4 Possible Chronic Complications After a Personal Injury
If you've been injured, and someone else is to blame, you deserve a fair settlement to pay for your medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. However, in some cases, the extent of the injuries isn’t clear until after you've accepted a settlement. At that point, you are responsible for any future medical bills and complications.
In order to better protect yourself and ensure a fair settlement, consider these four possible chronic complications that can occur after a personal injury.
1. Brain or Spinal Cord Injuries
Brain injuries can range from mild to severe. Symptoms of mild brain injuries may include headache, loss of consciousness for a minute and fatigue. Symptoms of more severe brain injury symptoms, which may result in long-term complications, include convulsions, dilation of one or both pupils, clear fluids draining from the nose/ears, profound confusion, and coma.
Similarly, spinal cord injuries are common after a personal injury, such as a cut or damaged spinal cord, which may result in limited mobility. Some patients may experience total paralysis from the neck or waist down. Some patients diagnosed with paraplegia or quadriplegia may actually learn to walk again or regain some mobility.
2. Joint Injuries
Joint injuries are also common after an accident. These can include damage to your spine, ankle, wrist, hip, knee and any joint in your body. Ideally, once your joint heals, you'll be back to normal. Unfortunately, joints are complicated, and damage and injury can lead to chronic complications.
At the very least, you may have reduced mobility in the joint. Even with regular strengthening and exercising, it may never be as flexible as it used to be. However, some joint pain can lead to chronic arthritis or joint inflammation. This can make using the joint painful and worsen mobility.
3. Scars and Disfiguration
Depending on the type of injury, you may have scars and or disfiguration from the accident. For example, you may develop a compound fracture, which means the bone protrudes from the skin. Even after the bone has healed, there may be a scar from where the bone penetrated the skin. Unfortunately, while medical professionals can do a lot, they usually can’t completely remove every scar.
If you do have scars and disfiguration from your injury, you can usually get a better settlement. This is not only because of the changes in your appearance, which may affect your overall life and well-being. Scars and scar tissue are also less flexible than normal skin, which may cause future complications.
4. Mood Changes
After an accident, your mood may change, and this can happen for many reasons. The trauma of the accident can cause anxiety or even PTSD. Other people may notice other changes, such as increased anger, loss of interest in things you used to enjoy, and depression. This can be exacerbated if you have a long-term physical symptom from the accident.
For example, if you have a large scar, you can become self-conscious and not want to leave the house, leading to agoraphobia. Brain injuries may actually change your personality or mood. Depending on the severity of the mental damage, your personality or ability to communicate your mood and wants can completely change.
If you've been injured in an accident, you may not even know the full extent of your injuries. That minor pain in your back may lead to chronic arthritis. Even if you don't think you've been hurt, you should seek medical attention after any accident. To better protect yourself and/or to learn more about how chronic injuries can affect your settlement, contact us today at Borbi, Clancy and Patrizi, LLC today.