If you suffered a severe injury in an accident, you may have lasting physical or cognitive impairments, known as residual injuries (RIs). To secure compensation for your RIs, you have to prove you have a permanent injury, which can be complicated. Our lawyers can help you accomplish this with the help of a medical professional.
What Qualifies As a Permanent Injury?
Permanent injuries have not healed completely by the time they are at their maximum medical improvement (MMI). This means you have recovered as much as you likely ever will, yet you still suffer from a physical or cognitive disability.
To prove you suffered a permanent injury, you will need to consult with your doctor. They may assess your injury using the American Medical Association (AMA) Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. According to the AMA, the annually updated publication provides a standard for rating victims’ impairment.
Permanent injuries may include:
- Back, neck, or spinal injuries resulting in loss of mobility or paralysis
- Loss of vision or hearing
- Scarring or disfigurement
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Injuries resulting in chronic pain
Personal Injury Cases Allow Accident Victims to Recover Their Losses
Personal injury claims and lawsuits allow injured parties to pursue financial awards for accidents caused by someone else’s negligent or wrongful actions. If you suffered a permanent injury in an accident that was not your fault, you may have a personal injury case. Types of personal injury cases include:
- Car accidents
- Large truck and commercial vehicle accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Medical malpractice injuries
- Premises liability accidents
- Birth injuries
- Defective drug and medical device injuries
- Defective product injuries
- Bicycle and pedestrian accidents
- Slip and falls
What Types of Damages Can You Pursue?
In general, personal injury cases allow victims to pursue awards for their out-of-pocket expenses and their pain and suffering. Damages may include:
- Emergency medical treatment
- Surgeries
- Hospital stays
- Rehabilitation
- Long-term nursing care
- Medications, medical devices, and mobility aids
- Lost wages, earnings, and benefits
- Household services
- Property damages
- Depression
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of a body part or bodily function
Are There Additional Awards for Permanent Injuries?
If you have a permanent injury that prevents you from working or from performing the same job as before your accident, you can seek awards for the loss of your future earning potential. A permanent injury will likely also increase the value of your pain and suffering damages.
A lawyer with our firm can help you with a personal injury claim. However, we may also be able to help you secure awards for permanent injuries through:
- Workers’ compensation – If your injury occurred on the job, you may qualify for disability benefits under your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance. According to New York State, injured workers can receive Permanent Partial Disability (if you lost part of your earning capacity) or Permanent Total Disability (if you completely lost your earning capacity).
- Disability insurance – You may qualify for payments if you have disability coverage under your own insurance policy. This may be a policy you purchased privately or through your employer. However, unlike workers’ compensation, this type of insurance can cover injuries that happen outside the workplace.
- Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) – If you paid into Social Security and have enough work credits, you may qualify for SSDI payments. According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), you will need to supply detailed information about your work history and medical condition when you apply for benefits. Our attorneys can tell you more about this process.
How Can Our Attorneys Help With Your Case?
Our lawyers can help you prepare and file your insurance claim. If you have a permanent injury, we will work tirelessly to help you prove it. We can:
- Assist you with obtaining an evaluation of your condition from a medical professional
- Consult with medical experts
- Collect evidence proving fault for your accident, including eyewitness testimony, photographs, videos, and police reports
- Obtain and review your medical bills and records
- Communicate with the insurance companies on your behalf
- Negotiate to achieve a fair settlement for your permanent injury and other damages
If we cannot settle your case outside of court, we can represent you at trial. In New York, in general, you have three years to pursue a personal injury lawsuit, according to CVP § 214. However, factors could shorten your window of time. For example, according to CVP 214-A, you have two years and six months to file a personal injury case based on medical malpractice.
Call the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP for a Free Consultation
At the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP we help victims seek justice. If you have a permanent injury, we can help you prove it. We want to ensure you get every cent owed to you. To learn more about how we can help, call our office at (516) 358-6900 for a free case review.
