A serious accident can happen in the blink of an eye and many accident victims are often left with a long-term injury that unexpectedly impacts their quality of life. Dealing with a sudden life-altering injury involves much more than physical pain. The inability to function in a familiar manner can create depression in the injury victim and family alike, as well as create living complications no one ever anticipated. These social impairments of lifestyle and mobility are as contributory to dealing with an injury situation as much as physical damage, but there are some basic steps that can help the healing process.
Assess Your Budget
Life-changing injuries also create altered personal home budgets. Expenses are often added by the injury treatment and necessities and adjustments must be made. Financial problems can literally be the insult to the injury. Some claims can take time to settle, but others can be established immediately, such as short-term disability insurance and worker’s compensation claims. However, a Social Security disability claim can be a starvation process, as the SSA uses an enormous number of over-lapping rules to determine eligibility.
The Social Security Administration can move very slowly for some claimants, but some may also qualify for Supplemental Security Income while waiting on a full disability ruling. Staying in contact with your legal counsel from the beginning can help start the immediate protections while waiting for others.
Follow Medical Recommendations
It is very important to follow the treatment recommendations of any medical professional. Physical therapy is a prime example of treatment that injured victims may want to avoid. Regardless of difficulty, this is still very important for lifestyle improvement and legal claim protection.
Any respondent could use failure to seek appropriate treatment as a legal claim that the injuries are over-stated or do not impede the claimant’s normal life. Additionally, claim respondents have the legal authority to request the victim to visit a doctor in their network. Even though an injury is severe, insurance companies and government agencies will still attempt to lessen the value of the claim by alternate medical opinions. It is as important to meet respondent requests for medical evaluation as it is to pursue rehabilitation of the injury.
Hire an Attorney Immediately
Severe injuries can easily result in full and permanent disability for any injured party. The ability to maintain gainful employment is often gone and the victim will at least be facing a disability claim with the Social Security Administration. Depending on the victim’s employment situation, they may also be eligible for worker’s compensation or disability insurance from their employer. In addition, there may be negligence claims that can be filed in many instances, such as an automobile accident.
These claims are always time sensitive. Therefore, it is always a good idea to immediately discuss the circumstances with an attorney who is experienced in handling legal claims for impaired clients who have suffered long-term, life-altering injuries or illnesses, whether it’s a Columbia workers compensation attorney or a disability firm in Atlanta.
Regardless of the number or location of any legal claims, it is always important to retain an attorney who regularly practices in the field of disability law as soon as possible. Dealing with life-altering injuries is difficult enough with respect to physical and budgetary problems, but hiring an experienced and effective local attorney can help the injured victim focus on rehabilitation as best as can be expected and let an easily accessible attorney take care of the legal issues.
Author and artist Molly Pearce addresses current issues in the legal, medical, and human rights arenas and shares this post in the hopes of encouraging even just one disable individual. She suggests searching the phrase Columbia workers compensation attorney to find out more about the possibility of being compensated for lost wages, pain, and suffering after a life-changing injury at work.
Photo Credit- http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmgxvolley/5756114047/