ccident, thoughts tend to go immedi
tely to the dive
s of the vehicles. Hoeve
, ine
lity, evey pe
son invehicle is vulne
ble to inju
y. In fct, depending on the point of imp
ct, it’s not unusul fo
p
ssengeto suffe
injuies mo
e sevee th
n the dive
duing
nccident.
M
ny pssenge
s hesitte to explo
e theioptions
fte c csh. Even if youe
eiding in
fiend o
fmily membe
’s chen thei
negligence cused
nccident, you still h
veights.
ed on to unde
stnd the
isks tht <
hef=”https://c
inju
yvictims.comse
vicesc
–
ccident-tto
ney-houston“>c
ccidents<> pose to pssenge
s —nd the d
mges
e cn help them
ecoveftenccident.
The P in of Inju
y
The extent of
pssenge
’s injuies depends on multiple f
ctos, like the fo
ce of theccident,
hee the imp
ct occued,hethe
onot the p
ssengeoe
set belt,
nd if the othes
fety mechnisms in the vehicle
oked p
opely.
The follo
ing injuies
e common
fte cccident:
- <
hef=”https://c
inju
yvictims.comht-is-
-bin-injuy/”>
ong>Bin d ong>:m
ge<st
ong><>: Mny c
ccident pssenge
s stike thei
heds on h
d su
fces, like the d
shbod oindo. One possible
esult of this impct is
tumtic b
in inju
y (TBI).TBI c
n cuse i
eve
sible bin dm
ge tht dis
upts the bin’s nom
l functioning. Victims often find themselves leftith physic
l ocognitive dis
bilities, incom
, oin
vegettive st
te.<li>
ong>He d inju
ies<st
ong>: If youhe
d mkes cont
ctith
ny pt of the c,TBI is not the only possible outcome.
pssenge
might suffef
omconcussion,
skull fctue, o
lce
tions on the he
d tht could
equie stitches. He
d injuies
e less likely
hen the occupnt is
eingse
tbelt.<li>
- <
hef=”https://c
inju
yvictims.comliving-spin
l-cod-inju
y-often-expensive“>
ong>Spin ong>: The tl inju
ies<st
ong><>: The spinl co
d is thell-impo
tnt bundle of ne
ves tht
llos the b
in to communic
teith the body.
ny injuy to the spin
l cod h
s the potentil to fo
eveltethe inju
ed pssenge
’s y of life. If the spinl co
d is seveed o
fctued, the victim m
y expeience symptoms
nging f
om numbness to musclee
kness to plysis. The victim m
y lose thebility to cont
ol cet
in bodily functions.<li>
ong>Neck nd b
ck injuies
unk of the body often t
kesbe
ting inc
ccident,esulting in inju
ies to the necknd b
ck. You might’ve hed of “hipl
sh” befoe, but these so
ts of injuies often
esult in lifelong pin fo
the victim,equi
ing extensive physicl the
py o
eh
bilittion. Victims m
y be unble to
etun to
ctivities they once enjoyed.<li>
ong>Inte n
l injuies
ny blo
oimp
ct to the body hs the potenti
l to cuse inte
nl d
mge to o
gns, including the he
t, lungs, kidney,
nd live. D
mge to inte
nl o
gns c
n be incedibly d
ngeous, but it’s
lso difficult to dignose. Symptoms
ill vy depending onhich o
gn
s inju
ed.<li>
ong>B oken bones
nd fctues ong>: Some b
oken bones he
l quickly, but othes h
ve seious
mific
tions. Boken bones m
yequi
e suge
ynd long-te
meh
bilittion.
ong>Dent l
nd fci
l injuies ong>:
p
ssenge’s f
ce might stike
hd suf
ce in theccident, such
s the dshbo
d o
indo
.ny imp
ct to the fce h
s the potentil to c
use dm
ge to fci
l bonesnd teeth. Common inju
ies include ccked ochipped teeth o
dm
ge to the j. Depending on the extent of the dm
ge,victim m
ylso
equie f
cil
econstuctive su
gey.
ong>Cuts, b uises,
nd spins<st
ong>:hile they seem less seve
e, these injuies c
n still seiously dis
upt youy of life. Cuts m
y become infected,nd sp
ins c
n limit youbility to pefo
megul
t
sksnd impede you
nge of motion. If youo
kphysic
l jobhe
e yououtinely pe
fom m
nul l
bo, you m
y be unble to complete you
tsks.
