Car accidents happen on an almost daily basis. More often than not, all parties involved walk away unscathed or with minor injuries. However, sometimes car accidents can cause serious and even fatal injuries.
If you have been involved in an accident and have been seriously hurt, then you are no doubt struggling to find normalcy, and get your life back on track.
This post will explore this topic in more detail, offering some effective solutions and tips for how you can get your life back to the way it was, and move on.
Claiming Compensation
If you have been injured in a car accident, then the logical next step is to make a claim for compensation. However, you can only make such a claim if you were injured by another person’s negligence. If you were at fault, there is nothing that you can do. According to a car accident lawyer in Virginia, after your accident, you may be unable to work and could have to spend a lot of time recovering. The amount of time that you have to take off work (in addition to medical bills) is why you need to make a claim for compensation. In order to make a claim, you will have to provide evidence. You can give your lawyer a medical certificate verifying your injuries, or footage from your car’s dash cam (if it has one).
Police Intervention
If the person who caused your injuries was drunk, intoxicated, or driving extremely recklessly, then you may want to involve the police. Most experts agree that after any accident, it’s a good idea to call the police to the scene. Also, in most states, it is a legal requirement for you to notify the police within 24 hours of an accident taking place. If you do not, then you can get into trouble. Take the opportunity to call the police on the scene, so that they can come and check whether or not the other person was drinking or on drugs.
Disability Benefits
If you are unable to work because of your injuries, then you will need to make a claim for disability benefits. Your lawyer can help you to do this. You will need to provide evidence of your injuries and inability to work, in order to qualify. Before applying for disability benefits, first, find out whether or not your employer will continue to pay you while you are sick. Some employers are willing to pay employees after accidents until they recover and are able to return to work. If your employer isn’t open to this, then apply for disability benefits instead.
Recovery Time
You need to take time to recover after an accident, even if your injuries aren’t serious. The reason for this is that sometimes, car accidents cause serious emotional distress. However, emotional distress and mental illness do not always manifest immediately. Sometimes, it takes a while before people begin experiencing anxiety, stress, and depression. More often than not, such things become manifest when a person tries to get back to normal life too quickly, or when they are exposed to triggers, which could be things like busy roads or even cars. You may want to consider going to therapy if you are suffering mentally in the wake of your accident.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is something else that’s worth considering if your injuries are preventing you from being able to move around as comfortably as you used to. If you live in a country where healthcare is nationalized, then you will be able to access a physical therapist’s services for free. If it is not, then you will have to pay for it. Thankfully most physical therapies are very affordable. Do your research online and find the one who’s most qualified and has the most experience.
Returning to Work
A lot of people try to rush back to work after accidents. This is a very bad idea. Instead, you should take some time to recover, physically and mentally. If you are making a claim for compensation, then you will likely also be receiving (or making an application for) disability benefits. You should use disability benefits to support yourself, while you focus on your recovery. If your injuries are very serious and you will not be able to go back to work again, then you should tell your employer that you won’t be coming back. If you don’t tell them then they could hold your job for you unnecessarily.
Car accidents can be very hard to move on from. Life must go on, however. If you don’t take steps to move forward with your life, then you will end up sitting around and dwelling on things, which won’t do you any good. Follow the guidance set out here, and you can reclaim your life.
