Tag: Personal Injury | O'Brien & Ford Buffalo Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyers

How Can a Pre-Existing Injury Affect My Accident Claim?

car crash hit and run If you are injured in an accident, whether at work, on the highway, in a public place, or even on private property, it can sometimes be easy to determine your damages. If you broke your leg, suffered a concussion, or sustained cuts and/or bruises, for example, it is easy to evaluate the medical expenses, time lost from work, and the pain you experienced during your recovery. Not all victims, however, are in perfect health before an accident. You might still be recovering from a previous accident or injury. You might have a chronic condition that causes intermittent or constant pain. You may even have a condition that makes you more susceptible to certain injuries.

Eggshell Doctrine

It is well established in personal injury law that the prior condition cannot be used against an injured person, even if their condition makes them more susceptible to injury than the average person. For example, a person who has had prior back injuries, surgery, or other procedures may suffer aggravation from those injuries or sustain new injuries in a crash that may have caused little to no damage to someone who didn’t have a pre-existing condition. Nevertheless, the person responsible for an accident is responsible for all injuries in such a situation.

Proving Damages

To make a successful claim for damages when an injured person has pre-existing conditions, it will be necessary to determine with as much accuracy as possible the person’s condition both before and after the new injury. This will involve obtaining detailed medical records, the person’s work history, and in many cases, testimony from the injured person, their family members or caretakers, and medical professionals.

Proving out of pocket expenses, such as medical expenses and lost wages, may be fairly straightforward. If the person was seeing his doctor, chiropractor, or receiving other medical treatment once a month prior to the new injury and then more often after the new injury, the amount of increased medical expenses can be calculated with accuracy. If he was back at work following a job injury but had to miss work following the new accident, lost wages are easy to determine. Determining damages for pain and suffering is more difficult when an injured person has a prior injury or a pre-existing condition. It will be necessary to determine what the person’s level of activity and level of pain was both before and after the new accident or injury.

New York Accident Attorneys

Insurance companies are in business to make money, and that means limiting the amounts they pay out in claims. Insurance adjusters will try to use your pre-existing conditions against you. It is vital to call an experienced accident attorney as soon as possible so the evidence needed to establish the damages you incurred from the new accident or injury can be gathered and preserved. The accident experts at O’Brien & Ford are always available for free consultations. Visit our website at https://obrienfoldprd.wpenginepowered.com to learn more.

Common Snow-Related Personal Injury Claims

Winter is many people’s favorite season: colder weather, the holidays, family visits, delicious meals. . . However, winter certainly has its downsides, especially for the northern states that have snowfall each year.

While snow can certainly be fun and beautiful to look at, there have been many personal injuries that could have been avoided completely if it weren’t for snow.

Car Accidents

Driving in the snow is much more difficult and dangerous than driving on a clear road. Snow and ice cause cars to slip and collide with each other. Pile-ups are more common over the winter more than other seasons because it is much harder to break in the snow. Snowfall can also often decrease visibility which is never a good thing while driving.

If you have to drive in the snow, make sure you have snow tires and that your car is well-maintained. Make sure you know the dangers, what to avoid, and exactly how to control your vehicle in the snow in case it slides.

Slip and Falls

Snow and ice are always very slippery. If you don’t have the right snowshoes, it is very likely that you can glide on the snow and then fall. Eventually, the snow will melt and form ice, then it can be covered again with more snow. You may think it is safe to walk on, but it is actually not. Business owners are required to maintain their premises and keep ice off their pathways. As people get older, a fall on gravel or the pavement can cause serious bone injuries.

Make sure you always have the proper snow footwear, walk slowly, and hold on to railings when they’re available to avoid accidents.

Winter Sports

Sports that require snow include sledding, skiing, snowboarding, tubing, etc. Although they are very fun, they can also be very dangerous and cause severe injuries. Before going out to partake in a winter sport, make sure you know what you’re doing. Avoiding obstacles such as trees or other people can be difficult due to a lack of experience.

Avoid injuries by wearing the safety gear required and having trained people around you that know what to do in case of an emergency.

Fireplace Fires

Wintertime is often the only time of the year that people use their fireplaces. Fires can be dangerous because they can quickly spread if you’re not careful. Not only can fires cause indoor home damage, but it can also injure people inside with burns and breathing issues.

To avoid injury, make sure your fireplace and chimney are clean and well-maintained. Also, make sure you keep your fire under control by keeping fires small and have a nonflammable guard panel around them. If you have young children, make sure you warn them of the dangers as well so that they do not play near it.

Contact Us

If you are involved in a snow-related accident, you might be able to be compensated when someone else was at fault. No matter the season, O’Brien and Ford will be available for advice, guidance, and to fight for the compensation you deserve. Call us today at: (716) 330-2901.

A Personal Injury Diary: What is it and Why Should You Keep One?

Maintaining a Personal Injury Journal

Sometimes, people are injured through no fault of their own.

When this happens, they may have a claim for compensation.

