4 Reasons You're Justified in Pursuing a Personal Injury Case

Many people feel that we live in a nation of lawsuits for personal gain. But in reality, getting rich off a personal injury case is a rare exception, rather than the rule. Pursuing a lawsuit because you’ve been injured by someone else’s actions or negligence is almost never selfish, and if you’ve been led to believe that, we’d like to dispel that idea. Here are four reasons why you are completely justified in seeking reparations for your injury.

Covering Your Own Expenses

When an injury is serious enough to merit a lawsuit, there are usually some expenses involved—and often, those expenses can be quite high. Even if you have insurance, it may not cover all of the expenses associated with your injury. From the initial hospital stay to ongoing treatments, physical therapy, prescriptions, and mobility aids, the potential expenses associated with a serious injury are astronomical. Should you really be expected to pay for injuries caused by another person?

If you’re already suffering from an injury, you shouldn’t be expected to suffer financially as well. At the very least, a personal injury case can help ensure that someone else’s carelessness does not burden you financially.

Replacing Lost Wages

Not only do injuries often take money out of your wallet, but they can stop money from coming in as well. If you’re seriously injured to the point that you can’t work for an extended period of time, you may lose income, which can be another heavy burden on you and your family. If your work does not provide sufficient paid leave to cover you for the extent of your injury, you should not be the one to pay for that. A personal injury lawsuit can seek reparations for any lost wages you may incur while you’re out of work as a result of your injury.

Many people return to work too soon after a serious injury, and this can often result in re-injury or a longer recovery. But when people have proper compensation to alleviate the financial strain associated with their accident, they’re less likely to rush to work. They can take the time they need to recover properly, so that they can return in full health.

Deterring Careless Actions

If your injury was the result of extremely careless or even malicious actions, a personal injury lawsuit can show the defendant the seriousness of what they have done. In certain cases where the defendant’s actions are considered to be outrageous or excessively careless, the judge may add punitive damages to your settlement. These additional fines are meant to deter the defendant from acting in such a way again.

For example, let’s say you purchased a weight-loss supplement from a company that advertises their product as being all-natural and safe. You become severely ill, and your doctor determines that your illness is caused by the supplement negatively reacting with a prescription you were already taking. In this case, the company should have adequately researched the product to determine how it would interact with medications, and issued a warning stating potential side effects.

If you filed a personal injury lawsuit against the weight-loss company, you could be awarded with compensatory damages to pay for your medical expenses and lost wages, as well as punitive damages to deter the company from continuing to sell the product without properly advertising the potential side effects or advising customers not to take it with other prescriptions. In this way, your lawsuit can prevent injury to other individuals.

Considering Long-Term Consequences

Oftentimes, a serious injury can impact your life for many years to come. You might think you’ve recovered from that car accident with minimal issues. But a year later, you could begin having recurring back problems linked to your earlier injury. These long-term side effects of an injury can alter the course of your life significantly, and that’s not something that should be taken lightly. Proper compensation for your injuries can help to cover ongoing costs that may arise months or even years down the road.

Despite what many people might think, personal injury cases are almost never about revenge or a quick cash grab. They’re about trying to right the status quo, and trying to help the injured individual get back to a normal life as much as they possibly can. If you’ve been seriously injured as the result of a person’s or company’s actions or negligence, contact the Harr Law Firm today. We’ll help you put together a case and get you the compensation that you deserve.