Clay County Personal Injury Attorney – (Catastrophic Injury) Limousine Accidents
When involved in an accident, you are probably going to suffer various kinds of injuries, including catastrophic injuries that one never recovers from entirely. Limousine accidents, although not frequent, can result in devastating injuries to its passengers and other people. A limousine is a common carrier vehicle in Florida because it is hired to transport people from one place to another. As a result, limo drivers and companies are required to exercise more care in ensuring the safety of their passengers.
The costs of caring for victims that suffer catastrophic injuries are high. This is due to the life-long care these victims require. Although Florida is a no-fault state, when a victim suffers devastating injuries from a limo, they can seek damages from the Limo Company or driver. A skilled Clay County Personal Injury Attorney will assist you in seeking compensation for the costs of caring for the injuries.
Understanding Catastrophic Injuries
As earlier stated, Florida is a no-fault state, meaning that when a person gets injured in a car accident, they look to their insurance company for damages. When the injuries are catastrophic, however, the costs for treatment and life-long care are hefty. In this case, the law allows the victim to seek compensation from the driver or party responsible for the accident.
Not all injuries are catastrophic in a limo accident. When you suffer catastrophic injuries from a limo accident, it means the injuries are severe with long-term and life-altering effects. Most devastating injuries require the injured victim to undergo surgery, among other forms of treatment. For an injury to be catastrophic, it involves:
- The victim is suffering a permanent disability. This may involve losing the function of a body party such as arms or legs.
- The victim is unable to work as they did before the accident
- The victim may need assistance and care for the rest of their lives or some form of accommodation.
- The victim may require life-long medical assistance.
- The victim may need prosthetics to replace lost limbs or devices to assist them in their daily lives. These include the use of wheelchairs, canes, or walkers.
- The victim may suffer from severe disfigurement or scarring.
- The victim may suffer from severe injuries to their spine.
- The victim may endure acute trauma to their brain.
- Amputation may be a consequence.
- Some victims may lose their sight permanently.
- Acquired deafness can also result in a catastrophic injury.
- Some victims suffer extensive burns.
- Some injuries result in part or full paralysis.
Catastrophic injuries are different from standard injuries victims of a limo accident may sustain. Some of the devastating injuries are not easily detectable. Aside from the apparent physical injuries, some head injuries may appear normal, but they have lasting effects such as:
- Changes in personality
- Unexplainable mood swings
- The victim suffers memory loss.
- Irritability
- Losing the ability to focus or concentrate
- Being unable to cope with financial affairs.
Even after attaining maximum recovery, some victims of catastrophic injuries have to stop working because their performance is not as it was before the accident. Equally, individuals that suffer visible injuries may suffer from other life-changing side effects.
Treatment and care of catastrophic injuries can leave the victim, and their families broke, especially when their insurance cannot cover all the costs. Getting compensation for the damages suffered from the limo driver or the Limo Company becomes critical to help with the financial burden. Getting an experienced attorney that understands the complexities of a claim helps you focus on recovery as they get your damages.
Catastrophic Injuries in a Limousine Accident
Although limo accidents are not common, when they occur, they can result in substantial injuries to the victims. Passengers in a limo hardly have their seat belts on and maybe moving about the vehicle when the accident occurs. Additionally, the passengers are usually seated sideways, having their backs against the interior walls. All these things make them more vulnerable to severe injuries when an accident happens.
Aside from the standard common injuries, some of the catastrophic injuries suffered following a limousine accident include:
Amputations
This is typically the loss of limbs when the accident occurs. A passenger can get thrown out of the limousine or suffer direct impact that causes their arm or leg to get cut off. Other times, the particular body part can suffer serious damages forcing the doctors to cut it off to save the victim’s life.
When this happens, the victim may need prosthetics to replace the lost limb. The cost of getting a prosthetic is very high, and some victims are unable to afford it. Additionally, the victim must undergo extensive rehabilitation therapy to learn how to work or function with the prosthetic. This is a devastating loss that most victims never recover from psychologically as well.
If the victim was young and still growing, it will mean they will need a change of their prosthetics every so often to keep up with their growth. Prosthetics also wear out. This means that even for adult victims, they will be required to change prosthetics from time to time and go for regular check-ups with their doctors. This results in life-long costs associated with the treatment or management of an amputation. Getting compensated for your losses becomes even more critical.
Traumatic Brain Injury
A limo accident can result in its victims sustaining traumatic brain injuries. Because of the way passengers sit in the limo and not having safety belts on, they are likely to hit against the body of the vehicle. The impact on their head can result in significant injuries to their brain, resulting in permanent or lasting damages.
Most brain traumas are evident following an accident. Some people think it is a small swelling that will go away. Unfortunately, the repercussions of the injuries may begin to manifest after a few days or weeks. When unchecked, the victim may be bleeding internally, which can result in pressure on the brain and eventual death.
