered with a car accident lawyer, you’ll need to confront the professional aftermath of bedridden weeks. Check this article to give you ideas on how a car accident settlement works. Below are some significant impacts of being a victim of a motor accident. Keep reading if you’re unsure what the next steps are following a vehicle accident and want to learn about how your income could be at risk.
1. Recovery time may put work on hold
Recovering from an injury is an arduous process. Depending on the scale of your injuries, you could be in hospital or physiotherapy for a long time. If you have a personal injury lawyer representing you during your case.
Finding a personal injury lawyer means everything won’t fall on you. With a legal professional at your side, who can interact with the responsible party, go to court, assess damages, find evidence, and do all the paperwork, you can take time off needed to heal.
Not only could your physical body sustain injuries, but your mental health might suffer as well. Taking time to push monetary concerns to the backburner will help you relax and focus on getting better.
2. Injuries may affect work performance
If you’ve been in a vehicle accident, you might not be able to perform all of the tasks required of you at work, meaning the accident could impact you significantly if there is a physical element to your job. Similarly, if you’ve sustained an injury such as a concussion, this injury may prohibit you from looking at a screen from nine to five.
Not being able to work at peak performance could result in termination, demotion, or unemployment-related stressors. While post-accident termination is the worst-case scenario, if you’ve sustained severe and productivity-inhibiting injuries, it could be your new reality.
If you hire a personal injury lawyer, you can focus more on rehabilitation and recovery and leave the rest to the professionals. Without stressing about your motor vehicle accident claims and court dates, you can focus on work tasks you are struggling to complete and spend your energy coming up with alternative work strategies.
3. Insurance problems may distract you from work-related responsibilities
Dealing with insurance problems can be a major headache for the average recoveree. In most instances, your insurer may seem keen to provide help at the beginning of your case. In truth, the longer it goes on, the more likely they are to put more obstacles in your path.
Personal injury lawyers deal with insurance agencies all the time. It is their job to make sure that contracts are read to the letter and fulfilled properly. Having a personal injury lawyer on your side can help you avoid making insurance claim mistakes.
If you’re dealing with paperwork that you don’t understand or an unhelpful insurance agent, this complicated technical jargon can inhibit your ability to focus on work-related tasks. Instead of managing client relationships and updating spreadsheets, you’ll have no other choice but to waste company time deciphering virtually illegible documents, leading to poor performance and possibly termination.
4. Inability to drive may affect accessibility to work
If you’ve been in a motor vehicle accident, you might not have access to a working car anymore. With your vehicle totaled, getting to work in a timely fashion can pose a challenge. Without a personal vehicle at your disposal, you may have to navigate public transit or rely on a coworker carpooling system.
If you operate a company vehicle, you may have to contact your supervisor for alternate transportation and assess whether you’re of sound mind and body. If your vehicle has been totaled, you’ll need to deal with insurance as they review the damages and connect you with a new car.
Unfortunately, the back and forth between you and your insurance agent can end up being a very costly process. Fortunately, with a personal injury lawyer at your side, you can maximize your compensation and negotiate newer vehicles going forward.
5. Court dates may require absence from work
If you have to go to court, your case may have taken an unexpectedly complicated turn. Unfortunately, representing yourself in court is no small feat. By contrast, it’s incredibly time-consuming and costly. By appearing in court, you won’t be able to go to work some days, meaning your colleagues and your employer will have to bear the burden when you aren’t on duty.
By representing yourself, you’re likely to miss work for court if your case isn’t settled before progressing that far. Hiring a lawyer that hasn’t specialized in personal injury law could give rise to a whole new beast. Remember, court cases pertaining to personal injury require a specialist.
Should you choose to gamble with your financial well-being, a novice could leave your financial picture in shambles. As a preventative measure, personal injury lawyers can represent you in court. This way you won’t miss any extra time at work and possible wages.
In most cases, personal injury victims have completely drained their PTO banks, meaning days off for legal proceedings are few and far between. If you need to appear as a witness, your lawyer will brief you on how to behave in a courtroom and what to say. This way, you’ll have expert guidance instead of merely trying your best.
6. Extended time off may affect progress at work and relationships with colleagues
Time spent off work in recovery could put a pause on your projects at work. Depending on how your company runs, it may strain your relationships with your colleagues. Fortunately, having a personal injury lawyer at your side means you are more likely to get back to work quickly and pick up where you’ve left off.
Conclusion
All things considered, you should consider hiring a personal injury lawyer if you are involved in a vehicle accident. That way, your health and your emotional well-being can remain at the forefront of your focus. While a full recovery should be priority number one, you may find yourself pelted with productivity-inhibiting distractions.
Whether it’s taking time off to recover, being unable to perform your tasks, dealing with insurance problems, handling transportation conundrums, or missing more work for court-related matters, avoid spiraling into panic. Instead, remain calm and set your sights on fair compensation. That way, you can pivot your focus back to your professional goals—without insurance battles obstructing your view.
