Blunt-force trauma occurs when your head hits up against a hard surface. In a motor vehicle collision, this can happen when another vehicle hits you and your head slams off the hard surfaces inside the car. If you’re ejected from your seat, your head might strike the ground. Even if it was a rear-end collision, your upper body might be violently shaken, causing your brain to hit against the hard surface of your own skull. All these instances can result in a brain injury.
If you passed out after the force of impact in a collision, your brain injury is moderate to severe. Even if you remained conscious, however, you could expect to feel head pain or upper body discomfort for days, if not weeks after a car accident. Once you have completed your recovery, you may still experience lingering effects of your brain injury, perhaps for the rest of your life.
These effects might include things like recurring headaches, mental confusion and chronic fatigue. You might have difficulty controlling your emotions and experience sudden bursts of explosive anger. A brain injury can cause significant memory problems, leaving you to forget where you put your car keys or even your own birth date.
The lasting effects of a brain injury can cause you to feel sluggish. Many recovering brain injury victims say they feel like everything in life is moving in slow motion. This can cause feelings of frustration, and you might have a difficult time adapting to changes that a brain injury has caused in your daily life.
Rehabilitation services like physical therapy, counseling and other treatments can help a brain injury patient achieve the greatest quality of life possible. Sadly, however, even with the best care, you might experience an inability to live your life as you did before the collision.
Expenses associated with collision-related injuries
The financial strain that results from a motor vehicle collision can intensify stress in an already difficult situation. When another person’s negligence was the cause of your brain injury, West Virginia law entitles you to seek compensation for damages. In the past, many accident victims have sought recourse through the civil justice system to obtain financial recovery for their losses.
]]>There are several types of intersections. Some are secure, meaning stop signs or traffic lights regulate traffic. Others are unmarked, which, of course, increases the risk of collision. When you’re at a crossroads and are unsure whether it’s your turn to go, it’s best to let others go first.
You have likely approached many an intersection that had a white line painted on the road. This is a stop line that tells drivers where to stop. If you want to improve intersection safety, you’ll want to make sure your vehicle stays behind the stop line. When people allow the front of their vehicles to extend past this line, they are at risk because vehicles making turns might cross into their path and hit them.
If there is another vehicle stopped in front of you at an intersection, you’ll want to create distance between that vehicle and yours. If you cannot see the point of contact where their rear tears are touching the ground, then you’re too close. Leaving more space between your car and the car in front improves safety. If someone hits you from behind and you have left enough space in front, it could keep you from hitting the car in front of you.
Accelerating to try to “beat” a yellow light before it turns red is the cause of many intersection collisions. To improve safety, slow down at a yellow light and be prepared to stop when the light turns red. It should go without saying to come to a full stop at a red light, and yet many fatal collisions occur at intersections because drivers fail to do so.
These tips may help you avoid a collision at a West Virginia intersection. However, they cannot guarantee that another driver won’t hit you. If you suffer injury in a motor vehicle accident caused by driver negligence, you have the right to seek compensation for damages.
]]>Consider a married couple who wanted to have a child or more children than they already have. If a drunk driver hits one of the spouses, who then becomes paralyzed, they may lose any hope of conceiving children together through natural means. Aside from that, the couple’s entire lifestyle would change, and they may experience a loss of the daily companionship and interaction they once knew. This constitutes loss of consortium.
Other close family members, as well, may experience loss of affection, companionship and interaction. For example, a parent experiences loss of consortium if a son or daughter suffers a catastrophic injury like paralysis. They may lose their dreams of sharing life events in the typical way parents and children normally do. This type of loss may also occur for a child whose parent has suffered injury because of another driver’s negligence.
The court takes several factors into account when deciding loss of consortium claims. In the case of a spouse, the court considers a couple’s relationship prior to injury. (If a couple was planning to divorce, for instance, it may be difficult to prove that a loss of consortium has occurred.) Life expectancy and other issues are relevant, as well.
When you file a personal injury claim in West Virginia, you must provide the court with a list of damages. Loss of consortium is often part of a general personal injury claim. Every state has its own laws and regulations regarding financial recovery for losses caused by third-party negligence.
Loss of consortium is what’s known as intangible damage. If you break your arm and receive treatment at a hospital, the court can easily assign a monetary value to the damages that occurred. It is difficult to place a monetary value on a human relationship. This is why it’s best to file a loss of consortium claim under experienced guidance to ensure that you receive the maximum compensation allowed under state law.
]]>State law allows recovering victims to seek compensation for damages following a personal injury in connection with a car accident or other incident. To do so, you must file a personal injury claim in civil court. As the plaintiff, you must prove that the defendant’s negligence caused your injuries and that he, she or they are liable for damages.
Police must file reports when they investigate a West Virginia car accident. If you’ve suffered injuries in a collision, you’re entitled to receive a copy of the police report. This can be an asset to you if you later file a legal claim for damages.