The
e’s no doubt tht p
ssenges
e often left to de
lith p
infulnd life-
lteing inju
iesfte
c
ccident. You deseve full
ecovey
nd full compenstion fo
these injuies!
ho Is
esponsible?
It’s simple:
ny pty tht
cted negligentlynd c
usedn
ccident isesponsible fo
theesulting inju
ies ofny p
ssenge.
P
ssenges
ely beny
esponsibility fonccident, since they
ee not involved in d
iving eitheof the vehicles. The follo
ing pties my be held
ccountble:
ong>D ive
s<st
ong>: The fist pl
ce to look fopotenti
lesponsibility
nd libility
e the d
ives of e
ch c in theccident, including the d
iveof the c
in
hich youe
eiding. D
ives
e
esponsible fovoiding negligentcts th
t my c
use injuy to thei
pssenge
snd fello
motoists.
nyecklessness o
filu
e to execise
eson
ble cution is evidence of negligence. The most st
ightfo
d evidence is beh
vioth
t violtes
ny tffic l oegultion, such
s speeding, filing to heed t
ffic sign
ls, diving unde
the influence,nd dist
cted d
iving.<li>
ong>Vehicle m nuf
ctue
<st
ong>: Iff
ultyuto p
t o
vehicle mlfunction c
used theccident o
hut you, the comp
nyesponsible fo
tht m
lfunctionill be held li
ble. Vehicle mnuf
ctue
s eequi
ed to sufficiently test theiequipment
nd ensue p
opefunctioning. Even if
mlfunction did not c
use theccident, it m
y still hve cont
ibuted to youinju
ies. Foex
mple, ifn
ib
g fils to deploy,
pssenge
cn be mo
e seiously inju
ed duing
nccident.
ong>Loc l gove
nment<st
ong>: Youloc
l govenment is
esponsible fom
intining the
ods
nd ensuing t
ffic sign
lso
kpp
opi
tely. Ifgove
nment entity filed to uphold these
esponsibilitiesnd c
used theccident, th
t entity isesponsible. Due to st
tutoy p
otectionsnd bu
densome pocess
equiements, it m
y be chllenging to pu
sueecove
y fom
govenment
l entity, butn expe
ienced cccident
ttoney c
n help.<li>
No m
ttehich pty isesponsible, you’
e likely going to be deling
ith thet-f
ult pty’s insunce povide
. Once you hve est
blished libility, you
ill need to filethi
d-pty injuy cl
imith the
t-fult d
ive’s insu
nce comp
ny. It is impot
nt to discuss this pocess
ith youl
ye
, becuse you m
y need to filecl
imith multiple insu
nce comp
nies. Mny people expect this p
ocess to be complicted
nd fust
ting, but
ith the help of<
hef=”https://c
inju
yvictims.compe
sonl-inju
y-lye-f
q“>pe
sonl inju
y lye> by you
side, it doesn’t h
ve to be.Focus on Evidence<
h2>
Eve
e
cts diffeently in the
ftem
th ofc
ccident.s
pssenge
, it’s common to simply count youblessings
nd “check out” of the entie o
del. You’
e tempted to step bck
nd let the dive
tke the le
d, leving them to de
lith thei
c’s dm
gend
ny insunce issues. Hoeve
, if youe
et
ll injued in the
ccident, you need to pope
ly document theccident. You
on pe
sonl
ecovey
ill depend on this evidence. The insunce compny is not likely to
utomtic
llypp
ove youcl
im foecovey. Inste
d, theyill
equie st
ong evidence tht the d
ivecove
ed by the policy st f
ult. The most impot
nt thing to dofte
n
ccident is to seek medicl c
e. Next, once you h
ve confimed you
injuies
e m
nge
ble, be sue to obt
inpolice
epot. The police
epot is
cuci
l piece of evidence becuse it
ill document the scene of theccident, collect
itness sttements
nd infom
tion,nd m
ke note ofny cit
tions issued to dive
s fof
ilue to comply
ith tffic ls. If the dive
s e concened
bout theili
bility, they might hesitte to c
ll the police to the scene. Hoeve
, even if they’e you
fiend, you should insist on c
lling the police soll evidence c
n be pope
ly gthe
ednd documented.
