Accidents happen, and most of them result in injuries. Some injuries are less serious while some are severe. These injuries will, in one way or another, have an adverse impact on your lifestyle and quality of life. Different injuries are treated differently in the eyes of the law. They could be considered personal or catastrophic injuries. But what is the difference between these two? Please read on.
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Nature of Injuries
Though personal injuries can be serious, they will not last long before you fully recover and be able to get back to your normal duties as before. You wonโt experience lingering effects because of this type of injuries. Emotional injuries like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression are part of personal injuries. On the contrary, catastrophic injuries can affect you or a member of your family for the rest of their lives. You will not be able to resume the life you lived before sustaining the injuries. Common catastrophic injuries are inclusive of amputations, severe burn injuries, disfigurement, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries. Injury lawyers handling such cases must look for any useful information concerning the impact of the injuries and put them into consideration to ensure the victims are equally compensated.
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Costs Involved
Personal injuries are temporary and you can get back to your normal routine soon after you recover. The cost of treatment of this type of injuries, therefore, tend to be lower. The expenses incurred are inclusive of your medication, lost wages, travel expenses, and the damages to property. But catastrophic injuries change the rest of your life. You wonโt get back to doing what you used to do before the accident. These injuries will inflict a vast amount of pain and are very costly to treat. With these injuries, the victim will often require special accommodations for different aspects of life. S/he may be forced to retrofit important areas in their life such as the house and car to accommodate the new needs. If the family depended on the victim, they will suffer a loss because s/he will no longer go to work. Compensation for this kind is normally substantial and should cover both current and future complications and expenses.
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Compensation
Victims of personal injuries suffer temporary injuries that allow them to recover and get back to their normal duties. And because of this, the financial losses associated with these injuries will be calculated based on the medical bills, lost wages and other damages caused. If you or a family member has sustained injuries because of someone elseโs negligence, you can consult a personal injury lawyer experienced with handing similar cases. The attorney will assess your case and guide you on the legal steps to take. In the case of catastrophic injuries, however, the victims will not be able to return to the normal duties they attended to before the accident because of the disabilities suffered. Therefore, when it comes to compensation, these associated losses will be taken into account.
Conclusion
Suffering an injury just because someone else was negligent can be very disturbing. And you deserve to seek legal practice for this unlawful act. You need to consult your personal injury lawyer to know whether your case will be considered as a personal injury case or a catastrophic case. The attorney will then advise you on the necessary steps to take and, perhaps, help handle your case. Also look out for relevant themed blogs to know more about these injuries.
