If you're injured in an incident that wasn't your fault, you have a few challenges ahead. Even if someone admits fault and offers to pay, you can't be sure that the payment is enough to cover every problem that arises from the incident. Signing an agreement and accepting money makes it harder to demand more assistance later, so it's best to get as many of your risks covered with the first agreement. Here are a few things to consider before entering any legal agreement for settlement or cash assistance, just to make sure your best interests are being served.
How Much Will Your Injury Cost?
An injury's cost can be far more than the initial medical bill. Although it's important to have the expected medical bills covered to avoid action against your credit for an issue that shouldn't be your problem, be aware that future complications aren't just likely. They're to be expected.
After leaving the hospital and/or finishing physical therapy, what happens if your condition relapses? What if your condition is mostly taken care of, but a single moment of weakness causes you to make a mistake somewhere else in your life? A mostly healed leg can hurt out of nowhere and cause you to lose your grip on a situation, or you may end up spending too much money on medications during a strange return of pain.
This is fine if you settled for enough money, but can you really write down that number on your own? There are a lot of conditions and medical procedures that need to be planned for, in addition to getting estimates from medical professionals, you'll need to figure out what kind of social and economic changes may happen in your life.
Life Changes That Increase Costs
Because of an injury, you may not be as quick, efficient, or attentive at your job as you could have been. A lot can be said about working hard, persevering, and pushing through adversity, but the fact is that no matter how much you march forward through your troubles, it's still not as good as you could have been.
This is one of those few times where thinking about what could have been your future is important. That potential can be represented by compensation either through lump sum payments, structured settlements to deliver the payments over an extended period of time, or a lifetime payment that acts as an annuity or stipend to support your condition.
The stakes are by no means small. It's not just about productivity; you could be ignored for promotions or turned down on future jobs because of your performance. Although there are laws against disability discrimination, it can be difficult to prove such issues when your performance is truly affected.
Instead of worrying about making the rest of your life work around an injury through your own struggles, speak with a personal injury lawyer to discuss potential costs, financial hardship, compensation plans, and getting as many agreement points taken care of before you sign your settlement.
Share14 June 2017