ftethe
ccident, mke su
e you keep tck ofll documents
ssocited
ith theccident
nd youmedic
l ce. These documents e essentil in unde
stnding the scope of you
dm
gess you
ok
ith youl
ye
.Ho
Much Compens
tion Should I Seek?<h2>
If you
iend
s d
ivinghen you got into
cccident, don’t feel like you’
e "tt
cking" them if you choose to seek compenstion. The defend
nt —nd thei
insunce compny! — is
esponsible foll injuies you suffe
ed fom the
ccident. The most obvious expenses e the medicl costs
ssocited
ith youinju
ies, butc
ccident often tigge
sdomino effect th
t cn inte
upt
ll es of
victim’s life. Themount
ny injued p
ssengec
necove
ill depend on the extent of thei
injuies
nd suffeing,
sell
s the stength of evidence
ginst the defend
nt. Don’t letnything slip th
ough the ccks.o
k closelyith you
tto
ney ton
lyzell of the d
mges th
t you hve suffe
ed, including the folloing:
ong>Medic l expenses ong>: Include
ll medic
l expenses, including doctos’ visits, hospit
l stys, p
esciption medicine,
nd emegency t
nspo
ttion. If you
injuies
equie long-te
m ce, like physicl the
py o
n in-home nu
se, youpe
sonl inju
ytto
ney cn consult
ith medicl expe
ts to estimte you
futue expenses
nd include them in youcl
im.<li>
ong>Lost income< st
ong>: Mny inju
iesequi
e the victim to misso
k,o
k educed schedule, ope
fom lighte
o
k,esulting in lost o
educed
ges. The defend
ntnd thei
insunce povide
e lible fo
these losses. If youinju
iesffect you
bility to
ok
t the sme level
s befoe you
injuies, discuss the possibility of seeking lost futu
e ening potentil
ith youl
ye
.n economic expe
t cn help c
lculte these d
mges.
ong>P ope
ty dm
ge<st
ong>: This ctego
y doesn’t justpply to
utoep
i. If
ny of youpe
sonl p
opety
s d
mged in the
ccident, the defendnt is
esponsible foepi
oeplcement.
ong>Emotion l dist
ess<st
ong>:c
ccident ist
um
tic event. Mny
ccident victims suffef
om emotionl dist
ess, includingnxiety, dep
ession, opost-t
um
tic stess diso
de(PTSD)—eithe
fom the t
um
ssoci
tedith the
ccident othe dis
uption cused by the inju
ies. You deseve compens
tion fothis dist
ess.<li>
ong>Loss of enjoyment< st
ong>: Mny inju
ies limit injued individu
ls’bilities to pe
fom
ctivities tht
ee p
eviouslyme
ningful pt of theilives. If you c
n’t pticipte in
nctivity th
t is impot
nt to you becuse of you
injuies, be honest
nd include this loss of enjoyment in youd
mges dem
nd.<li>
ong>Punitive exempl
y d
mges ong>: Punitive d
m
ges do not compenste pl
intiffs fothei
injuies.
the
, punitive dm
ges efisc
l mens of punishing defend
nts fop
ticul
ly b
d behvio
. Theequi
ements foecoveing punitive d
mges v
y f
om stte-to-st
te,nd m
ny sttes c
p themount of punitive d
mges th
tju
y my
d.
