When a car accident derails your career

Life may never be the same after a car crash. You may no longer have the same abilities you had before the accident, and that could affect every aspect of your life, including your ability to stay on the career path you were following before the accident.

While some car accident injuries can keep you away from work for days or weeks, other injuries may be career-ending. In either situation, it is crucial that you receive the full financial recovery you need and deserve.

How much can you claim in compensation?

Depending on the facts of your case, you may be able to claim a variety of damages after a car accident. For example, you may be owed compensation for lost wages while the injury kept you out of work. You may be owed compensation for medical bills resulting from the crash. And you may be owed compensation for diminished earning capacity.

To calculate diminished earning capacity, it is necessary to look beyond your current wages and also consider the long-term effects the injury will have on your career. For example, a traumatic brain injury could have long-term effects on the victim’s ability to do certain kinds of work. Similarly, a spine injury could be progressively debilitating, resulting in the victim’s inability to work at all.

Consider the big picture: Take a forward-thinking approach to your claim

Insurance companies are notorious for making “lowball” settlement offers to injury victims. Such an offer may not take into account how much the injury will affect your ability to work in the future. To obtain the full financial compensation you deserve for your losses, it’s important to work with an experienced personal injury attorney. A skilled personal injury lawyer can assess the full cost of your injury now and in the future — and help you secure the financial compensation you need to move forward.