Some persons that suffer traumatic injuries to their brain may also get paralysis, their personality changes, and suffer blindness. Some victims even start losing their ability to speak coherently and end up requiring speech therapists and still not recover fully.
Traumatic brain injuries are not easy to spot. Many victims of a limo accident may get treated in the emergency room and go home. However, doctors will advise them to look out for the following symptoms and if they occur to go back to the hospital for further tests. These signs include:
- If you experience surliness
- When you begin to feel depressed
- When you start getting easily irritated
- If you feel dizzy
- When you suddenly start vomiting
- When you start having difficulties speaking
- When you experience numbness in some parts of your body
- When you start feeling nauseated
- When you notice changes in your personality
- When you start feeling confused
- When you lose consciousness
When you experience any of these symptoms, and you hit your head in the limo accident, it may be an indication of brain trauma. When these symptoms are not treated, they can be life-threatening as well. When brain injuries don’t kill the victim, they often leave them with permanent disabilities. Some victims may never be able to function normally again and require continuous assistance.
Traumatic brain injuries can also result in the victim being in a vegetative state. The victim may require assistance in breathing, eating through tubes, among other consequences. A victim cannot stay in the hospital for the rest of their lives; a hospital bed is brought to the home with all the requirements needed to stay alive. This is hugely costly to the family, and their insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover all the costs. This calls for the family to get an experienced accident attorney to pursue compensation for the damages suffered.
Severe Burns
A limo accident can result in a fire causing severe injuries. Typically, limousines are luxury vehicles, and passengers, in most cases, are making merry. This may include the taking of alcohol and smoking. When an accident happens, the fuel tank may start leaking. A fire sometimes results from the impact or if a person was smoking, and there is leaked gas.
A limo accident can result in catastrophic burns. The skin is the largest organ in the body of the person. This organ protects other crucial organs from damage, and if it is severely damaged, the other body organs get affected as well. Burns can result in the death of a victim, mainly when they cause significant damage.
Some victims of limo accidents, when they heal from burns, they may suffer permanent disfigurement. Their limbs may not function the same; their skin may be severely damaged that they require surgery to cope with the repercussions.
The physical and psychological trauma from these burns can be devastating. Even with surgery, the victim may never have their bodies back to where they were before. Some victims may never be able to work again, while others may suffer complicated organ damages due to the burns. Some of these damages to their bodies might require life-long medical care to survive. The cost of the treatment, surgeries, and care can be hefty, forcing the victim and their family to seek compensation.
Injuries to the Spine
An impact on the back can cause permanent damages to the victim. Spinal injuries affect the nervous system that may cause paralysis. A limo accident can result in the victim suffering catastrophic back injuries affecting the spine. This, in most cases, means the victim may suffer from permanent or partial paralysis.
When a person was able to walk with ease before an accident or use their limbs, an injury to the spinal cord may leave them unable to walk again or use their hands. Additionally, these injuries can result in issues with the circulation of the blood, respiratory issues, chronic pain, loss of bladder and bowel control, and exaggerated spasms or reflexes.
The suffering a victim endures, and the pain of living with this condition is life-changing. The psychological effects may leave the victim in need of counseling for an extended period. Some victims may be left unable to work or may be forced to change their line of work. All these consequences result in significant financial losses as well that require compensation.
Blindness
Getting into a limousine for a fun ride and getting out injured to the extent where you lose your sight is devastating. A victim can have an object hurt their eyes directly, or due to a traumatic head injury, the victim loses their ability to see. This is a devastating injury where the victim may undergo numerous corrective surgeries in an attempt to get their sight back.
When loss of eyesight happens as a result of a limo accident, it is termed as a catastrophic injury. The cost of trying to get your sight back is hefty, let alone the psychological trauma of never seeing again.
This type of injury will leave a person in need of rehabilitation therapy. This helps them to know how to get around on a cane and without assistance. In most cases, victims will require to have someone by their side always to help them with things they previously did without assistance.
Some victims may never be able to work again, especially in the career they were involved in. For instance, if one was a surgeon, he or she may never practice again. This not only makes then lose their way of earning, but they will also suffer psychological trauma as a result.
Simple things like reading or using the computer become unattainable when a victim suffers blindness. This means learning brail and acquiring other gadgets that will assist them in their daily lives.
Fortunately, one can get compensated for the loss of income and the cost of assisted living by the insurance company of the at-fault party.
Acquired Deafness
The impact and loud bang following a limo accident can result in a victim losing their hearing. When you could hear well and communicate equally well, but you suddenly lose these abilities, it is devastating. When a limo accident results in loss of hearing, the victim must undergo rehabilitation and counseling to cope with the condition.
Learning sign language and adjusting to a new way of communication is frustrating and devastating at the same time. The pain and the suffering one undergoes for a lifetime if the hearing cannot be corrected. Most victims undergo various costly treatment options that cost them a lot of money, yet some never work on them.
