Car accidents have the potential to alter the way a person lives for the rest of their life. Not all injuries will heal, even with extensive treatment. Some injuries will cause long-lasting or permanent harm. Many people who have suffered a severe injury in a car accident have serious concerns about whether they will be able to return to work, and if not, how they will support themselves or their families. If you have suffered a permanent or chronic injury as a result of a car accident caused by another party’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation that could cover your lost future income. Claiming these types of damages can be difficult, as the other party will likely resist paying this type of award, which could be of significant financial value. If you have been forced to change careers or stop working due to car accident injuries, you will likely need to work with an attorney to recover the amount of compensation you need to make up for your lost ability to work.

Compensation for Lost Future Income

If you are not yet certain whether your injuries will heal and allow you to return to the workplace, you may be experiencing a high level of stress at the uncertainty. You should know that you may be able to recover compensation for the full amount of income you have lost already and will lose in the future. There are generally two types of claims pertaining to lost future income - those where the plaintiff is still able to work, but must accept a lower-paid line of work, and those where the plaintiff is totally disabled and unlikely to be able to work again in their lifetime.

If you are totally disabled and unable to work in any capacity, then you may be entitled to compensation for the total amount you would have earned throughout the duration of your career had the accident not occurred. Your attorney will need to show evidence demonstrating that you can no longer work in any capacity. The types of proof needed will vary depending on your current career path and other factors.

Road rage incidents have been increasing nationwide. The reasons for this are multi-faceted and complex - there is no one single identifiable cause for this increase. Some people became quite used to empty roads during lockdowns. During a time of economic stress, people tend to work longer hours and become less patient on their commutes. Even higher degrees of political conflict can have an effect on how drivers interact with one another on the roads. With road rage incidents becoming ubiquitous, so are car accidents that stem from them. Lawyers are seeing an increase in clients who were injured by another driver who was clearly infuriated, whether with them personally or with traffic in general. If you were injured by a driver with road rage, you may be entitled to compensation. In some cases, injuries inflicted by road rage drivers who were more than careless in causing the accident can lead to higher awards or settlements. An attorney can assess your case and guide you through the process of filing a claim.

Types of Accidents Commonly Caused by Road Rage Drivers

Road rage accidents can be particularly serious. Drivers may not put significant effort into avoiding a collision when they have become enraged. Common types of accidents caused by road rage drivers include:

• Sideswipe - Sideswipe collisions are very common during road rage incidents. Merging is a common trigger for drivers prone to road rage, especially when the process does not happen smoothly. One enraged driver may refuse to yield to another driver when they should, causing them to sideswipe the vehicle they are having an often one-sided dispute with.
• Near-miss accidents - It is a common move for furious drivers attempting a show of power to simply refuse to allow another driver into their lane. This is especially dangerous on the highway when drivers entering the highway must get up to speed and merge relatively quickly. When a road rage driver will not permit another to merge, a common result is for the victim to “run out of road” and be forced onto the sides of the roads, sometimes leading them into an accident.
• Hit-and-run - Road rage drivers rarely stop and wait for the police when they strike another driver without disabling their own vehicle. Hit-and-run drivers can often be identified later through the use of camera footage or police investigation.

Road rage incidents can be terrifying for the victim. If you have been injured in an accident brought on by road rage, you should contact an attorney as soon as possible.

Being involved in any type of collision, no matter how minor, can put a motorcyclist at extreme risk of harm. Motorcycle accidents can result in injuries severe enough to alter the course of a person’s life. While the risk of a traumatic brain injury can be somewhat mitigated with the proper use of a motorcycle helmet, the risk of neck and spinal cord injuries generally cannot. Neck and back injuries can cause paralysis, or long-lasting pain and disability. Wrongful death cases related to fatal motorcycle accidents must all too often be brought by the victim’s surviving family members. While motorcyclists encounter many sources of danger on the roads, careless drivers are perhaps the single greatest threat. Drivers often fail to use reasonable caution in sharing the road with motorcyclists, who have little protection in the event of an impact. If you were injured by a careless driver while riding a motorcycle, an attorney may be able to help you recover compensation.

Motorcycle Accidents Caused by Careless Drivers

In collisions between cars and motorcycles, the motorcyclist is far more likely to suffer a severe injury, yet the driver is likely to be at fault. The forms that these accidents often take include:

• Sideswipe - Sideswipe collisions often occur when the driver of a car fails to appropriately check their blind spot before changing lanes. Without checking their blind spot, a driver can very easily miss seeing someone riding a motorcycle. The motorcyclist can be pushed off the road completely, or into another lane, creating substantial risk of a secondary collision.
• Near-miss - A driver can do severe harm to a motorcyclist without physically hitting them at all. Inattentive drivers often set themselves on a course where they are inevitably going to strike a motorcyclist if the motorcyclist does not immediately take evasive action. Steering away from the car may prevent a very serious accident, but the motorcyclist may instead collide with a stationary object or lose control of their bike.
• Rear-end - Careless drivers may simply not be devoting the attention required to spot a motorcyclist ahead of them to the road. Inattentiveness can cause drivers to not become aware of a motorcyclist slowing down or stopping ahead of them in time to prevent a rear-end collision.

If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident, you may be entitled to compensation.

The financial costs and losses associated with a motor vehicle accident can be burdensome. In addition to the initial medical costs, there may be future costs associated with ongoing care. Many car accident victims are not yet healed - to the extent that they will heal - at the time their claim is settled, and yet, future expenses must be accounted for. For those whose income is needed to support themselves and their families, lost wages may be a major source of concern. Both future healthcare costs and lost wages may be compensable damages after a car accident claim. After a car accident, the not-at-fault party or parties may be able to recover a variety of types of compensation. The goal of pursuing compensation after a car accident is to place you roughly in the position you would have been in had the accident not occurred. It is critical to have the guidance of an attorney throughout the claims process. 

Damages Potentially Available After a Motor Vehicle Accident

Calculating the amount of damages to include in a demand can be a complex endeavour. Certain types of damages are not readily quantifiable, but plainly exist. Potentially compensable damages may include: 

• Future healthcare costs - If your injuries have created a need for ongoing healthcare, such as further physical therapy sessions, home health aids, or planned surgeries, these costs can be accounted for in a demand for compensation. 

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While motor vehicle accidents and product liability claims are frequently thought of as discrete concepts, sometimes, the clear cause of a motor vehicle accident is the defectiveness of a vehicular component. As the manufacturer of a culinary appliance may be liable should the heating element initiate a fire in which people are injured, so may the manufacturer of a car part be liable should a defect in that part cause a vehicle to crash, injuring occupants or others. Rarely is it the fault of a driver when he has unwittingly purchased a braking system, tire, or steering system with dangerous defects. Demonstrating that a vehicular collision was indeed caused by a defective car part can be complex and often necessitates a skilled investigation by a trained attorney. 

Product Liability Claims Process

The process of pursuing compensation may be altered in that rather than filing a claim against a car insurance company, the claim must instead be filedagainst a manufacturer or other party responsible for the vehicle defect. Litigation is more likely in cases like these. The remedy is more likely to be judicially imposed than secured by settlement when there is a question regarding the cause of the accident, especially in cases in which the mandated award could be substantial due to the severity of the harm caused or the number of injured plaintiffs. 

Thus, it is of particular importance that a skilled investigation take place promptly. While the expedient preservation and collection of evidence, particularly that which is found at the site of collision, is always a priority, it is of unique necessity when there is suspicion that a defective product was the proximate cause of the accident.