In other words, they may be entitled to collect money for things related to the accident, such as:

Lost wages for missed time at work
Lost overtime wages
Medical bills
Transportation to and from medical treatments
Prescription costs
Physical therapy
Durable medical equipment and
Other costs related to the injury.

Out of pocket costs can be recovered in a personal injury suit.  However, one can only receive money for proven expenses.  In addition, one can recover for pain and suffering.  When lawyers ask a jury to determine the proper amount for pain and suffering, each case is judged on the individual facts and circumstances.  As such, it is a good idea to maintain a personal injury journal after an injury.

Understanding What a Personal Injury Journal Is

A personal injury journal is a place for recording all information related to an injury.  Ideally, this includes, but is not limited to:

each day of work missed
each overtime opportunity missed
all medical visits and treatments, as well as
how one feels each day.

With all the information related to the injury in one place, a fact-finder can easily review the information. This allows for a reasonable calculation of the consequences of the injury.  A personal injury journal helps a fact finder understand the injured person’s experience.  This puts the fact-finder in a better position to consider what dollar amount might be appropriate for compensation.  In most personal injury cases, the damage cannot be completely undone.  How much, for example, is the pain of a torn muscle or a broken bone worth?  However, when fully informed a fact finder can decide on a fair and reasonable dollar amount.

What a Personal Injury Journal Looks Like

The are several areas where a personal injury journal is useful.  One can monitor ongoing medical treatment.   One can also document the body’s response to treatment.   Finally, a personal injury journal can track healing.  What the personal injury journal looks like is up to the individual.  Ideally, a personal injury journal works for the user.  A notebook works just fine.  However, if someone is on crutches, a regular sized notebook may not be easy to transport back and forth to the doctor.  A smaller notebook may be more appropriate.  Some people prefer to keep their personal injury journal in a book designed to be a journal or journal.   Still others prefer to record the doctor visits and other data on their phone.  The key is to find a system that works for the person hurt.  An empty personal injury journal doesn’t help anyone.

What a Personal Injury Journal Should Contain

Medical Visits and Lost Work

A personal injury journal should include all information relating to the injury.  Obviously, a personal injury journal should include all doctor visits.  If the Doctor recommends a certain treatment, such as exercises, or seeing a specialist, the personal injury journal should document these recommendations.  The journal should also document following those recommendations to the letter.  For example, if the doctor recommends doing a certain set of exercises three times a day, each time the person performs the exercises, they should record this in the personal injury journal.

Each day of work missed should also be documented in the journal.  In fact, the journal should include any time taken off work, even if only 30 minutes, to go to a doctor’s appointment, physical therapy visit, or other visit relating to the injury.

The journal should include costs of prescriptions.  In addition, one should document any costs for durable medical equipment.  This might include a back brace, crutches, or items to assist in the shower.

Pain and Suffering

Make certain the personal injury journal documents pain experienced.  First, figure out a scale, such as a scale from 1 to 10.  In this example, 1 means feeling fine, while 10 means experiencing extreme pain.  5 represents an ability to do daily tasks, but not without significant pain.  An entry may look like this:

Woke up at 6:00 am with leg throbbing.  Pain level is a 7.
Took pain meds before getting out of bed.  Pain level at 7:00 am is a 4.
Could not drive children to school due to pain meds.
leg pain increased to an 8 at 3:30 pm.  
Took more pain meds.  Pain reduced to 5. 
Iced leg as Doctor ordered for 20 minutes.  Pain reduced to 3.

A personal injury journal should reflect the pain experienced at least daily during the healing process.  However, often people note their pain levels more than once a day in the beginning. This is because, when taking pain meds, the level of pain can vary quite a bit over the course of a day.

Quality of life issues often present themselves while one is recovering from an injury.  For example, one might miss out on coaching their daughter’s soccer team due to an injury.  Or a parent may not be able to physically pick up their child.  Memory issues may make it impossible to work the way someone used to work.  All of these events have a place in a personal injury journal.

Mistakes People Make

Two frequent mistakes people make when dealing with a personal injury are overstating their pain,and understating their pain.  This is understandable.  However, for the purposes of obtaining compensation for actual pain and suffering, an accurate record of one’s experience is critical.

When recording pain, take some time to consider the scale in place.  Not every day is going to be “horrible pain,” but some might be.  Remember, healing isn’t always linear.  Even if you feel fine for a few days, continue scoring your pain in your journal until you are certain you have healed.  If your injury is limiting your ability to live a full life, document this in great detail.  These details provide the fact finder with the information they need.

The other most common mistake is not keeping up on recording ongoing hassles related to the injury.  If a family member or friend enters the information for you, this is perfectly okay, as long as they are writing down your thoughts and experiences.  The important part is recording the information in real time.

Injured?

If you are a loved one is hurt, contact O’Brien & Ford.  We are happy to meet with you and your family for free to discuss whether you might have a case.  We maintain regular office hours.  However, we can also meet you at a place convenient for you. Call us today at 716.330.2901.