Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog
Most Americans rely on their jobs to pay for the essentials of life. In fact, reports suggest that 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Being injured in a car accident is always frightening, but it can be even more so when it affects your ability to earn an income.
If you’ve been injured in a car crash in South Florida and are facing a situation where you might not be able to return to work for a long time or may be permanently unable to work, it’s especially important to plan for the future. Contact Flaxman Law Group for a free consultation with a South Florida car accident lawyer. Our offices in Miami, Homestead, and Hollywood are here to help injured people in difficult situations.
Returning to Your Job
In some cases, if you’ve suffered a serious injury such as a brain injury, burns, or spinal cord injury, you may be able to return to your work after weeks or even months. This depends on your job and the extent of your injuries. If your injuries allow for enough pain management, for example, and your work involves sitting in front of a computer you may be able to use assistive technology (such as voice to text software, for example) to continue to work.
In this case, however, you may still lose significant time at work. In addition, you may need to take a pay cut if you can’t perform all your job duties or your work needs to be modified to accommodate your injury. You might not even find your job waiting for you when you’re ready to return.
Having to Find Other Jobs or Resources
After some car accidents, you may not be able to return to your pervious job at all because of the nature of your injuries. For example, if you’re a surgeon and lose a hand in a head-on car crash, you may not be able to return to your work. Even administrative work in your field may not be possible. If you have suffered serious scarring and you have a public-facing role or if you have suffered a brain injury which has affected your memory and cognitive function permanently, you may not be able to return even to modified job duties.
In this situation, you may not only be dealing with healing from your injuries but you may need to retrain for a whole new career. However, even if you can seek a new career it can take time to develop the necessary skills–and the training for a new position can be expensive. In addition, you may be starting from entry-level roles and your earnings may be significantly lower than before your collision, even as your expenses are higher.
Dealing with the Emotional Impact
For many residents of South Florida, their jobs aren’t just a means to make money. They’re also an emotionally significant part of life. Many of us find a lot of meaning, social connections, and self-worth in our careers. When you’re injured and can’t work or you lose your job, all of this can be impacted. It’s not unusual to experience depression, anxiety, and other big challenges after a serious injury.
If this happens to you, please take care of yourself. Speak to a doctor or therapist about your symptoms. Taking care of your mental as well as physical health is an essential part of your recovery.
What To Do After a Car Accident
If you’ve been in a car accident and have injuries that could impact your ability to earn an income, it’s crucial to act fast. You’ll want to gather as much evidence as you can and seek compensation not only for immediate income losses but expected future income losses, too. After all, in your current job you may have built up years of experience and you may be on the path to promotions and higher earnings. If your career is suddenly interrupted, you’ll want to seek compensation to cover those losses and seek resources to get new skills and build a new work life, if possible.
To learn more about the compensation that you could be entitled to, call Flaxman Law Group at 866-352-9626 or contact us online as soon as possible after your accident. We can explain your options and seek the fairest financial recovery so you can start rebuilding. We’re a boutique, family-focused law firm, so we offer compassionate, personalized attention to you and your case.