An auto accident can be as simple as a "fender-bender," or as complex as an extraction using the "jaws of life." Most accidents fall somewhere in between, with varying levels of damage to your vehicle. However, an auto accident often takes much more from you than just the continued use of your car. Here are three ways in which an car accident disables you, and how to get life back to normal (or as close to normal as will ever be again).
Physically Disabling
If your accident was severe enough, you will not be able to move your head, neck and upper torso for several weeks while you recover from whiplash and other tears of tendons and connective tissues. The pain and swelling prevents you from doing so. If your injuries were much worse and much more traumatic, you may be temporarily or permanently paralyzed, either from the waist area down (i.e. paraplegic), or from the neck down (i.e., quadriplegic). In these cases, you will need lifelong rehabilitation and care, something someone else should pay for.
Psychologically Disabling
Car accidents are terrifying events for drivers and everyone in the vehicles. Being pummeled or smashing into a hard object at a fast rate of speed sends adrenaline throughout the entire body. When that happens, fear grips you, and it has been proven that intense moments like this stick with you for a lifetime. Some people even suffer PTSD from car accidents, which in turn causes them to be too terrified to ever get into a moving vehicle ever again. Long-term psychological treatments and therapy can help, but in the meantime, your fear disables you because you cannot drive and/or ride in a car.
Financially Disabling
When you cannot work because you are in pain, in the hospital, or unable to move and perform your usual job duties, you lose wages. Your health insurance probably has some sort of astronomically awful deductible, meaning that your medical bills will not be covered until you cover your deductible, which you cannot do because you are not working. Your car insurance will skyrocket, making it impossible to insure a vehicle and drive again, even if that is an option for you. Unless you have a partner or spouse who is paying all of the bills while you are healing, you will quickly become financially disabled.
How to Get Life Back to Some Semblance of Normal
It is not easy, but you have to sue. Sue the other driver's insurance company, if applicable. Sue the driver. Sue the manufacturer of your own vehicle, if they are to blame for a malfunction of the vehicle. Consult with a personal injury lawyer on all accounts. Then heed all advice of your doctors for a speedy recovery, and follow through on all forms of therapy.