Following a personal injury, it is important to gather evidence if you believe another person’s negligence was responsible for the incident. After a car accident, this would include taking photographs of the scene, your injuries and vehicle damage, as well. If you have suffered injuries after using a product or because of a violent crime, etc., you should take pictures of things that are relevant to the case.
It’s wise to write down as much as you can recall about the events that led to your injuries. The more detail the better, especially because the emotional stress of the situation might cause you to forget some things down the line. While everything is fresh in your mind, write it all down or ask someone to write it for you.
Various support options are available to help you after a personal injury. For example, you should always obtain medical support as soon as possible. You may also want to speak with someone who is knowledgeable about the legal system, especially as it pertains to personal injury laws. With a strong support network in place, you can take one day at a time to achieve as full a recovery as possible, including any financial recovery available for your losses.
]]>This blog post focuses on three critical issues you’ll want to avoid if you are involved in a car accident in West Virginia. Remember to closely monitor your health in the weeks that follow a collision and to seek medical attention if new symptoms arise or your recovery is not progressing.
Every case is unique, and recovery following a motor vehicle collision often hinges on several issues, including severity of injuries. The following list, however, shows common issues you’ll want to avoid whether you were involved in a minor fender-bender or a more serious car accident:
In addition to physical injuries and property damage that may occur, being involved in a car accident is also emotionally traumatic. A situation can go from bad to worse if you engage in conflict with other motorists or passengers who were involved in the incident.
It’s not a good idea to decline medical attention following a collision, even if you believe your injuries are minor. One reason it’s best to seek medical attention is that some injuries may be internal and require specialized testing at a hospital to diagnose them. A physician might recommend that you watch for certain symptoms, which may experience a delay after a crash, such as signs of whiplash.
Seeking medical attention following a West Virginia car accident helps gather evidence because medical workers will document your admission to the emergency room and record of your condition will be logged into their computer. This record may be necessary if you later decide to seek restitution for damages. As for conflict with others who may have been involved, such issues can quickly escalate into dangerous situations, which cause additional safety risks and may lead to criminal charges as well. Exchange insurance and contact information, and let investigators handle the rest.
]]>Whether your loved one is mobile does not matter regarding bed sores. Even if a patient can get up and walk around, care providers must still make sure they are always safe and well. Especially in cases where a patient is immobile, staff members must implement measures to help them avoid pressure ulcers, which is the term commonly used in the nursing industry to describe bed sores.
Anyone who spends a lot of time in bed or sitting in a chair or wheelchair is at risk for pressure ulcers. The following list shows issues that create the greatest risk:
All licensed caregivers are aware of these issues and should have received training to help patients avoid bed sores. If you know that your loved one is high-risk for pressure ulcers, you might consider meeting with his or her care providers to ask how they plan to prevent them.
Pressure ulcers occur because of friction. Such sores typically occur when material like clothing or bed linen rubs against the skin. If you notice sores in these areas of your loved one’s body, it merits further investigation:
Bed sores in these areas may appear as red marks or like an open wound that is scabbing over. If there is puss oozing from a sore or a foul odor, it suggests that a sore is infected, which can quickly become a life-threatening situation for an elderly person.
It doesn’t matter how understaffed or overworked the caregivers at your loved one’s nursing home might be. There is never a justifiable reason for nursing negligence. Bed sores can cause potentially serious health problems. Do not let anyone tell you that pressure ulcers are a “normal part” of life in a nursing home. That is not true. They are almost always a sign of substandard care.
]]>If your brain or spine sustains blunt force trauma, such as often occurs when two vehicles collide, the ramifications of the hit can be both immediate and far-reaching. Catastrophic brain injuries might include a skull fracture, cerebral spinal fluid leak or bleeding from the brain. A severe spinal cord injury might result in partial or full paralysis.
During recovery from collision-induced catastrophic injuries, you might rely on numerous support team members to assist you in your daily living routine. For example, a spinal cord injury can affect your ability to control your bowel or bladder, as well as your ability to breathe properly. Therefore, your support team might include more than just a physical therapist or neurologist.
The care and treatments you need to achieve as full a recovery as possible may come from numerous resources, each of which carries an expense. It can be distressing to not only endure physical pain or loss of mobility after a car accident but to encounter financial strain as well. This is why state laws are in place to allow recovering accident victims to seek compensation for damages.
Rather than trying to handle everything on your own (like discussing your case with insurance agents), it is helpful to obtain support from someone who can serve as an advocate on your behalf. It is less stressful to navigate the medical industry, legal system and insurance industry when you have an experienced advocate doing the talking for you.
This enables you to focus on recovery while someone else seeks justice on your behalf and helps you obtain the maximum compensation to which you may be entitled under West Virginia personal injury laws. You might be able to achieve a full recovery, or your condition might have permanent implications that necessitate lifestyle changes and create a need for specialized care for the rest of your life. If another person’s negligence was responsible for your catastrophic injuries, you may have a right to financial recovery for your losses.
]]>