After a car accident, some injuries are more serious than others. Many of the most serious injuries include spinal damage. Some people have even damaged their spines in car accidents but not realized it until long after the fact. When you’ve been injured in an auto accident, knowing how your injury will affect your lawsuit is important to understanding how you should move forward.
Spinal Damage Will Change Your Disability Rating
If you get injured in a car accident, and it affects your ability to work, you can receive disability compensation. Compensation is paid out based on what degree of injury you have.
Since people with spinal damage are often unable to perform manual labor, they will receive a much higher disability rating than someone who can do menial work. That will mean that they receive higher monthly payments under the SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance), SSI (Supplemental Security Income), or VEC (Veterans Disability Compensation).
Spinal Damage Can Reduce Your Social Security Benefits Later in Life
Just like VEC disability compensation, people who are injured in car accidents and receive SSI will receive higher disability benefits than someone who can continue working through their injuries. However, some people injured in car accidents will find it difficult to qualify for either disability benefit later on down the road. To qualify for SSI or SSDI later in life, you must never have had more than $2,000 in earnings during your entire working history.
Spinal Damage Can Prevent You From Finding Another Job
While many people with spinal cord damage can continue working after an accident, this is not always the case. Many people with minor injuries can work through their pain. However, even minor injuries can cause severe pain, which can be very difficult for some people to work through.
Car accident claims are often very stressful, especially for people who are not in good physical condition. Many people find it difficult to find a job because their injury makes it impossible to work.
Spinal Damage Can Limit Your Ability to Negotiate a Settlement
When you’ve got injured in an auto accident, it can be tough to negotiate a settlement with an insurance company. Some people find that their injury is more difficult after the accident than right after it occurred. They may have trouble communicating with people who are not close to them. This means that you may not be able to communicate effectively during the negotiation process. That may prevent you from negotiating a good settlement. In this case, you will want to talk to lawyers who can handle car accident claims on your behalf.
Spinal Damage Can Result in Future Medical Bills
If you’ve been injured in an auto accident and can’t work, you may also need to go on disability, which will affect your income. Many people with spinal injury find that they need medical care for the rest of their lives if they were injured severely. At some point, medical bills will become a problem for injured individuals. These medical bills can become so large that they can overwhelm an individual.
Many people have been injured in car accidents and didn’t realize how serious their injury was until long after. Sometimes, they don’t realize that they have a spinal injury until a few months later. However, spinal injuries can cause some serious problems in the future. Having an injury like this will affect your ability to find employment in the future, receive SSI or SSDI in the future, and receive favorable settlements in auto accident lawsuits.