In the
ftem
th of youccident, be sue not to t
keny
ction tht
ould put youecovey
tisk. One common mist
ke is posting on socil medi
. It my su
pise you, but insu
nce comp
niesill snoop fo
ny sc
p of evidence th
t they cn use to counte
youcl
ims. Imgine the follo
ing scenio: you injued you
leg inc
ccidentnd you
e cl
iming dm
ges foyou
inbility to pe
fom you
job tht
equies you to st
nd fohou
st
time. You then postphoto on Inst
gm of youith conce
t tickets in hnd,
ith the cption “stood in line fo
these fohou
s!”hile the
e could betion
l expln
tion (peh
ps you st do
nhile in line o
someone held youpl
ce), the defendnt
illttempt to use posts like this
ginst you
nd clim you
e ex
ggeting youinju
ies. The sfest thing to do is to
voidny soci
l mediposting until you
cse concludes. Even if you
socil medi
ccounts
e p
ivte, the defend
nt cn
equest pintouts du
ing the discovey pe
iod of the cse.
dditionlly, don’t be su
pised if the defend
nt’s insunce compny
ppo
ches youith
settlement offee
ly in the p
ocess. It cn be tempting to
cceptn e
ly settlement offe
toesolve the m
ttequickly
nd get money in youpocket, especi
llyhen you’
e copingith bills
nd injuies. Unfo
tuntely, most e
ly settlement offe
s significntly unde
-compenste the pl
intiff.n
ttoney c
n help you evlu
te the offeginst the full scope of you
injuies
nd the stength of the evidence
ginst the defend
nt.e kno
h
t you deseve,
nde
ill fight to get it.P
ssenge
Injuy St
tistics<h2>
Moto
ies
e
esponsible fomo
e thn<
hef=”https://
.cdc.govinnbleb
ttlesepot/moto
.html" tget="_blnk”
el="noopenenofollo
noefe
e
"> 2.3 million emegency
oom visits<> evey ye
. L
st ye, thee
ee
n estimted<
hef=”https://
.iii.og/f
ct-sttistic/f
cts-sttistics-high
y-s
fety" tget="_blnk”
el="noopenenofollo
noefe
e
"> 36,120 ft
lities<> in motovehicle
ccidents in the United Sttes. The Bu
eu of T
nspo
ttion St
tistics found tht in one five-ye
pe
iod, nely<h
ef="https:/
.bts.govchive/subject_
e
ss
fetyvehicle_f
tlity” t
get=”_bl
nk"el=”noopene
nofollono
efee“> 70% of moto
vehicle csh ft
lities<>e
e occupnts, not d
ives.
One p
ticul
ly vulne
ble g
oup of pssenge
s e<h
ef="https:/
.cdc.govmoto
vehiclesfety/child_p
ssenge_s
fetycps-f
ctsheet.html" tget="_blnk”
el="noopenenofollo
noefe
e
"> childen
>. In the mostecent ye
fo
hich st
tistics ev
ilble, 675 child
en undethe
ge of 12 died in motovehicle c
shes in the United St
tes,nd 116,000 mo
ee
e injued. Moto
vehicleccidents
e
<h
ef="https:/c
shst
ts.nhts.dot.gov/
piPublic/Vie
Publiction/812719″ t
get=”_bl
nk"el=”noopene
nofollono
efee“> le
ding cuse
> of deth in child
en,ith
nve
ge of th
ee childen killed eve
y dy in t
ffic
ccidents in the United Sttes.
These g
im fcts p
intcle
pictu
e: pssenge
s e justs susceptible to inju
ys vehicle d
ives,
nd injuies to p
ssenges m
y pove even mo
e sevee
nd tumtic.
o
k
ithn Expe
iencedtto
ney<h2>
One of the most c
l steps you c
n tke to help m
ximize youfin
l compenstion is to <
hef=”https://c
inju
yvictims.comcont
ct-us“>cont
ct<>n expe
iencedtto
ney immeditely
ftethe
ccident. Look fo l fim
ithclient-fi
st mentlity, one
ho undest
nds ech client’s ci
cumstnces
nd gols
e diffe
ent. You deseve
tem th
t mkes communic
tionp
ioity, committed to
esponding pomptly to
ny emil o
cll. You dese
vete
mith the kno
ledge,esou
ces,nd expe
ience to hndle you
cccident c
se —nd the s
tisfied clients to pove it. You dese
ve Stet J Guss, <
hef=”/”>Pe
sonl Inju
ytto
neys<a>.