Chronic pain could affect you physically, emotionally, and financially. You may need to spend time in a specialized care facility, make in-home accommodations, or delegate your household obligations elsewhere. Perhaps more importantly, it could affect your ability to work.
When this happens, you could work with a personal injury lawyer from our firm. We can pursue damages not only for your medical bills but also for your lost tips, commissions, bonuses, and benefits. You could also pursue any harm to your future earning power.
How can chronic pain affect your ability to work
Here are some of the ways that chronic pain following an accident can keep you from working:
Your injuries could limit your physical abilities
Chronic pain can limit a person’s mobility and strength, making it difficult for them to sit, stand, and lift objects in the workplace. Repetitive activities, such as typing, may be especially challenging for those with nonstop pain.
The Cleveland Clinic reports that chronic pain can lead to secondary consequences, like:
- Insomnia
- Fatigue
- Mood changes
- Appetite
- A lack of energy
All of these things can affect your ability to maintain your normal day-to-day function.
Chronic pain can negatively affect your mental health
Chronic pain is not just physical pain. Many people who suffer chronic pain also struggle with depression and other psychological issues. Depression, in particular, can exacerbate one’s physical pain and make treatment more complicated.
If you’re suffering from chronic pain, you may feel tense or stressed. You may even have anxiety about getting hurt again, which could prevent you from engaging in your everyday activities.
Your condition can ultimately put a strain on your finances
The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) conducted a study in 2010 about the annual cost of chronic pain. Although these numbers may be different now due to inflation, the organization discovered:
- Chronic pain costs patients in the U.S. anywhere from $260 billion to $300 billion.
- Lost productivity costs, when accounting for days missed from work, low wages, and hours of work lost, added up to about $635 billion.
Now, imagine those costs on a personal scale. Medical treatment, therapy, assistive devices, and other injury-related losses could threaten your financial stability.
Yet, if you were harmed due to negligence, you don’t have to shoulder these costs alone. By partnering with our team, we can pursue compensation for your chronic pain through a claim or lawsuit.
For a free legal consultation, call (614) 538-1116
Damages you can pursue through legal action
Our firm understands how the aftermath of an accident can impede your ability to work. With our help, you could get coverage for the following:
Healthcare expenses
Even if you have health insurance, paying for ongoing treatment can get expensive. Compensation for medical costs could include:
- Medications
- Physical therapy
- Mental health counseling
- Hospitalization
- Assistive devices, like wheelchairs
- In-home assistance
- Doctors’ appointments
- Surgery
We can even account for the cost of anticipated medical expenses in your case.
Lost wages
Chronic pain may keep you out of work for weeks or months after your accident. Lost wages refer to the income you would have earned had you not been injured.
Loss of future earning capacity
Your pain levels could affect your ability to secure meaningful employment in the future. You may even have to accept a lower-paying job to accommodate your condition. Our firm can include these hardships as part of your case.
Lost employee benefits
You might have had to take a leave of absence or use your personal sick days during your recovery period. You might have even had to switch to part-time employment if you were previously working full-time, reducing your insurance benefits. We can examine these aspects and assign value to them. We want to account for every aspect of chronic pain in your case.
Non-economic losses
You can pursue the cost of non-economic damages, like pain and suffering, in your case. Other examples include:
- Disability
- Disfigurement
- Scarring
- The loss of a limb
- Impaired quality of life
- Emotional anguish
While these losses do not come with inherent monetary values, we can determine a price tag for each.
We can calculate the overall value of your injury case
When calculating damages for a personal injury suit, you will need to account for the effects of your injuries as well as your chronic pain. We can prove the value of your case by:
- Consulting with healthcare professionals
- Examining your medical care costs
- Projecting your future anticipated expenses
- Calculating your receipts, invoices, and billing statements
- Examining your portion of fault
We may even evaluate the value of cases similar to yours.
Click to contact our personal injury lawyers today
Call Bressman Law to learn more about your options
Physical pain can affect nearly every aspect of your ability to work, but you don’t have to shoulder these burdens alone. Call Bressman Law to learn more about recovering compensation for your physical, emotional, and financial hardships.
To discuss your situation at no cost or obligation, call now.
Call or text (614) 538-1116 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