The loss of hearing becomes a permanent disability that can also cost someone their way of earning. The losses one suffers, as a result, are also compensated for in Florida.
Internal Organ Damages
Internal injuries are not obvious and often lead to fatalities. Most people following a limo accident may be treated for the obvious injuries and fail to realize the injuries go deeper. As a result, a person may just collapse or seek treatment when the damage is beyond repair.
The impact on the body may cause serious repercussions. The kidneys can get ruptured severely that they may not function as before. Some damages to the internal organs may affect bowel movement and bladder control. This may result in numerous surgeries to correct the damages, yet they may not be successful.
Some victims may end up having a catheter fitted in them all the time to collect their urine. This is psychologically traumatizing and leaves the victim with the need of assistance always. The embarrassment of leaked urine or other waste is embarrassing and frustrating to the victim. The victim will also require to visit their doctor to manage the condition constantly.
Some damages can also result in one requiring transplant of an organ when their own is severely damaged. Sometimes victims may have to use machines to help their bodies function normally. All these are life-long consequences that may result due to a limo accident.
Permanent Dental Injuries
When the impact of the limo accident is forceful on the face, a victim may end up losing their teeth or suffering dental issues. One of the things that give a person confidence in their smile. When one looses their permanent teeth, it means they will be denied their joy of enjoying food and a beautiful smile.
The victim, in this case, may be left with no natural teeth requiring them to undergo reconstructive surgeries to replace their teeth with artificial ones. Artificial teeth require more care over the years and are costly to have in place. Additionally, the victim will never be the same again with regards to their teeth.
Life-long Costs of Catastrophic Limousine Accidents
Catastrophic injuries are defined as those types of injuries that leave a victim with permanent damages or in need of extended medical care. Victims of catastrophic limo accidents often need extended hospitalization and may never be able to care for their needs. These costs can financially damage the victim and their families for years to come. Fortunately, the state of Florida allows a victim that suffers these injuries to get compensated for all the costs. These costs include:
- Emergency medical costs – from the cost of evacuation to the emergency room costs and medical treatment, you are entitled to receive compensation for them. Following a limo crash, you will go to the hospital to get treated for the injuries sustained. The doctors in treating your injuries will use surgery as well as other medical procedures. The cost of these procedures, doctor’s fees, medication, and any other cost associated with treating your injuries are compensable.
- Continuous medical care – as earlier stated, catastrophic injuries require extended treatment. Victims of these injuries are required to visit their doctors that keep monitoring their progress constantly. The cost of constant medical care is hefty, and the state allows for compensation on the same.
- Medications – even post-hospital stay, victims of catastrophic injuries may find they require certain medications to stay alive. The cost of the medications is supposed to get compensated by the at-fault party or their insurance company.
- Occupational and physical therapy – this is another cost that is hefty to victims of catastrophic injuries. The extended stay in the hospital makes them require therapy to learn how to walk or do things by themselves again. Additionally, those that lose their limbs and have to be fitted with prosthetics require therapy to learn how to function with them. Victims that suffer blindness or deafness as a result of a limo crash also require therapy and learn new skills to enable them to cope. All the costs associated with the therapy are also compensable.
- Medical equipment – sometimes, the doctors may say there is nothing more they can do for the victim at the hospital. When the damages are extensive and the maximum recovery attained, the victim may still be left in a vegetative state. This means he or she will spend the rest of their lives needing care. As a result, a hospital bed may be required at home. Wheelchairs, walkers, and a lift may also be required to facilitate the victim’s movements. All these expenses are compensable according to the compensation law in Florida.
- Counseling – catastrophic injuries cause the victims lasting psychological damages. When a person could see, and suddenly they cannot see, a person was an athlete, and now they can use their body anymore or a person was independent but now must depend on others. All these, among others, cause significant psychological trauma that requires extended counseling. The cost of psychological therapy is compensated in Florida as well.
- Lost wages – most individuals that suffer catastrophic injuries due to limo accidents are left unable to earn a living. The damages suffered will not allow them to continue working as they did before, resulting in them being unable to support themselves or their loved ones. The income they lose during treatment and their lost ability to earn a living are also compensated.
- Pain and suffering – catastrophic injuries are painful to endure, and the suffering the victims undergo through their lives is great. The law allows victims of these injuries to get compensated due to the pain and suffering they go through.
Find a Personal Injury Lawyer Near Me
All injuries following a limousine accident are unwelcome and damaging, but catastrophic injuries are even more harmful. The life-changing aspect of these injuries is devastating, let alone the lasting economic damages. For this reason, a victim of a catastrophic limousine injury can get a Clay County Personal Injury Attorney to pursue their damages as they recover. Find us at 904-494-8242, and we shall aggressively pursue your losses.